Aircraft

A Learjet 36 hit a construction crane and crashed on approach to Grand Bahama International Airport on Sunday, killing a well-known local religious leader and eight others onboard. Dr. Myles Munroe, leader of the Bahamas Faith Ministries, his wife Ruth and other passengers and crew, had been traveling from the Bahamas capital of Nassau to […]

Bell Helicopter took its latest five-seat design, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, on its maiden flight yesterday, bringing the helicopter one step closer to certification. The flight took off from the company’s Mirabel, Quebec, manufacturing facility and lasted about 30 minutes. This initial test flight included hovering and two laps in the pattern flanked […]

Piaggio Aerospace officially opened a sprawling new factory in Villanova d’Albenga, Italy, today, where the recently restructured company is moving all its aircraft production. The maker of the Avanti Evo pusher twin recently changed its name from Piaggio Aero Industries to Piaggio Aerospace and announced a company-wide reorganization splitting the manufacturer into three units, one […]

Deliveries of general aviation piston airplanes climbed by 9.2 percent through the first three quarters of this year compared with the same time period in 2013, showing a mix of bright and not-so-bright products and market trends. According to the latest numbers released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, a total of 806 piston singles […]

Initial customer deliveries of Cessna’s new diesel-powered 182 JT-A won’t be made until some time in 2015 as engineers continue to hone the design, the first production piston single from the manufacturer intended to run on jet-A fuel rather than avgas. Cessna last spring said certification of the 182 JT-A was “imminent” after stumbles in […]

At the Flying Aviation Expo in Palm Springs, California, this weekend the Lightspeed Aviation Foundation announced the winners of its Pilots Choice Award grants, which generously give to aviation-related charitable organizations. Grants of between $2,000 and $10,000 were awarded to eight aviation charities based on votes submitted by the public online. Pilots N Paws, which […]

The inaugural Flying Aviation Expo is in the books and I’ve got to tell you, I’m a little bummed. It’s that same post-show letdown I get after each Sun ‘n Fun and Oshkosh. I’m completely worn out from the frenzy of it all, and still, I didn’t want the party to end. In the case […]

The test pilot who was killed in last Friday’s crash of** Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo** prematurely unlocked the craft’s feathering tail structure, most likely leading to a catastrophic inflight breakup high over the Mojave Desert, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said the error was made by 39-year-old copilot Michael […]

The Templeton, California-based startup Micronautix unveiled the Triton turboprop concept on Friday at the Flying Aviation Expo in Palm Springs, California. The unique design features a central fuselage flanked by two pods that each have tandem seating for two, altogether providing total seating for 3 to 5 passengers throughout the airplane. Charlee Smith, the man […]

The IFR Proficiency Center at the Flying Aviation Expo was abuzz this weekend with fliers putting their stick and rudder prowess to the test with Redbird Flight Simulator scenarios designed to mimic real-life flight situations. The Proficiency Center, located in the center of the exhibit hall and manned by the National Association of Flight Instructors, […]