by Isabel Goyer

On the first day of AirVenture Cessna announced that its 162 SkyCatcher LSA had achieved ASTM certification. It’s equipped with a 100-hp Continental engine and the Garmin G300 integrated flat-panel avionics platform. The airplane will be assembled in China of U.S.-made components and then shipped back the United States for final assembly and delivery. Cessna […]

Piper announced that Jim Bass, who has led Piper to surprisingly good performance over the past four years as president and CEO, has resigned that position. Bass said that the move was a culmination of his turning the company around, preparing it for its sale last month to Imprimis. During his tenure, Piper revamped its […]

Diamond Aircraft has earned European certification for an Austro-engine-powered version of its Twin Star, the DA42 NG. The certification came on the heels of European certification of the Austro AE300 turbodiesel engine, developed by Diamond sister company Austro Engine for use in the revived twin. FAA approvals for both the airplane and engine are expected […]

Robinson Helicopter has been building its piston-powered helicopters in Torrance, California, for decades. Because they build so many of the parts that go into their aircraft, as opposed to most manufacturers who contract out many subassemblies, Robinson employs a lot of workers and uses a lot of factory floor space. The result is a busy […]

Cirrus Aircraft has introduced its lineup for 2009, and the new airplanes come with some very impressive available features. The big news is a known ice protection system, but there’s a raft of other recently announced upgrades, too, with a whole host of advanced acronyms available, EVS, SVT and FIKI, among many others, making the […]

It wasn’t much of an afternoon to go flying. The weather was less-than-great VFR, though any VFR at all was a good thing because the airplane we were flying, the Remos GX, is a light sport aircraft, or LSA. And LSAs, as you probably know, are by regulation and without exception VFR-only machines. The Remos […]

In a web conference late last year, Cirrus Design announced some key performance figures and weights for its Cirrus Vision jet, and it laid out a series of changes it has made to the jet as development has progressed. The four- to six-seat jet is slated for certification and first deliveries in late 2011 or […]

The 2009 edition of Heli Expo, the Helicopter Association International’s annual industry tradeshow, was held in Anaheim, California, in late February. It was one of the busiest HAI conventions in terms of attendees (15,728 on the first day alone) and exhibitors — a total of 584 with more than 70 helicopters on the show floor. […]

On Tuesday night, with no fanfare whatsoever, Congress left out a provision of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) that would have prohibited TARP beneficiaries from using bizjets. No word on exactly why the provision was deleted, but NBAA, among other aviation member organizations, is delighted. In a release on Wednesday, NBAA President Ed Bolen […]

The future of training seems to be with complete online courses you can access from anywhere, and if that’s the case, for Sporty’s the future begins right now. Already one of the leading providers of flight training materials, Sporty’s has pushed the envelope once again with its launch of four impressive online training courses: the […]