Search Results for: Citation X

Even if he hadn’t obliterated a round-the-world light-jet record by some 21 hours, you’d still have to think 26-year-old Citation CJ2 owner-pilot Jared Isaacman is a remarkable individual. The New Jersey entrepreneur started his first business, a bank-card processing company, in his parents’ basement when he was 16. United Bank Card has grown to become […]

In late November Eclipse Aviation filed for bankruptcy, and investors, suppliers, Eclipse 500 owners and order holders lost well over $1 billion. There has never been a financial failure of this scale in the entire history of general aviation. Eclipse investors have lost hundreds of millions, but individuals are also big losers. Anybody who had […]

Airframe icing has been a safety hazard since the first pilots flew in cold clouds, or in freezing precipitation. Can you imagine those early mail pilots trying to get across Pennsylvania in the winter with its lumpy terrain, perpetual cloud cover and freezing temperatures? With all of those leading edges, struts and flying wires to […]

We have all been waiting for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to drop the bomb on private flying, and last fall it did with announcement of its new rules that impact all airplanes certified for takeoff weights above 12,500 pounds. In general, the TSA has taken the security procedures it inflicts on airlines and their […]

The Piaggio P.180 Avanti II is one of the most unusual, even exotic, looking airplanes in production today. When you look at the airplane and wonder “why did they do that,” the answer is always the same — to fly the biggest cabin the fastest for the least fuel. Efficiency drove every decision Piaggio engineers […]

Alan Klapmeier says clearly that he will continue to be involved day-to-day, and to “guide the direction” of Cirrus Design, the company he and his brother Dale founded. In a management shift scheduled to become effective on February 1, current chief operating officer Brent Wouters (formerly chief financial officer) will become CEO, and Klapmeier will […]

I realized I was taking a risk when I put out the request for feedback from pilots on what they want controllers to know. This would be a good opportunity to “rant” about controllers, and I was afraid I might get quite a few pilots who only wanted to complain. I didn’t need to worry. […]

This time, you did all your homework. You got a good night’s sleep. And maybe all your biorhythms were synched up just right. For whatever combination of reasons, you just cleaned your plate — completed your entire training syllabus with half an hour left on your simulator punch card. What would you do? This question […]

To an industry thirsting for relief from the current world financial crisis, the Middle East is a bubbling oasis of sales activity. At the recent Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show in Dubai, Wall Street’s woes seemed foreign, indeed. Business jet manufacturers were finding cash buyers for their wares with no sign of a credit […]

Listed in order of their impact on the respective companies, Mooney, Hawker Beechcraft and Cessna all announced this week that they will either scale back production, cut staff or both. A spokesman for Mooney said yesterday that employees had been notified the company was “scaling production to market demand.” He said the Mooney factory in […]