Stephen Pope

As the busy summer flying season kicks off, the FAA is taking a slightly different approach to safety by asking pilots, well, to fly safely. In an open letter to the general aviation community sent just before the Memorial Day weekend, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta implored aviators to “make sure you’re ready – really ready […]

It was a sad day for volunteers of Angel Flight Northeast after a Piper Seneca on a mission for the group crashed in Upstate New York on Friday, killing a cancer patient, his wife and the pilot. The airplane had taken off from Hanscom Field near Bedford, Massachusetts, with the brain cancer patient — whose […]

The first production example of the new Cessna 182 JT-A Turbo Skylane made its inaugural flight this week, ushering in a new era as the first modern single-engine piston airplane designed specifically to run on jet-A. “The Turbo Skylane JT-A performed just as expected,” said Cessna senior test pilot Dale Bleakney. “The weather conditions were […]

An Arizona company called Airworthy AutoGas said it plans to start production of a high-purity, low-vapor-pressure 93 octane unleaded aviation gasoline this fall that could replace 100LL avgas in about 80 percent of piston airplanes. “A growing number of general aviation aircraft do not require 100LL avgas or a 100 octane unleaded drop-in replacement,” noted […]

No doubt you’ve heard by now that Icon Aircraft is asking the FAA for an exemption to LSA weight rules for the company’s sleek Icon A5 light sport amphibian. Specifically, the company is seeking a 250-pound max gross weight increase above the LSA limit of 1,430 pounds. Without the exemption, it’s unlikely the A5 can […]

A pilot recently posted a video on YouTube and suggested his fellow aviators have a look. He was showing off his new GoPro camera setup in a Cessna 172. As the video starts, the first thing the viewer sees is the pilot taxiing toward the departure runway while simultaneously texting on his smartphone. The airplane […]

GE Aviation says interest in its H80 turboprop engine family has been stronger than expected, leading to a decision to increase production this year to meet customer demand. The H80, a modernized version of the 1960s-era Walter M601, has been certified on the Thrush 510G agplane, as well as by Aircraft Industries in Europe for […]

If you’ve ever wondered why the FAA’s pilot written exams still contain questions about outdated technologies like loran, microwave landing systems and VHF/DF steer, you’re not alone. A special pilot testing working group has identified dozens of questions on the Private, Commercial and ATP written tests that it says are obsolete. It is asking the […]

The FAA this week sent out a general aviation safety “fact sheet” identifying several technologies the agency says can help significantly curb the fatal accident rate. While the list includes several of the typical technologies we think of as promoting safety such as Nexrad weather receivers, traffic and terrain awareness systems and ballistic parachutes, the […]

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Friday afternoon announced that the recently enacted Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 will allow the FAA to transfer enough money to keep 149 contract towers originally slated for closure in June open at least through the end of the fiscal year. The legislation passed late last month included language […]