Stephen Pope

If you’re headed to Oshkosh later this month for EAA AirVenture, expect to see a lot more yellow on the grounds of Wittman Regional Airport — specifically, Piper Cub Yellow. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the legendary J-3 Cub, the model that launched Piper Aircraft Co. in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in 1937, and […]

If you missed the chance to comment on the AOPA/EAA proposal to allow private pilots to use their driver’s licenses in lieu of obtaining a third-class medical certificate, you still have time to weigh in. The FAA has granted an extension of the original comment period from July 2 to Sept. 14. The FAA received […]

Chinese state-owned manufacturer Avicopter this week received the type certificate for its AC311 light utility helicopter, expanding the AVIC subsidiary’s growing product portfolio. The AC311 is a single-engine helicopter that is reminiscent of the Eurocopter AS350. It has an mtow of 4,850 pounds, can carry six people and is offered with a choice of Honeywell […]

The **** JetBlue Airways pilot who was charged with interfering with a flight crew after he left the cockpit of his Airbus A320 and began ranting about religion and terrorists has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. A federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, issued the ruling during a bench trial on Tuesday for […]

A C-130 that crashed while battling a fire in South Dakota’s Black Hills on Sunday belonged to the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing based at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Four of the six crew members on board were killed and two others are in the hospital in serious condition, according to the U.S. […]

European aerospace giant Airbus will build its first U.S. factory in a move aimed at making the company more competitive against archrival Boeing. The new plant in Mobile, Alabama – due to open in 2015 – will employ 1,000 people when it reaches full production capacity. Airbus said it hopes the factory will lower costs […]

The forward slip can be a useful skill to master since it allows for fine-adjustment of the airplane’s height above the runway on final approach, allowing you to stay on glide path while maintaining your target approach airspeed. Slips are useful when you’re high and need to lose extra altitude in a hurry to make […]

An FAA committee that has taken on the daunting challenge of drawing up plans for the eventual switch from 100LL aviation fuel to unleaded avgas has submitted its final report. The conclusion? A “drop-in” replacement for 100LL currently doesn’t exist, and may in fact be technically infeasible, and anyway there’s little financial motive for major […]

Dissecting the just-released final report submitted by the FAA’s Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee (UAT ARC), here’s what you need to know about the future of 100LL avgas: • There’s no real financial motive for any of the major fuel suppliers to create an alternative to 100LL aviation gasoline because the market is so […]

For that special buyer who demands nothing less than the ultimate in luxury and comfort aloft, Eurocopter has put the EC 135 in the gifted hands of the designers at Hermès, the French fashion house known best for its ultrahigh-end leather handbags, shoes and accessories. The result is an interior space dominated by rich brown […]