Aircraft

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 […]

The Veterans Airlift Command (VAC) has received a donated Eclipse 500 that will aid in the organization’s mission of transporting wounded veterans and their families, according to an announcement at the NBAA Convention last week. To complement the donation, Eclipse Aerospace has vowed to provide the upgrades necessary to keep the jet in service. The […]

China is emerging as the world’s fastest growing market for business jets sales, with industry watchers projecting deliveries of hundreds of large-cabin business airplanes worth billions of dollars over the next decade. Evidence of the Chinese market’s sudden strength was on display at last week’s NBAA Convention in Las Vegas, as Embraer racked up a […]

Piper Aircraft today issued a release detailing big changes at the company, which include the departure from Piper of aviation industry veteran and Executive Vice President Randy Groom, who has led the company for the past years to what Piper calls on-target performance despite the down economy. Also out is CEO Geoffrey Berger, who will […]

After years of exploring the dream of a jet-powered Aerostar, Aerostar Aircraft of Boise, Idaho, is test-flying a Pratt & Whitney re-engined airplane. Company president Jim Christy flew the twinjet to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for AirVenture in July. The airplane, which has very little time on it, is still a work in progress, though the most […]