Aircraft

Fiscal year 2013 was less unlucky than 2012 for fatal accidents among the experimental category. There were 55 accidents involving fatalities this year, compared with 73 last year, a 25 percent decrease. The accidents resulted in 70 deaths, down 18 percent from the 85 who lost their lives in 2012. EAA also reports that the […]

The FAA and EASA have signed off on the type certification for a five-bladed Hartzell propeller specifically designed to improve the performance of Daher-Socata’s TBM 700 and 850 single-engine turboprops. The composite propeller has a thin, swept airfoil that Hartzell claims improves takeoff acceleration, climb rates and cruise speeds, while producing less noise than the […]

New aircraft models move through the design phase with clear milestone goals. One of the major achievements comes when the wing assembly and fuselage meet for the first time. For the in-development Cessna Citation Latitude, that event occurred last week, and Cessna is celebrating. “It is very rewarding,” said Terry Shriner, Cessna’s business leader for […]

Piper said it will unveil its new iPad-based Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) app at AOPA Summit later this month. The project, which will start with Piper’s M-class and twin-engine models, uses Aircraft Technical Publishers (ATP) HubConnect app. Piper vice president of sales and marketing Drew McEwen said, “Our collaboration with ATP gives the owners and […]

As Embraer is gearing up for the National Business Aviation Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas, which is coming up on October 22 through 24, the company has leaked a few tidbits of what showgoers can expect to see at the Embraer booth and at the static displays inside the convention center and at Henderson […]

Just four years after picking up the fragments of the old Eclipse company, Eclipse Aerospace will have the first all-new model on display at the NBAA show in Las Vegas next month. The Eclipse 550 is based on the original 500 as modified by the new company’s “Total Eclipse” program. About 50 of the original […]

Faced with crippling losses of an estimated $995 million in the last quarter, Canadian-based BlackBerry has sold its Bombardier Global Express and shuttered its Waterloo, Ontario, flight department. The staff will be among 4,500 to be laid off, a cutback confirmed in a company statement issued last week. “In light of the company’s current business […]

Boeing has delivered the final C-17 produced for the Air Force, two decades after the massive four-engine transport began military duty. Officials took delivery of the C-17 Globemaster III — the 223rd sold to the Air Force — during a ceremony attended by hundreds of workers at Boeing’s Long Beach, California, assembly plant. The factory […]

Sunstate Aviation in Phoenix took delivery of the 100th Quest Kodiak turboprop single last week. In a ceremony at Kodiak’s factory in Sandpoint, Idaho, Quest CEO Sam Hill said, “Since the beginning, we have been committed to building a rugged, reliable aircraft that provides operators the versatility to accomplish any mission.” Sunstate founder Mike Watts […]

More than 100 people recently turned out for the opening of a fuel processing facility in Lafayette, Indiana, built to produce a new unleaded high-octane aviation gasoline called 100SF. Designed as a drop-in replacement for 100LL, the fuel can be safely used in GA piston airplanes, said officials from Swift Fuels LLC, based in the […]