Mark Phelps

This Sunday, the Discovery Channel will reveal the results of its research into the cause of the crash of the Hindenburg. On May 6, 1937, the German Zeppelin burst into flames and crashed while attempting to dock in Lakehurst, New Jersey, after a transatlantic flight. Of 97 on board, 13 passengers and 22 crewmembers were […]

Piper Aircraft’s 2008 agreement with the state of Florida has been amended. The original incentive package included government tax incentives, payments and other benefits provided Piper maintained a minimum level of employment at its Vero Beach facility. That agreement was drawn up just before the economic collapse of November 2008, and Piper has struggled to […]

After the tragic loss of his wife Amanda in an airshow accident, Kyle Franklin will return to the circuit with a dramatic new airplane. Revealed this week at the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) convention in Las Vegas, “Dracula” is a highly customized biplane with the retro appeal of early Waco racers – speed […]

As the aviation world awaits the 2020 ADS-B mandate deadline, Dynon has now joined those manufacturers that have launched pre-emptive products to begin accommodating the new infrastructure requirements. Its SV-ADSB-470 UAT band traffic system is a hard-wired, remotely mounted box (priced at $995 — antenna not included) that feeds traffic and weather data to the […]

The U.S. Navy reports that all of its Boeing-designed ScanEagle unmanned surveillance aircraft are “fully accounted for” in the Persian Gulf region. Iran claimed earlier today it had captured one of the drones, with video appearing on the state television station showing Iranians examining what appears to be a ScanEagle. There are other countries in […]

A Diamond DA42 twin flew recently with a developmental digital control system designed to augment pilot controls with computer automation. Long available on airliners and business jets such as the Falcon 7X, digital flight control uses computer algorithms to keep the aircraft not only on course and at an appropriate altitude, but also to maintain […]

More than a dozen years after the July 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde supersonic transport (SST) outside Paris, a French court will decide today whether to uphold a manslaughter conviction against Continental Airlines. The original ruling, which was appealed, held that a Continental mechanic improperly attached a metal strip to one of the […]

Avidyne announced today that a date has been set in February 2013 for a jury trial in its patent dispute with L-3 Communications Avionics Systems. Avidyne President and CEO Dan Schwinn argues the L-3 lawsuit is without merit, explaining, “L-3 claims it invented a basic method of calibrating an attitude indicator to correct for the […]

In its fourth review of the 30-year-old Federal Contract Tower (FCT) program, the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General found the outsourced towers both less expensive and safer than those staffed by FAA controllers. On average, an FCT tower costs $1.5 million less than a comparable FAA tower, according to the report. Those […]

With the recent announcement that the FAA’s drone integration plans face more delays, Europe is way ahead of the U.S. There are several programs aimed at integrating pilotless drones into its airspace. For example, test flights are now underway in the UK using a Jetstream 31 twin-engine turboprop, controlled from the ground, but flying with […]