Stephen Pope

General aviation airplane shipments fell slightly last year, from 2,376 aircraft delivered in 2014 to 2,267 in 2015, representing a slow-down in demand at a time when new piston, turboprop and jet models are poised to hit the market. According to the data released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association this week, shipments of piston-engine […]

The heads of two of the country’s largest and most influential aviation organizations told Congress this week that handing over control of ATC to a corporate board would be tantamount to giving major airlines “unbridled authority” of the air traffic control system. Speaking at a House Transportation hearing yesterday, NBAA president Ed Bolen said the […]

Jeff Pino, 61, the former president of helicopter maker Sikorsky and an avid general aviation pilot, was killed on Friday in the crash of his P-51D “Big Beautiful Doll” in Maricopa, Arizona, about 35 miles south of Phoenix. Also killed in the crash was Nicholas Tramontano, 72, a longtime friend of Pino’s. A former Army […]

Mark Van Tine, the long-time CEO of Jeppesen, is retiring on June 30 after more than 35 years with the Colorado company. In that time, he oversaw a transition from mountains of paper charts to the digital aviation avalanche that has largely supplanted it. Kevin Crowley, who has served as vice president of technology development […]

Opposition to FAA reauthorization legislation introduced in the House yesterday was swift, but not quite as loud as you might think based on the high level of emotion surrounding proposals out of Washington to privatize ATC. The National Business Aviation Association was clear in its longstanding disapproval of the plan to create a non-profit corporate […]

During a go-around in a piston single, especially a high-powered airplane with lots of engine torque and p-factor to overcome, making sure you add right rudder as you go to full power is critical. A great training exercise is to imagine that your right hand and right foot are mechanically connected as you begin the […]

PS Engineering has added InelliAudio spatial audio technology to the new PMA8000BTi audio panel, a version of the PMA800BT that adds the extra capability without upping the price. Shipments of the new units started yesterday. IntelliAudio is patented technology that PS Engineering licenses from the United States Air Force Laboratory. When activated, it places COM […]

Dornier Seawings has tapped the production resources available at Diamond Aircraft’s London, Ontario factory to produce the composite airframes for the new Seastar amphibious twin. The instantly recognizable Seastar features a pair of centerline-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprops mounted high above its 14-seat fuselage. Germany-based Dornier Seawings chose Diamond in Canada due to […]

MVP Aero, a would-be maker of an amphibious, folding-wing airplane designed to convert to a fishing boat or mobile camper, says flight testing of the ambitious design will take place in Maine at a former Navy base. The company will be a tenant at TechPlace, a business incubator at the former Navy base near the […]

Two influential congressmen and staunch supporters of general aviation have come out publicly to allay fears that a move to a non-profit, privatized ATC system would harm general aviation. Their promise? User fees for GA are off the table. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Todd Rokita (R-In.), both active general aviation pilots, penned an editorial […]