Aircraft

Eurocopter is bringing its X3 experimental hybrid helicopter demonstrator to the United States this month for a summer tour that could include a visit to a town near you. The first stop will be American Eurocopter’s headquarters in Grand Prairie, Texas, on June 20. Where it heads from there is anybody’s guess. The X3 is […]

After seeking bankruptcy protection just last month, Hawker Beechcraft is exploring a variety of options to improve its position, including a sale of the company, according to a recent report in the Wichita Eagle. Potential buyers have until Thursday to submit their bids, in anticipation of Hawker Beechcraft’s submission of a detailed restructuring plan to […]

During its inaugural dealer conference last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ** Eclipse Aerospace** announced the official production launch for the Model 550, the successor to the original Eclipse 500 very light jet. To mark the occasion, members of the Eclipse management team and board of directors on Friday signed the fuselage of the first […]

Though he’s spent the last two decades designing missiles for the Navy, the Kodiak for Quest Aircraft and has become the world leader in composite float production at Aerocet, Tom Hamilton still stands out in the homebuilt community for what he accomplished with the Glasair and GlaStar series of airplane kits. Tom’s talents with a […]

The FAA and EASA recently issued emergency airworthiness directives (EAD) for Eurocopter’s popular twin-engine helicopter – the EC 135. There are some differences between FAA’s EAD 2012-10-51 and EASA’s AD 2012-0085-E, but both were implemented because cracks have been found in the hub-shaft flange of a main rotor hub. These cracks could result in the […]

GippsAero, the Australian aircraft maker, said it has successfully completed the first flight of its new turboprop single, the GA10. Powered by a Rolls-Royce 250 turboprop engine, this latest model from GippsAero is a 10-seat multirole airplane based on the piston-powered GA8 Airvan utility airplane. The first flight took place at GippsAero’s home base at […]

Hawker Beechcraft said it received orders for 11 airplanes – including three of its flagship Hawker 4000 super-midsize business jets, a Hawker 400XPR, six King Air 350i turboprops and a King Air 250 – during EBACE at Geneva International Airport in Geneva, Switzerland, last week. The total sales amount to more than $120 million, providing […]

In the wake of its announcement of an AD on its Cessna 210, 210T and 210P models, Cessna has announced that it is expanding its mandatory inspections to its 100-series airplanes (from the Cessna 120 to the Cessna 195) that were manufactured between 1946 and 1986 (the latter date being when Cessna suspended its single-engine […]

Since Eurocopter‘s formation 20 years ago from the merger of helicopter producers in France and Germany, the company has steadily increased its market share, capturing and holding onto the coveted spot as the world’s largest civil helicopter maker. One product above all others deserves the credit for initiating this rise to prominence: the EC 135. […]

Eclipse Aerospace has signed an agreement with Sikorsky subsidiary PZL Mielec in Poland covering the production of Eclipse jet wings, fuselages, empennages and other components. The parts will be built by PZL Mielec at its factory in southern Poland and shipped to the Eclipse factory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for final assembly and customer deliveries […]