Aircraft

It is often said that a first-time airplane buyer should buy his or her last airplane first. The reasoning is, it makes little sense to invest in an airplane the pilot will outgrow or become bored with. A more expensive option may, in fact, prove to be a better long-term value by serving as a […]

The fourth test article in Gulfstream’s G700 development program made its first flight on October 2, adding to the fleet that will advance the model towards certification. The initial flight, which clocked 1 hour, 56 minutes, took the platform to an altitude of 41,000 feet and reached a speed of 0.89 Mach. The airplane’s primary […]

Textron Aviation announced on October 5 the FAA type certification of the upgrades to its Becchcraft King Air 300 series—the King Air 360 and 360ER—paving the way for deliveries to begin. The 360 and 360ER feature autothrottles from Innovative Solutions & Support that ease pilot workload in most phases of flight, including takeoff, climb, cruise, […]

In a normal year, Honeywell has released its annual Global Business Aviation Outlook in a kickoff event at the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. This year, the team at Honeywell delivered an advanced briefing to Flying ahead of the forecast’s debut on October 6. In that briefing, the tempered optimism stood […]

And then there were three: Textron Aviation continues apace with its flight test program on the twin turboprop, the Cessna SkyCourier, adding a third test article to the pre-production fleet. The aircraft, P2 in company parlance, made its first flight on September 28, 2020, in Wichita. That initial flight, led by pilots Todd Dafton and […]

When a highly-modified Piper Malibu Mirage broke ground in Cranfield, England, last week for a lap around the pattern and return for landing, from the ground it appeared to be a typical flight. What was notable about this short circuit around the airport was that the airplane was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, which […]

Embraer announced on September 28 that it had secured Brazilian ANAC and FAA approval for its synthetic vision system (Synthetic Vision Guidance System) upgrade to the Collins Pro Line Fusion flight deck on its Praetor 500 and 600 business jets. The manufacturer is the first to obtain such approval. SVGS operates independently of the enhanced […]

Some airplane models never reach 100 units—and few turboprops have reached the milestone that Daher celebrated on September 21, with the rollout of TBM number 1,000. The TBM 940 will be delivered to a US-based customer, James A. Hislop, an event marked during a grand ceremony at the Daher headquarters in Tarbes, France. Daher acquired […]

Tecnam has announced a special missions version of its P2012 Traveller piston twin, designated the Sentinel SMP, aimed at both government and private organizations around the globe. The model follows in the path of the P2006 Twin SMP, with additional payload, observation stations, and FIKI (flight into known icing) approval. The Sentinel SMP will wear […]

Diamond has restarted production of its DA20-C1 primary training aircraft. This time around, new DA20s are equipped with a G500TXi avionics suite. The aircraft is still powered by a 125HP Continental IO-240 engine. In a Diamond news release, the company said, “The DA20 was originally introduced in 1992 and exists in two variants, is certified […]