Aircraft

Bombardier introduced two new members of its ultra-long-range family of Global business jets this week. And from the size of the party, it’s clear the Canadian manufacturer has confidence in the economic turnaround. The two new jets are each priced at $65 million (2010 dollars). The Global 7000 and Global 8000 are not scheduled for […]

Aiming to retake the title of fastest bizjet and breathe new life into an airplane that, while still fast, is showing its age, Cessna announced an all new flagship, the Citation Ten, the new version of which will now be spelled out in a way that eliminates 20 years of confusion in the general media […]

In a pre-NBAA event, Gulfstream gave journalists a sneak peek at its remarkable G650 flagship, currently undergoing certification flight testing. Serial number 4 was on private display at Peachtree DeKalb Airport. The airplane was as spectacular as the hype suggests. On the outside, while clearly a Gulfstream, the 650 is much longer, with much larger […]

Piper has totally redesigned the PiperJet airframe, and given the single-engine jet a new name — Altaire. The old fuselage on the proof-of-concept PiperJet was the same as the PA-46 Mirage/Meridian — round on top and flat on the bottom. It is now a circular cross-section, making it easier to increase the cabin volume of […]

When it comes to transportation flying, speed might not be everything, but it’s pretty darn close. So when Gulfstream pilots recently flew the company’s under-development G650 flagship to Mach .995, it effectively flew the jet as fast as you can go without creating a sonic boom. It was the fastest reported speed of a bizjet. […]

At my day job, it’s easy to take for granted that most aspects of flight planning are generated by typing the appropriate codes into the computer. The data have already been entered by the dispatcher and the load planner. For the most part, my job is to simply review the information. When I made the […]

It might have seemed like a small semantic point at the time, but customers of OurPLANE are finding out that the planes were never really “theirs” after all. According to the contracts, the titles to the Cirrus SR22s in the program were held by the company, and when it liquidated last week, the “owners” joined […]

Citing an increasing accident rate among air-ambulance operators over the past decade or so, on Tuesday the FAA proposed new, stricter regulations for all helicopter operators. EMS and air ambulance flights combine several risk elements, including critical missions likely to take place in poor weather, financial pressure for private companies to fly missions when their […]

A The Wichita Eagle is reporting that the state of Kansas has agreed to financial incentives that would keep “the vast majority” of Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) jobs in Wichita. The deal is contingent on the company reaching an agreement with its employees’ union. Earlier reports indicated HBC was seriously considering moving, along with 6,000 […]

It has been a little more than 10 years since Cirrus Design Corp. delivered its first certified airplane, an SR20, to a customer. That 10-year mark is more than just an anniversary. It’s the certified interval for Cirrus owners to replace the chutes in their airplanes. Chute replacement will become an important part of Cirrus’ […]