Stephen Pope

Every airplane has a power curve. And every power curve has a backside. It’s an area of the performance envelope in which induced drag rises dramatically, necessitating considerably more power to maintain a given airspeed and altitude. Venturing into this “region of reverse command” on approach can be particularly hazardous because as you “drag it […]

The Solar Impulse 2, a massive Swiss-made solar-powered airplane aiming to be the first to fly around the world next year, successfully completed its first test flight yesterday, climbing to nearly 6,000 feet and staying aloft for 2 hours and 17 minutes. The Solar Impulse 2 is a larger version of its predecessor, the original […]

Bombardier is beginning the process of trying to determine what caused an uncontained engine failure during ground maintenance testing of CSeries Flight Test Vehicle 1 in Mirabel, Quebec, on May 29 that has halted the certification program for the narrow-body jetliner. One of the test airplane’s Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan engines failed during […]

The FAA says it is considering granting an exemption to the film and television industry that would allow commercial UAV operations with the government’s blessing after the Motion Picture Association of America helped a group of its members file a government petition. Seven aerial and video production companies are asking for regulatory exemptions that would […]

When you lay your towel down on a beach mere feet from the arrival end of an active runway, do you assume any of the responsibility for your personal safety? A German sunbather is likely contemplating that very question after a Piper Archer nearly landed on top of him recently as he relaxed on an […]

Two months after announcing the Citation CJ3+, Cessna yesterday celebrated the rollout of the first test airplane at its headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. The newest Citation twinjet, launched on March 20, is expected to receive FAA certification in the second half of the year, Cessna says. The CJ3+ will feature an upgraded Garmin G3000 flight […]

Military jets are scrambling on average more than once a week to intercept general aviation pilots who stray into restricted airspace, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Besides the potential danger involved in such intercepts, the incursions — 75 on average per year — cost tax payers millions of dollars, officials say. […]

After shutting down the D-Jet program and laying off most of its employees in Canada early last year, Diamond Aircraft’s North American division has been making a quiet comeback. That resurgence was in full evidence with the news yesterday that Diamond Industries Canada and Northrop Grumman are forming a long-term partnership to develop and produce […]

Less than a month after the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency would review its policy of stopping and searching general aviation aircraft without evidence of wrongdoing, a CBP spokesman has publicly stated that the controversial program is being altered “so as not to needlessly affront law-abiding pilots.” Flying and other […]

Work crews finished hauling away the largest of the rocks and muddy stumps only a few days ago, turning what had been a leafy hill behind the Just Aircraft factory in tiny Walhalla, South Carolina, into a rutted, scarred clearing barely the size of a football field. Even my host, company co-founder Troy Woodland, doesn’t […]