Stephen Pope

GE Aviation on Monday launched a new turboprop engine for the general aviation market, saying its Advanced Turboprop will offer unparalleled performance and efficiency when it reaches the market in 2018. The first application for the product is a single-engine turboprop under development by Textron with room to accommodate up to 12 people and offer […]

Sandel, a name from the avionics world you might not be intimately familiar with, has unveiled a retrofit cockpit for the King Air 200 that is as noteworthy for the capabilities it packs inside as it is for its unusual pricing strategy. The new Sandel Avilon avionics system includes four large LCD flight displays, two […]

Ascension Air, the Atlanta-based Cirrus SR22 timeshare provider, has struck a deal with ONE Aviation to add the Eclipse 550 very light jet to its fleet. It marks the first time any fractional-ownership company has offered shares in jets for the owner-flown market. The Eclipse owners can choose to earn a type rating in the […]

Third-class medical reform is moving forward in the Senate, but you might not like the compromises that are being made to the original bill to allow it to reach the floor for a vote. When Sen. James Inhofe last February introduced the Pilots Bill of Rights 2 in a quest to reform third-class medical requirements, […]

The long-awaited Mitsubishi Regional Jet made its maiden flight on Wednesday, marking Japan’s first foray into commercial aviation in more than 50 years. The MRJ completed a one-hour flight from Nagoya Airport to officially start the test program for Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.’s 100-seat regional jet after three years of delays. The jetliner will compete directly […]

Emirates Flight Training Academy, the flight training organization operated by Dubai-based airline Emirates, has selected the Cirrus SR22 for its primary training aircraft fleet, the companies announced at this week’s Dubai Airshow. Cirrus will supply 22 airplanes for the training program at Al Maktoum International-Dubai World Central Airport in support of the Emirates’ National Cadet […]

We’re mere weeks away from seeing the FAA’s first take on revised small aircraft certification standards, what has come to be known as the Part 23 rewrite. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said the notice of proposed rulemaking should be published before the end of the year, a time table he’s hopeful the agency can meet […]

Diamond Aircraft’s DA62 diesel twin will make its North American debut later this month at the NBAA Convention in Las Vegas, where the Austrian light plane maker is also planning a “relaunch” party of sorts for the brand after a few relatively quiet years with a somewhat diminished U.S. profile. That’s all changing with the […]

A rare scene was caught on video in the skies over Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Tuesday when former Walmart CEO Bill Simon experienced engine trouble en route to Waco, Texas, and popped the ballistic parachute on his Cirrus SR22, floating to safety as amazed onlookers watched. According to a recording of the incident at LiveATC.net, ATC […]

One of the most-often busted federal aviation regulations is VFR cloud clearances. That’s because pilots often have a hard time judging how close they really are to clouds. We all know that in Class E airspace below 10,000 feet msl we need at least 3 statute miles of visibility and must remain 500 feet below, […]