Search Results for: general aviation inc

Pilots have been grumbling about a variety of new FAA policies of late, but not this one. The agency yesterday introduced guidance for makers and installers of angle of attack (AOA) indicators aimed at streamlining the approval process and in turn making it simpler and less expensive to add the safety devices to small airplanes. […]

A student pilot called recently about scheduling a private practical test and mentioned that he had logged several hundred hours over a number of years. He then explained he’d surrendered his private pilot certificate after an accident — well, actually, after two accidents. Somehow he’d avoided any FAA action on the first one, a sort […]

Every pilot knows that flying is an intense mixture of uncommon rewards offset with exposure to risk. After all, while airplanes provide some of the greatest pleasures in our lifetimes, they do have to reach a lethal speed just to get airborne and then fly at thousands of feet above the ground. Balancing the risk/reward […]

Anybody in the market for a new light piston twin won’t have to spend much time creating a list of potential airplanes to buy. As long as we can agree that the French single-seater Cri Cri and the open cockpit AirCam don’t quite cut it as viable options in the quest for a do-it-all twin, […]

French airframer Daher-Socata released delivery figures for its TBM 850 turboprop single in 2013, and the total of 40 aircraft delivered represents an increase of 5 percent. Most of the 320-knot (FL 260, ISA conditions) turboprops went to North American buyers, with four going to Europe and three more to buyers in Brazil, China and […]

The parent companies of Gulfstream and Cessna each reported positive year-end financial results, although for very different reasons — profits at Gulfstream soared to record numbers in 2013, while Cessna reported a smaller loss this year than last. Both manufacturers, however, are hinting that 2014 will be a very good year. Gulfstream hauled in revenues […]

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is examining nanotechnology that could lead to inexpensive head-up displays (HUDs) for general aviation aircraft. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army Research Office. A proof of concept prototype of the system was recently shown publicly. Using nanotechnology, the […]

The National Transportation Safety Board’s 2014 “Most Wanted” list of transportation safety concerns includes, “General Aviation: Identify and Communicate Hazardous Weather,” and “Address Unique Characteristics of Helicopter Operations,” as two of 10 issues the Board says deserve increased focus in the coming year. In the 2014 Most Wanted list released today, the NTSB stated: “The […]

Sport pilots don’t have to have an FAA medical certificate to serve as pilot in command (PIC) of a machine meeting the light sport aircraft (LSA) definition. Instead, they must only carry a valid driver’s license. Since the sport pilot and LSA rules went into effect in 2004—10 years ago—the affected aircraft have not been falling out of the sky because their operators aren’t physically fit. We call that a success.

Only five percent of general aviation accidents during 2010 occurred in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). But these accidents comprised 18 percent of all fatal crashes that year, and almost two-thirds of them proved fatal. According to the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s 2011 Nall Report, this is a familiar pattern.