Mark Phelps

The Senate has confirmed the appointment of John Pistole to head the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Pistole is a 27-year FBI veteran with significant experience in counterterrorism, but has been criticized for his lack of direct experience in aviation-related security. His confirmation ends an 18-month search that saw two prior nominees rejected by Congress. The […]

Cirrus expects its SF50 single-engine jet to begin deliveries in “late 2013,” six years after work began on the project. Company CEO Brent Wouters told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune that the project is at the halfway point, and about 100 current customers had been invited to a flyover of the prototype at the Twin […]

Aircraft owners groups such as the American Bonanza Society (ABS), the (Piper) Malibu/Mirage Owners and Pilots Association (M/MOPA) and others have asked the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association president Craig Fuller to press the FAA into action. At issue is the impending disappearance of 100-octane low-lead fuel (100LL). As the only transportation fuel still approved […]

A scientist at the National Oceanographic and Aeronautics Administration (NOAA) said recently increased solar storm activity could pose serious problems for GPS signals. The satellite transmissions that power the GPS system are relatively weak in strength and vulnerable to interference from instability on the surface of the sun. NOAA scientist Joe Kunches and other scientists […]

The world’s only flyable Boeing B-29 Superfortress is not quite airworthy — yet. It’s been four years since the Boeing last flew, and the efforts of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) to return “FIFI” to the sky are close. But a “scheduling conflict” has led the FAA to delay issuing a new airworthiness certificate. FIFI […]

Terrafugia announced the FAA has granted an exemption to its ‘Transition’ roadable aircraft. Planned for approval to Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) status, the Transition would have been limited at 1,320 pounds maximum takeoff weight. But the FAA has granted an exemption allowing another 110 pounds for elements required by federal motor vehicle safety standards for […]

Cobalt Aircraft Industries has announced it will introduce its Co50 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh on July 28. The five-seat all-composite Canard will be powered by a mid-ship-mounted Continental TSIOF-550-D2B twin-turbocharged piston engine driving a pusher propeller. Top speed is predicted as 245 knots at 25,000 feet burning 25 gallons per hour from its 109-gallon capacity. […]

When Flying Editor in Chief Mac McClellan read the headline and the short description of this week’s Tip, he was kind enough to share with me the text for his Left Seat column that will appear in the August issue. I interpreted this as his way of hinting at me to read it, and then […]

In a report that came out under the radar on June 1, the FCC slipped in a stunning mandate. Section (h) of the executive summary of the report reads “We prohibit the certification, manufacture, importation, sale or continued use of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) other than the Breitling Emergency Watch ELT.” Bravo for […]

With the FAA anticipating a 10-year low in student starts next year, Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton addressed the issue on Monday in Washington, D.C. “We need legislation that fosters and stimulates our industry,” he said. Without new student starts, the entire general aviation industry suffers, said Pelton, He added that, at least, […]