Aviation News

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the FAA must acknowledge “the case of the incredible shrinking airline seat.” That’s how Circuit Judge Patricia Millett referred to the obvious state of uncomfortable commercial airline travel in response to a lawsuit filed by the passenger advocacy group Flyers Rights earlier this year. The […]

A new lease on life is always welcome. One Aviation said last week the FAA had granted it just that by extending the structural life limit on the Eclipse 500 and 550 from 10,000 to 20,000 flight hours or 20,000 cycles, whichever occurs first. The change applies to all airframes with the extended tip tank […]

A team of NASA-funded scientists, led by Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, will chase the moon’s shadow in two retrofitted Martin WB-57 high-altitude jets. For most everyone able to experience the eclipse it will last about two minutes, but for Caspi’s team it will last upwards of seven. “These […]

An anonymous bidder who offered $2.615 million last Friday was named the winner of Sporty’s Vision Jet auction at AirVenture, a partnership idea between the world-famous pilot shop and Cirrus Aircraft. Sporty’s offered its early delivery position of a Cirrus Vision Jet with a plan to hand over any dollar amount above the airplane’s $1,927,653 […]

Theodore Robert Wright III, a young serial entrepreneur and pilot who gained notoriety for chronicling his larger-than-life flying exploits in photos on Facebook and Instagram, now faces the prospect of spending much of the rest of his life in prison after federal law enforcement officials charged the 32-year-old with multiple counts of insurance fraud. Federal […]

After Oshkosh last year, many people, including EAA chairman Jack Pelton, proclaimed it perhaps the best AirVenture ever. The show was well-run, hundreds of thousands of visitors poured through the gates and the weather was, for the most part, delightful. Most people we spoke with at AirVenture 2017 acknowledged that it’s another blockbuster show, with […]

With the growing pilot shortage, there is an urgent need for flight instructors. One way King Schools and the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) are addressing the problem is through a generous scholarship to allow a flight instructor to further his or her education. “NAFI and King Schools understand that flight instructors are the […]

Flight Design, the European manufacturer of light sport airplanes, has completed the sale of all major company assets to the German investment group Lift Holding, allowing for the resumption of work on the C4, a Part 23-certified four-seater with a projected selling price of $250,000. The newly realigned company, which entered receivership last year, will […]

One of many announcements made at Garmin in the past week is that of two portable units that provide a new way to display data in the cockpit through SiriusXM and the ADS-B network. The GDL 52 combines the two networks to provide weather, traffic and audio to a portable tablet or other mobile device, […]

Of all the commands that Cameron Jaxheimer gave me as we took off in an Extra 300 from Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport, “Clench everything” is the order that stood out. After all, every moment leading up to our flight, including my flight preparation and the crucial instructions on how to use my parachute in a […]