Aircraft

A couple of weeks before the National Business Aviation Association convention, at a gathering of journalists in Paris, French aircraft manufacturer Dassault launched its latest jet, the Falcon 5X, a twinjet. The project had been known as the SMS, though Dassault had never officially revealed any details of the program. The 5X, a 69,500-pound large-body […]

Embraer Executive Jets closed out 2013 with an important milestone in its Legacy 450 development program as it took the fly-by-wire mid-light business jet to the skies on December 28, meeting its targeted first-flight schedule. “The flight was a success,” said Embraer’s test pilot Eduardo Camelier, who flew the airplane with copilot Eugênio Cará. “The […]

Since shortly after World War I, civilian pilots have longed to recreate the exploits of famous aviators. Heroes and villains of the Great War, from the Red Baron to Eddie Rickenbacker, inspired people to fly and, in some cases, to fly like fighter pilots in military-inspired racing planes. But it was in the three decades […]

Cessna has extra reason to celebrate this holiday season after announcing the recent FAA certification of both the new Citation M2 and the Citation Sovereign+. The Cessna Citation M2 was first introduced in the fall of 2011 and intended as a step-up for Citation Mustang owners. Priced at $4.4 million, the M2 features Garmin G3000 […]

Following the announcement of the certification of the GE Honda HF120 engine last week, the HondaJet has received its type inspection authorization from the FAA. The TIA indicates that the HondaJet meets certain design requirements, and it allows FAA test pilots to begin the final testing phase required for type certification. Over the past couple […]

The Financial Times caused a stir with a report that Cessna parent company Textron has reached an agreement to buy Beechcraft for $1.4 billion. Neither company has commented on the story, which sent Textron’s stock soaring after the news first leaked on Friday. According to the report, Beechcraft hired Credit Suisse in October to identify […]

A new experimental airplane, the two-tandem-seat Thatcher CX5, has taken its maiden flight. Glen Bradley, who helped build and design the airplane together with the main designer, Dave Thatcher, was at the controls when the CX5 took off from the Jack Edwards Airport near Gulf Shores, Alabama. Bradley used one word to describe the visibility, […]

Bombardier achieved certification of its Learjet 70, a super-light-jet stalemate of the Learjet 75 that earned its approval papers a few weeks ago. Validation of the airplane, a revamped version of the Learjet 40, clears the way for immediate deliveries of the Model 70, which Bombardier launched in May 2012 amid a slowing market for […]

It’s been almost 20 years now that diesel technology has been a promising alternative for light general aviation, though the adoption of compression engines has taken longer and has suffered more teething pains than its proponents anticipated. I’ve had the chance to fly five different airplanes with four different diesel engines — the original Thielert, […]

GE Honda Aero Engines has earned Part 33 certification process for the HF120 turbofan engines, receiving the sign-off from the FAA last week. The news puts the much-anticipated HondaJet on a clear path to certification. A spokesman for HondaJet said now that the engines are certified, an update on the progress of the certification of […]