Stephen Pope

Normally if I heard about a documentary that purported to uncover “new” evidence about the TWA Flight 800 disaster, I would roll my eyes. But I’m actually quite interested to see the film and am approaching it with an open mind. Here’s why. The crash of Flight 800 into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast […]

When the weather’s truly awful the decision to stay on the ground rather than fly is easy. But you’ve budgeted this time for flying anyway so why not get some use out of it? You might instead decide to “chair fly,” where you sit down and mentally go through various checklist items. If you have […]

There were plenty of storylines worth following as the Paris Air Show opened yesterday at the famed Le Bourget Airport. The Russians are filling the void left by the absence of U.S. military aircraft and the heated rivalry between Boeing and Airbus is growing more fierce as billions of dollars in deals are on the […]

The most talked-about airplane rental concept to come along in recent memory is officially open for business with the launch of OpenAirplane, a network of FBOs and flight schools that lets pilots receive one annual checkout and then rent airplanes at locations across the country. Because the service is so new, OpenAirplane is limited to […]

Photo by Terry Shepherd| Perusing the for-sale sections of used-jet websites turns up some intriguing listings for older Citations, Learjets, Falcons and Gulfstreams, many of which are selling for less than the price of a typical high-performance piston single. When you can pick up a Cessna Citation I/SP for around the same price as a […]

There’s been no shortage of companies seeking to take good business jets and make them a whole lot better by upgrading their performance, providing a fresh coat of paint, adding modern interiors and selling them for millions less than a new jet. It’s not a bad idea — if you can target just the right […]

It’s a debate that could ignite a feud between the North and South. This week Connecticut legislators passed a bill that includes a paragraph buried within its text stating that Gustave Whitehead and not the Wright Brothers should be recognized as the first to fly — at least north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. North […]

In a vote of confidence for Eclipse Aerospace’s friction-stir welding manufacturing process, the FAA has agreed to double the service life of the Eclipse 500 and 550 to 20,000 hours/20,000 cycles with an unlimited calendar life. According to the company, that means Eclipse Jet owners can fly for 50 years at typical use rates. To […]

It looks like a routine ILS approach as the crew of a Boeing Business Jet descends through 500 feet toward the runway on a gray, rainy day. On reaching minimums at around 200 feet, the airplane is on glidepath and a landing appears certain as the rabbit lights and runway are clearly visible straight ahead. […]

One of the serious drawbacks of training with a PC flight simulator is the viewing limitation that generally restricts what we can see to a narrow field straight ahead. That can make for awkward pattern work as virtual pilots toggle between forward and side views to judge their proximity to the runway. Now, a new […]