Stephen Pope

I attended a meeting last night at Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU) in New Jersey, where officials from the tower and the FAA were on hand to discuss with local pilots the new Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) system that many have likened to an ATC snitching program. Here’s a quick overview in case you aren’t familiar […]

I’ve always been intrigued by accelerated flight training courses that promise to add on the next rating or certificate in a fixed number of days for a set price. Maybe it’s because the concept is so far removed from how I learned to fly back in the 1980s. At the local grass strip where I […]

Cessna Aircraft has temporarily suspended sales of the single-engine 162 Skycatcher in Europe as the lightplane maker works with European airworthiness officials on certification for the model. As a result, Cessna is honoring requests to return deposits to customers in Europe who hold Skycatcher delivery positions. French Cessna dealer Aeromecanic caused a minor furor when […]

Boeing and All Nippon Airways made history this week, flying a 787 Dreamliner across the Pacific Ocean powered in part by aviation biofuel. The brand new 787 flew from Washington state to Japan using a biofuel blend made mainly from used cooking oil. The airplane emitted an estimated 30 percent less CO2 emissions compared to […]

Cessna Aircraft showed positive momentum in the first quarter of the year, posting a big revenue increase to go along with reduced losses as the company delivered more airplanes. Cessna reported $669 million in revenue in the quarter, compared with $556 million a year ago, according to numbers released by parent Textron. Cessna also posted $6 million in […]

Now that the weather is turning warmer, the days are growing longer and you’re having a hard time thinking of anything other than your airplane and all the places you’ll fly this summer, you’ve probably been dreaming about upgrades too. If you’re the typical aircraft owner, your wish list is probably a mile long and […]

With the strong backing of its new Chinese owners, Cirrus Aircraft on Wednesday announced that the long-gestating Vision SF50 single-engine jet program has received full funding through certification and into initial production, now anticipated to start in 2015. “Today is simply a tremendous milestone for Cirrus,” said Dale Klapmeier, CEO and cofounder of Cirrus Aircraft. […]

Burdened by an enormous debt load and continuing weakness in the business jet market, Hawker Beechcraft last Friday reported losses of $632.8 million in 2011, more than double what the company lost in 2010 and the latest sign that it is on a rapid path toward bankruptcy. Revenue at Hawker Beechcraft last year reached $2.44 […]

Think you know airplane noise? Put your knowledge of vintage aircraft to the test with our engine sounds quiz. We’ll give you several different engine noises to listen to and then ask you to match them up with the airplanes that make them. Launch the quiz here.

I recently spent a week on a sailboat as a guest of an experienced captain and his first mate – in this case, literally so because she is also his wife. This was my first real exposure to sailing on the open sea, of which past experiences have been confined to the occaisional summer afternoon, […]