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At its annual State of the Industry press conference in Washington, D.C., the General Aviation Manufacturers Association released the General Aviation aircraft delivery numbers for 2018. For the first time in five years, all segments of the industry showed increased numbers. GAMA’s chairman and Gulfstream’s president Mark Burns announced an overall increase of 4.7 percent […]

The Airbus A220 became the smallest airliner to be approved for 180-minute extended diversion time operations (EDTO), formerly ETOPS, and that could open up lucrative transoceanic routes outside of the normal hubs. The former Bombardier CSeries program, which was acquired by Airbus in July of 2018, targets the 100-150-seat niche and the approval by Transport Canada widens the scope of operations for the highly regarded fly-by-wire airliner. The aircraft was also approved for steep approaches of up to six degrees last summer and with EDTO approval, direct flights from London City Centre Airport to the east coast of North America would be allowed. The approval will also allow the aircraft to be used between Hawaii and the western U.S.

Ever wonder how the FAA came up with 91.211 requiring oxygen use above 12,500 feet MSL for more than 30 minutes and any time over 14,000 feet MSL? The answer is geography, not physiology. When these rules were written, oxygen systems were expensive and heavy. General aviation wanted to fly anywhere in the U.S. without oxygen, and you can fly any mountain pass in the 48 contiguous U.S. states in less than 30 minutes between 12,500 feet and 14,000 feet MSL.

Lets connect some dots. In 1969, NARCO (now defunct) introduced the CLC-60 VORTAC Offset Control Panel that allowed navigation to a phantom fix defined as a distance and direction (rho-theta) from an existing VORTAC. It was touted as the first RNAV system. In the 80s, Bendix/Kings KNS-80 Integrated Navigation System might be considered the first practical RNAV navigator (it had VOR, LOC, DME, RNAV, and GS). Like the CLC-60, it could electronically move a VORTAC and was IFR certified.

Bye Aerospace’s electric Sun Flyer 2 successfully completed the first official flight test last week powered by a Siemens 57 lb.-SP70D electric motor with a 90kW peak power rating (120 HP) and a continuous power setting of up to 70kW (94 HP). The Sun Flyer family of aircraft, including the 2-seat Sun Flyer 2 and […]

Nominees for the 2018 Robert J. Collier Trophy comprise a large field of contenders from a diverse array of aviation and aerospace entities, with a total of 11 nominees vying for the prestigious annual award this year. Nominees for 2019 include the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (AGCAS), Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor, Boeing T-X jet […]

Speedy airplanes separated into six classes: Unlimited, Jet, Sport, T-6, Formula One, and Biplane, are once again set to battle it out around the pylons at the STIHL National Championship Air Races, scheduled at the Reno-Stead Airport on September 11 through 15. Returning for the first time in nearly a decade, the U.S. Air Force […]

Well, the cops say, “nobody knows what goes on in a squad car.” And all married people know that no one outside ever knows what goes on in a marriage. My particular racket is show business, and I can report, from 40 years’ experience, that nobody who wasn’t there knows what happened on a movie […]

General Aviation pilots in Erie, Pennsylvania, are up in arms after they say the airport is treating them unfairly in an effort to push away general aviation traffic from the Erie International Airport (KERI). The Erie Regional Airport Authority recently implemented a $2,000 annual licensing fee as well as insurance requirements of $1 million for […]

It fascinates me that many GA pilots of single-engine airplanes cruise at such low altitudes. Theyre apparently oblivious to the fact that they are flying behind a single engine and if it fails you are on short final to somewhere! Extra altitude not only increases your radius of action, it also adds extra time for trouble shooting (which might eliminate the initial problem altogether) and increases the probability that a Mayday call might be heard. The side benefits include greater aircraft efficiency, cooler temperatures in the summer and possibly a smoother ride, in addition to less-congested airspace. Those long, low, flat, power-on final approaches can put you in the trees if your engine even coughs on short final. Keep a little energy in the bank and make it SOP to shoot for a reasonable aiming point on the runway.