Aircraft

The team behind Sikorsky’s X2 technology demonstrator has won the 2010 Robert J. Collier Trophy, six months after the unique twin-coaxial rotorcraft set an unofficial speed record for a helicopter of 250 knots. “Sikorsky has a long and storied history of innovation, starting with the invention of the world’s first practical helicopter and continuing today […]

The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive reducing the Eclipse EA500‘s maximum ceiling to 30,000 feet after several reported instances of engine surging. This is the second time the FAA has sought to lower the Eclipse 500’s ceiling because of problems with the airplane’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F-A engines. A 2008 AD reduced the […]

(February 2011) — It has been seldom in the history of aviation that a single technology has revolutionized the way we fly by addressing multiple problems facing the industry and solving them all. The most important such event was the widescale adoption of the turbine engine in the 1940s. Turbines, as you know, remedied (and […]

HondaJet has indefinitely postponed a planned media tour of the company’s Greensboro, North Carolina, headquarters after the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan on March 11. In a statement last Friday to invited media, the company wrote, “As you have surely heard by now, the country of Japan has just suffered an […]

Diamond Aircraft has announced that it is developing a new engine in conjunction with Streyr, a longtime maker of diesel engines for the marine market. While the company released few details on the engine, it is known that it will be a 280 hp in-line six-cylinder diesel — Diamond apparently prefers the terms “jet fuel […]

Fleet Aviation claims that it is the first provider of a computerized maintenance tracking program (CMTP) specifically designed for piston aircraft. The system allows aircraft owners to keep their maintenance records online, making them accessible from anywhere, and eliminating issues such as missing logbooks or flying an aircraft that is not in compliance with legal […]

Bell Helicopter’s introduction of the Model 407GX on Sunday at Heli-Expo in Orlando marked the debut of Garmin’s G1000 avionics system in a helicopter. Called G1000H, the two-display cockpit includes many of the advanced features fixed-wing pilots have grown to appreciate, as well as a number of technologies specific to rotorcraft operation. The system’s HSVT […]

More than 20,000 rotorcraft aficionados descended on Orlando, Florida, for this year’s Heli-Expo, held at the Orange County Convention Center from March 6 to 8. Helicopter manufacturers unveiled several new models at the show and offered special pricing that for many apparently was too enticing to let pass. Eurocopter kicked things off with the introduction […]

Avidyne has achieved TSO and STC certification for its DFC100 digital flight control system designed for use with the Entegra Release 9 integrated flight deck system available in Cirrus SR20 and SR22 aircraft. This new integration may give the popular Garmin Perspective a run for its money. In addition to the flight director, altitude hold, […]

Pilatus this month is introducing a series of long-awaited improvements to the Honeywell Primus Apex cockpit in the Pilatus PC-12 NG turboprop single. Known internally as Apex Build 7, the software enhancements refine the operation of the cockpit’s cursor-control devices and add capabilities for display of enhanced-vision and video; coupled Vnav operations, vertical profile display; […]