Aviation News

The year 2017 closed with companies evaluating their successes and failures. In a year that saw only a slight increase in the total number of airplanes delivered, Cirrus and Daher boasted the strongest numbers since the market crashed about a decade ago, while Honda Aircraft boasted producing the best-selling light jet in the market. With […]

Year-end delivery numbers released yesterday by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association paint a mixed picture of an industry still struggling to regain the market ground it lost in the turmoil of the 2008 economic recession. Still, bright spots in the report included sales of new business jets, which were up slightly, a welcome increase in […]

Lots of aviation folks are Twitter geeks simply for the news value. Chicago-area pilot and CFI Rod Rakic added a unique explanation. “Twitter is like the common traffic advisory frequency. Transmit in the blind and you might connect with someone who finds value in your message.” For Rakic, co-founder of Open Airplane (@openairplane), an unusual […]

The Wall Street Journal ran a Valentine’s Day editorial that had nothing to do with love, at least not with folks on either side of the ATC privatization debate. The piece, “Private Jet-Setters Against Better Air Travel,” took the National Business Aviation Association to task for blocking reforms of the nation’s air traffic control system […]

The Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom and Saint Paul, Minnesota-based International Magnesium Association and Meridian — a Plymouth, Michigan-based magnesium manufacturer — are challenging students in a competition to showcase the potential uses of magnesium in the aerospace sector. Magnesium carries the benefits of being extremely lightweight, abundant and 100 percent recyclable. “Misconceptions” […]

The FAA has nearly completed its 20-year effort to install final versions of a new radar system at 11 large hub airports around the United States. Close on the heels of the agency’s work, the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General recently audited the program at the behest of the House Appropriations Committee to better understand […]

With the 2020 ADS-B Out mandate rapidly approaching, and as more and more aircraft operators are realizing the benefits of advanced cockpit systems, an increasing number of owners are opting to add retrofit avionics systems to their aircraft. The Aircraft Electronics Association reported that there was a significant increase in the retrofit market. In its […]

Textron Aviation is no longer selling the Cessna TTx, bringing to an apparent close production of the sleek high-performance piston single that originally drew its inspiration from a kitplane and grew into a fully Part 23 certified model that for a time was considered one of the best light airplanes in the world. Textron Aviation […]

Each year, the National Business Aviation Association’s Safety Committee convenes to decide which business aviation operational issues are most in need of risk mitigation. The NBAA Safety Committee’s goal is to promote safety-focused discussion and advocacy throughout business aviation, as well as to help the association prioritize its safety-enhancement efforts. The list’s creation each year […]

News that London’s busy City Airport (LCY), a single-runway facility on the east side of the city near Canary Wharf is in line for a new digital control tower isn’t really fresh news. But the backup and security measures being taken by NATS, the UK’s ATC provider, to protect the data feeds that will soon […]