Aircraft

The original Learjet Model 23 was certified 45 years ago and the airplane was a visual sensation in the aviation press and even the general news media. Part of the notoriety came from the flamboyant Bill Lear who promoted the airplane — and himself — to any and all that would listen. But the Learjet […]

A cold, raw rain falls, disturbed by winds that occasionally must push 20 knots. It is 58° and the visibility appears to be less than a mile. The American Cemetery here would be impressive in any weather and I am somehow glad to visit this place in poor conditions, not unlike those confronted by brave […]

How safe are light sport aircraft? It used to be anybody’s guess. Today, thanks to early studies by the FAA and NTSB, the guessing is a lot more educated. In fact, the FAA has recently come out with some preliminary safety numbers that suggest the safety of LSAs is substantially better than that of amateur-built […]

New King Airs are wonderful airplanes, but they do cost what new airplanes of that caliber cost. As with any new model, a factory-fresh King Air gives you a lot of things you can’t retrofit affordably, if at all, into a 20- or 30-year-old airplane. That’s why people keep buying new King Airs. While there […]

Rich Karlgaard is a late bloomer. At least, in terms of aviation. “I never had an itch to fly until I read a New York Times Sunday Magazine piece called “Turn Left at Cloud 109″ by James Fallows, which appeared on Thanksgiving weekend in 1999,” says Karlgaard. “It was about Cirrus. A couple of days […]

It was the middle of a short December day when a call came to a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) firm in Soldotna, Alaska, requesting transport for a patient to Anchorage from a clinic in Cordova. Soldotna is south and west of Anchorage; Cordova is 127 nm east. The helicopter would first have to position […]

Cirrus co-founder Alan Klapmeier has suspended his efforts to assemble a group of investors to take control of the Cirrus Vision single-engine jet program. In an unrelated matter, Klapmeier’s employment agreement to be Chairman of the Board of Cirrus is set to expire in mid-August. Alan will continue as a member of the board and […]

Richard Santulli, the Wall Street mathematician who left Goldman Sachs to form NetJets in 1986, stepped down Tuesday as Chairman and CEO. Santulli is credited with inventing the fractional aircraft ownership business model. Fueled by the Dotcom boom of the early 1990s, the NetJets program soared to huge success in that decade, and the company […]

When US Airways Flight 1549 splashed down on the Hudson River in January, Captain Chesley Sullenberger and Copilot Jeffrey Skiles became instant celebrities. They attended President Obama’s inauguration, made the rounds of television talk shows, and continue to be a huge draw as motivational speakers. But their best audience was probably the overflow crowds who […]

Eclipse Aerospace, headed by Eclipse 500 order holder Mason Holland and Eclipse 500 operator Mike Press, signed an asset purchase agreement July 31. Unless new bidders emerge or other complications arise, the $40 million deal to purchase the assets of the defunct manufacturer could be completed in a few weeks. Immediate goals for Eclipse Aerospace […]