Aircraft

Textron CEO Scott Donnelly on Wednesday pointed to improving fourth-quarter performance at the company’s flagship aviation businesses – Cessna Aircraft and Bell Helicopter – for boosting its bottom line in slowly recovering economy. “We had a solid quarter with good execution especially at Cessna and Bell,” Donnelly said on a conference call with reporters. “We’re […]

The crash of a sightseeing plane just off the coast of Honduras on Jan. 11 that was reported on by NBC’s Today show on Monday raised questions here at Flying that the NBC report did not address. Andy Atkins, his wife Jenny and four-year-old son Logan, the story reported, were on an air tour of […]

In the first concrete sign of a turnaround for bizjet maker Bombardier, the Montreal-based company said it delivered 163 airplanes in last year’s 11-month fiscal period, a slight increase from the year before, while also booking orders for 191 new airplanes – almost double the figure recorded in 2010. Last year’s improved performance was still […]

(February 2012) The first time I climbed into the Remos G-3 it was for my Sport Pilot discovery flight. The “shiny” Dynon Avionics glass and Garmin GPS, navcom and radio did not go unnoticed as I scanned the panel. “Wow, this Sport Pilot stuff is cool,” I thought. Especially since prior to this flight I […]

The Cessna Citation Ten, the under-development version of the Citation X, Cessna’s super-fast midsize business jet, made its first flight from the company’s home field, Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, earlier this week. The jet’s first sortie was an unusually long one for a first test, lasting two hours. This gave flight test pilots time to do […]

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) of Australia has issued an airworthiness directive temporarily grounding all Beechcraft Bonanza, Debonair and Baron models after aircraft inspections revealed damaged flight control cables. CASA has ordered the repair of any damaged cables before further flight, and has directed operators to replace any cables in use for more than […]

(January 2012) The news cycle is like a carousel whose riders are ever changing. For a brief moment in September, the Green Flight Challenge swept past: NASA handed a prize of $1.35 million to an airplane that had achieved an efficiency of 400 passenger-miles per gallon. Huh? said the world — and then along came […]

The Mexican Air Force (FAM) has sealed a deal with Hawker Beechcraft for six of the company’s new T-6C+ trainers, Beechcraft announced this week. The new trainers, equipped with Esterline CMC Cockpit 4000 avionics, HUD and an up-front control panel, among other features, will replace the FAM’s existing fleet of Pilatus PC-7s. According to Beechcraft, […]

As Boeing moves ahead with plans to leave Wichita, Learjet revealed it will expand its footprint there. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and ** Bombardier** Business Aircraft President Steve Ridolfi on Tuesday announced an expansion of the company’s Learjet production site, saying the growth will create 450 new jobs over the next seven to 10 years. […]

Could it be the first sign of a broader industry turnaround? The blossoming of a single flower signaling the end of long, hard economic winter? It’s hard to say, but the news is encouraging: Robinson Helicopter Co. just reported it more than doubled its production in 2011, building 356 helicopters last year versus 162 in […]