Flying Staff

It’s a lot like the early days of the Volkswagen. In the late ’50s when you drove a VW Beetle and you saw another one on the road, you tooted, flashed your lights and waved. There just weren’t that many on the highways so a sighting was an occurrence. Today, when I’m flying and I […]

It was late fall. An unusual weather system had impacted the New York area. The system brought with it some scattered convective activity and high winds blowing almost directly from the east. The disturbed air was a turbulent nightmare. Our 727 was being battered as though it was a rowboat that had been set adrift […]

The National Business Aviation Association presented Flying‘s Mac McClellan its 2008 David W. Ewald Platinum Wing Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism at the annual convention in Orlando last October. NBAA President Ed Bolen cited McClellan’s more than 30 years as an aviation journalist, more than 10,000 hours of flying, and hundreds of articles and […]

Years in the making, the latest security initiative from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been unveiled. The Large Aircraft Security Program will regulate private operators of business jets weighing 12,500 pounds or more. Jets of this size constitute a large percentage of the private bizjet fleet. The regulations require compliance from operators of Part […]

All-new design airplanes from startup companies are often called “paper airplanes” because the company has no track record of producing any kind of airplane. So when you design a paper airplane, you should shoot for the moon, and Stratos, a new would-be jet maker in Bend, Oregon, has with its Model 714 personal jet. For […]

PlaneSmart, the Texas-based shared ownership company that manages a growing fleet of brand-new Cirrus SR22 turbocharged singles, is expanding its operation in an interesting way, offering managed shares in existing turbine airplanes. Under the plan, PlaneSmart works with existing owners to offer their late-model airplane-Socata TBMs, Pilatus PC12s and Piper Meridians are excellent prospects-under PlaneSmart’s […]

Last week, the Austin, Texas, zoning board voted in favor of a variance needed to substantially spruce up the feathers at Bird’s Nest Airport, which is located 13 nm north-northeast of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (KAUS). Austin’s general aviation pilots essentially lost two facilities when Robert Mueller Field closed in 1999. Austin Executive Airport closed soon […]

It’s business aviation’s biggest get-together, and this year, in Orlando, Florida, it takes place just weeks ahead of a Presidential election. In a new format this year, the 61st annual convention runs Monday through Wednesday (Oct. 6-8). The Orange County Convention Center is the site of the exhibit halls and many of the meetings and […]

Frasca International in Urbana, Illinois, has received an FAA contract to develop and build a flight training device (FTD) for the Cessna Citation Mustang light jet. Frasca is a world leader in FTDs, and the Level 5 unit for the Mustang is to be delivered to the FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. […]

More than 200 volunteer NBAA members and staff will don work gloves this Saturday to help construct a new aviation-themed playground in the Orlando area. Working in conjunction with KaBOOM, a nonprofit organization that specializes in such projects, NBAA will join local residents in the Hollowbrook Apartments community in constructing the facility. Located near Orlando […]