Mark Phelps

On Dec. 30, 2009, Horizon Air Flight 2014 — a Bombardier Q400 twin turboprop — arrived at Seattle-Tacoma Airport using avionics with Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) enabled. It marked the first revenue-generating flight in the country to use the technology, which is seen as a less expensive, more accurate and more dependable alternative to […]

Following certification in mid-December, Embraer Executive Aircraft delivered the first customer Phenom 300 business jet before year end. The timing enabled Tug Hill, Inc., a Texas-based oil and gas investment firm, to qualify for bonus tax depreciation on aircraft delivered in 2009. The Phenom 300, serial number 5, replaces a Cessna Conquest I twin turboprop […]

It’s true, business aviation traffic was down by an estimated 18-20 percent last year, compared with 2008. But the accident rate declined even more steeply, with 45 percent fewer accidents involving jets and turboprops. According to the latest numbers from Robert E. Breiling Associates, fatal accidents declined even more, with just eight in 2009 (involving […]

If you own a Light Sport Aircraft that is approved for training — whether it is used in that role or not — you’ll have to amend your aircraft’s airworthiness certificate by the end of this month. If not, your current certificate will expire and the aircraft will never again be eligible for an updated […]

Last week, Cessna has announced the resumption of production of its Sovereign twinjet. The company also announced it had hired back 60 workers, with 120 more to be reinstated in the coming weeks. Even with the announcement, Cessna now plans to build even fewer jets in 2010 than the 275 it delivered last year. That […]

When NASCAR’s Cessna 310 crashed in June 2007 following an in flight fire, it touched off a process that has yielded a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin. The twin crashed, killing both pilots and three on the ground. The new SAIB involves the practice of taking off with “a known and unresolved discrepancy.” It is believed […]

Flying Editor Emeritus Richard Collins once told me he preferred not seeing his airplane all torn apart during its annual inspection. And there is certainly no stauncher advocate of doing maintenance right. He just chose to keep the elbow grease at arm’s length, and it worked just fine for him. Owner participation in the annual […]

So far, 2010 doesn’t look to be much more friendly for GA than 2009. A New Year’s Eve story by reporter Thomas Frank in USA Today questions whether using FAA funds is appropriate for airports that are privately owned. The article specifies airport properties that are not owned by cities, counties or other municipalities, where […]

It you are one of the pilots who has not yet traded in your old paper certificate for an updated, tamperproof version, you have until March 31 to make the change. After that date, you will be ineligible to exercise your privileges with a paper certificate. When you do make the change, you can also […]

Eclipse Aerospace LLC, which acquired the rights to the former Eclipse Aircraft Co. last August, reports it is upgrading and completing 28 new Eclipse 500s it acquired as part of the deal. The new company, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, expects to be selling the factory-new aircraft as early as this spring. Investors Mike Press […]