Aircraft

Hawker Beechcraft reported a loss of $42.2 million in the third quarter, but that was actually a big improvement over last year, when the Wichita aircraft maker lost $81.4 million in the same period. Overall sales were down, totaling $518.8 million in this year’s third quarter compared with $594.7 million during the same period last […]

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifted off on Wednesday for the first time with paying passengers on board, marking a milestone many years in the making for the world’s first “plastic” airliner. The jet, owned and operated by All Nippon Airways, carried 240 passengers from Hong Kong to Tokyo, a trip that some passengers paid as […]

After what it calls “six quarters of mostly positive news,” aviation market research firm Amstat reported on Wednesday that the third quarter of 2011 was a disappointing one for jet sales. The firm reported that the existing inventory of used business jets, considered a key marker for economic energy in the business aviation sector, had […]

I stood the autothrottles of the Hawker 4000 up straight, and like magic they came right out of my hand and set their own power as though they knew just what I wanted. I kept my left hand on the tiller along the sidewall waiting for the 60-knot callout, at which point I knew the […]

Sikorsky’s S-76D has moved one step closer to certification after Pratt & Whitney’s PW210S engine that powers the helicopter received Transport Canada certification. More than 8,700 hours of testing were conducted to complete the certification. But the testing will continue to finish FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency validations, which are expected within the next […]

Honda is preparing for the first flight tests of two HF120 turbofan engines with a newly redesigned titanium fan blisk that engine maker GE Honda is confident can pass required ice ingestion testing. The engine fan underwent a redesign following the failure of an on-ground ice ingestion test, Honda Aircraft revealed recently. The company expects […]

Piper on Monday indefinitely suspended its single-engine Altaire jet, previously known as the PiperJet, saying it would be unlikely to recoup its investment in a reasonable period of time. “Following an evaluation of Altaire development and light jet forecasts we determined the best course of action for the company going forward,” interim Piper president/CEO Simon […]

Cessna parent company Textron reported third quarter growth yesterday, with revenues totaling $2.8 billion. The gains constitute an increase of 13.5 percent from the same period last year and include a 15 percent increase in manufacturing revenues. According to Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly, the gains were buoyed by “good execution and cost performance” […]

(October 2011) Shortly after retrieving credentials at the media counter, I glanced at my BlackBerry display. The time was 0830. Good deal. I had an hour of free time to wander around the nooks and crannies of EAA AirVenture before the scheduled arrival of the 787. After concluding that I really didn’t need to agonize […]

Professional demo pilots working for popular aircraft and kit manufacturers fly hundreds of demo flights a year. Every once in a while their work goes beyond the same old pitch and becomes something different, something memorable. In this piece, longtime Van’s Aircraft employee Ken Scott tells about a demo ride that almost didn’t happen and […]