Aircraft

In 2010, I traveled to Haiti to deliver medical supplies in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that leveled much of the area in and around impoverished Port-au-Prince. It was no surprise that the crew of a Quest Kodiak beat me there. After all, the Kodiak was created to serve as a primary workhorse for […]

Just before the start of HAI’s Heli-Expo, which opens its doors next week in Anaheim, California, the FAA has finalized a rule that aims to improve helicopter safety. The new rule requires helicopter operators to include additional safety equipment, improve communications and procedures and impose additional training requirements for their pilots. In developing the rule, […]

A new Texas company called Mallard Aircraft says it plans to bring the Turbine Mallard back into production more than 40 years after the original PT6-powered amphibian first took to the skies. The newly produced Turbine Mallard would use a pair of Pratt & Whitney PT6A engines and modern Rockwell Collins avionics, according to the […]

Premier Aircraft Sales has launched an upgrade program for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk that adds a new Continental/Centurion 2.0 diesel engine to the airplane to go along with fresh paint, new interior and modern glass avionics. The first airplane upgraded under the program is a 1997 Cessna 172R model with a sticker price of $289,500 […]

Look for the Learjet 85 to make its hotly anticipated first flight in the coming weeks after Bombardier completed engine ground runs and low-speed taxi tests prior to receiving the necessary first-flight permit from the FAA. The Learjet 85 is the first all-new airplane from the manufacturer in more than 15 years. Launched in 2007, […]

In clear, cool Kansas-winter skies, Cessna took its latest bizjet offering, the Citation Latitude, on its first flight yesterday morning. The two Pratt & Whitney PW306D turbofan engines that power the midsized business jet took it up to 28,000 feet and 200 knots, the upper speed limit for the flight. The Latitude has a ceiling […]

The FAA has signed off on a supplemental type certificate that brings new capabilities to the Eclipse 550 very light jet, the new version of the Eclipse 500 now in production in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The STC adds auto throttles and anti-skid brakes (ABS), reducing the workload for the pilot and enabling the airplane to […]

Cirrus Aircraft is rolling out a new nationwide pilot training initiative aimed at enticing new students to learn to fly in a Cirrus. The 2014 JumpStart Program introduces a special version of the Cirrus SR20 to partner flight schools that the Duluth, Minnesota-based lightplane manufacturer says makes the ideal training and personal transportation airplane. Cirrus […]

There is new evidence that when Cessna Aircraft CEO Scott Ernest said at the NBAA Convention in October that the Skycatcher has “no future,” he meant it. While no official word has come out of Wichita, Cessna has removed all traces of the LSA from the single-engine product line on its website, seemingly moving the […]

After a five-year production hiatus, Mooney is again building airplanes in Kerrville, Texas — albeit at a slow pace for now. Mooney International Corp. CEO Jerry Chen confirmed that the troubled manufacturer has begun production of the first new Mooney since the factory closed in 2009. The assembly line will officially start moving again on […]