Mark Phelps

Daher-Socata unveiled its latest upgrade for the TBM series yesterday, the TBM 900. Retaining the same Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D engine rated at 850 shaft horsepower, the new model has improved performance based on aerodynamic optimization of the airframe and the engine air intake configuration. It also comes with a new five-blade composite propeller […]

Convicted of pointing a high-power laser at a police helicopter in 2012, 26-year-old Sergio Rodriguez has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Rodriguez targeted a Fresno Police helicopter with a laser estimated to be many times more powerful than a pen-size “pointer.” According to an AP story, the officers in the helicopter were […]

Since 1997, Cessna has been telling pilots of most of its light twins not to fly in known icing — but not all, as a previous report in Flying‘s eNewsletter suggested. Cessna issued a Mandatory Service Bulletin back then (MEB97-4) requiring that those twins not approved for flight in known icing (FIKI) have placards installed […]

If you have a wish list of (reasonably sized) items from Aircraft Spruce and you’re planning to attend the April 1-6 Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in, the company has got a deal for you. Complete your order by noon (EDT) on March 27, and Aircraft Spruce will load it on the truck and bring it across […]

If there is one word to characterize Robin Petgrave, it would probably have to be “vision.” Who else would think to name his organization “Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum”? Through his day job as founder and chief pilot of Torrance, California-based Celebrity Helicopters, Petgrave reached out to accomplish his further avocation — mentoring and inspiring young people […]

The past several years have seen some pretty frosty sales reports from light airplane manufacturers. But in advance of yesterday’s General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) luncheon, Beechcraft, Cirrus and Piper reported that sales are heating up. On the cusp of its ownership transition to Textron, Beech looked back fondly on its first year as an […]

The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) will host its second regional Pilot Proficiency Project (PPP) session on the weekend of March 8 to 9 in Melbourne, Florida. The event will be sponsored by the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and hosted at the school’s aviation division. A total of 14 seminars and 11 […]

On Monday FAA Administrator Michael Huerta met with general aviation leaders to discuss improving safety. There were 259 fatal accidents in 2013 with 449 total lives lost. That represents virtually flat numbers over the past six years, though the nature of accidents is changing. For example, accidents attributed to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) are […]

A Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) instructor pilot and student now have an uneven number of takeoffs and landings in their logbooks. Both qualified for membership in the Caterpillar Club by ejecting from their Beechcraft CT-156 Harvard II trainer during a routine training mission. The Harvard II is the Canadian version of the Texan II […]

French airframer Daher-Socata released delivery figures for its TBM 850 turboprop single in 2013, and the total of 40 aircraft delivered represents an increase of 5 percent. Most of the 320-knot (FL 260, ISA conditions) turboprops went to North American buyers, with four going to Europe and three more to buyers in Brazil, China and […]