Aircraft

Italian airplane maker Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam is celebrating its 65th anniversary with the introduction of yet another light sport airplane, this one with “superlative performance.” Named after the company’s first production design, the Tecnam Astore will be unveiled at Aero Friedrichshafen, Germany, at the end of April. While few details regarding the Astore have been […]

Though his racing suit is devoid of sponsors’ patches, Jeff Bloch has built 13 racers over the years — but none quite like this one. The shiny aluminum race “car” is actually the fuselage of a 1956 Cessna 310 light twin, mated to the chassis of a 1987 Toyota minivan. Bloch (known as “Speedycop”) and […]

Dassault’s newest business jets, the Falcon 2000S and Falcon 2000LXS, have received European certification, the French manufacturer announced today. Approval from the FAA, the company said, is expected to follow shortly. Unveiled in May 2011 at EBACE in Geneva, the Falcon 2000S is the new entry-level product in the Falcon family. Equipped with upgraded EASy […]

Eclipse Aerospace announced this week that it has started up the engines on the first production Model 550 very light jet, the new version of the Eclipse 500, production of which ceased when Eclipse Aviation was forced into bankruptcy in November 2008. The two Pratt & Whitney PW610F engines that power the Eclipse 550 collectively […]

The FAA has signed off on night VFR operations for Yakima, Washington-based CubCrafters’ CC18-180 Top Cub. Several modifications were made to the airplane to meet the FAA requirements, including the addition of glare shields, fuel sight gauge lighting, instrument illumination and backlit placards. Some interior surfaces have been finished with non-reflective black and the taxi […]

Four men, including two inmates, face some two dozen charges in connection with a daring helicopter prison escape from the Saint-Jérôme Detention Centre about 20 miles northwest of Montreal. On Sunday, two accomplices posed as tourists and chartered a Robinson R44 helicopter from Mont Tremblant, about 30 miles north of the prison. After takeoff, they […]

Embraer is moving ahead with plans to build A-29 Super Tucano light attack airplanes in Florida after the Air Force rejected Beechcraft’s latest protest of the contract award. Embraer announced that it has signed a 10-year lease on a 40,000-square-foot hangar in Jacksonville, where the A-29 Super Tucanos for the U.S. Air Force Light Air […]

In the current economy, when any industry comes under negative public scrutiny, one surefire reaction from proponents is to promise it will create new jobs. Apparently to counter growing negative publicity over the increase use of drones, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) has done exactly that, releasing a study – one it […]

The FAA on Tuesday approved a plan to test changes to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s lithium-ion batteries in a bid to certify a new design and get the grounded airliners back in the air. The Boeing plan includes changes to the internal battery components to minimize the possibility of short-circuiting, which can lead to overheating […]

Hopes for bringing a B-29 Superfortress named Doc back to life grew stronger this week as several business leaders in Wichita came together to form a non-profit organization called Doc’s Friends. The organization took ownership of the Superfortress, which was rescued by aviation enthusiast Tony Mazzolini and a group of historians who found the airplane […]