Search Results for: Citation X

What’s the coolest airplane in the world, at least that a civilian could buy? There are some impressive contenders for that unofficial title, including a couple I’ve had the chance to fly in the past year, such as the Gulfstream G650 and the Cessna Citation X+. We recently got the chance to fly yet another […]

Change is certainly a constant in aviation. Beyond aircraft technological advances, the rules that govern how air traffic control handles those aircraft are also frequently adjusted. One area in particular thats seen significant discussion and change in the past three years is opposite direction operations (ODO). The official Pilot/Controller Glossary defines ODO: Aircraft are operating in opposite directions when: a. They are following the same track in reciprocal directions; or b. Their tracks are parallel and the aircraft are flying in reciprocal directions; or c. Their tracks intersect at an angle of more than 135 degrees.

A little more than two years after Gulfstream achieved certification for the ultra-long-range G650, an airplane that held the crown as the fastest civilian airplane in the world until Cessna’s Citation X+ reclaimed the spot this year, the Savannah, Georgia-based company announced it has delivered the 100th airplane in the series. That is a very […]

Wheels Up, the membership-based private aviation company launched last year in the Northeast with a fleet of Beechcraft King Air 350i turboprops, announced today that the service is expanding into Texas and several surrounding states. Earlier this year the start-up company began basing airplanes on the West Coast, leaving the Chicago region as the last […]

Check out the 25 coolest aircraft according to Flying magazine’s editors.

Fascination with creating the fastest airplanes has existed since the dawn of aviation. The first air races sprung up as early as 1909 and speed records quickly reached new highs, pushing aerodynamic engineers to reduce drag. As engine technology advanced, aircraft were designed around these new power plants, and over time the introduction of wind […]

The long, slow process to find an alternative to leaded aviation fuel took a step forward in July when the FAA said it will start to evaluate nine possible replacement fuels from five producers. Avgas is the only transportation fuel in the U.S. that still contains added lead, a substance banned from most fuels due to its toxicity. The FAA has set a goal to find a new, unleaded aviation fuel by 2018. This summer, the FAA will analyze the candidate fuels in terms of their impact on the fleet of 167,000 lead-fuel-burning GA aircraft, the production and distribution infrastructure, their environmental impact, toxicology, and cost. By September 1, the FAA will select several of the fuels for further testing. The nine proposals now under evaluation were received from Afton Chemical Company, Avgas LLC, Shell, Swift Fuels, and a consortium of BP, Total, and Hjelmco.

Awhile back we got a note from a reader based at Denver Centennial. He was concerned about a speed restriction on their ILS Runway 35R. We did a little digging and found that the FAA had already concluded this wasnt such a good idea and removed the restriction. However, this still makes good fodder for these pages, so lets take a closer look.

For the second year in a row, the National Transportation Safety Board cited general aviation safety as one of its 10 Most Wanted improvements. Too many pilots and passengers are dying due to human error and inadequate training, the NTSB said. The GA accident rate is six times higher than for Part 135 operations and the GA fatal accident rate has increased 25 percent over 10 years. The board said better training is needed for…

Ive got a Cessna 172 rolling out on the runway, an American Eagle Embraer 145 on two-mile final, a Beechcraft Bonanza in the downwind with a pair of V-22 Osprey tiltrotors inbound to follow, a Lifeflight medical helicopter departing a hospital next door, and a pair of Navy T-45 Goshawk jet trainers calling me, ready at the hold short line.