Aviation News

The FAA yesterday issued another five exemptions for commercial UAS operations to four companies under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The new exemptions greatly broaden the spectrum for legal commercial UAS uses, which has previously only been approved for movie making operations operating in controlled environments. The companies that […]

This month marks the 70th anniversary of a major international agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO consists of 191 member states and works together with global aviation organizations to develop Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). These SARPs are used by the member states when developing their own national civil regulations. A specialized agency […]

With media attention increasingly focused on the safety of UAVs, the House aviation subcommittee will hold a hearing this week on the status of drone integration into U.S. airspace. The hearing will focus on the state of the emerging UAV industry in the United States, including the FAA’s efforts to safely integrate unmanned drones into […]

Dassault is making good progress on the development of the** Falcon 5X wide-body twinjet**, which was announced at the National Business Aviation Association’s annual convention last year, and the Falcon 8X, the ultra-long-range bizjet announced at the European Business Aviation Convention and Expo this year. Company pilots started testing the 5X in a simulator environment […]

A mother and her two young children were killed on Monday when an Embraer Phenom 100 crashed into their house about a mile short of Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Maryland, just before 11 a.m. local time. Three people on board the jet were also killed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, including the […]

NetJets pilots are upset about an alleged effort by the fractional-ownership giant to use Twitter and other social media to impersonate union members as part of a would-be plot to “weaken and ultimately destroy the union.” Lawyers are suing NetJets Aviation over the alleged action directed against the 3,000-member NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots. […]

The FAA yesterday issued long-awaited rules that increase the number of hours pilots may log toward an instrument rating using approved aviation training devices, raising the limit to 20 hours in advanced training devices versus 10 hours under the old rules. In reality many simulator makers had received special authorizations from the FAA to allow […]

Garmin has started shipping its Flight Stream 110 and 210 Bluetooth wireless gateway units, allowing for connectivity in the cockpit through the company’s Connext system. The units allow information from panel-mounted avionics to be streamed to a portable tablet or smartphone through the Garmin Pilot app. The Flight Stream 110 connects with Garmin’s GDL 88 […]

A company out of Cotswold, England, called Faradair, which also has roots in the United States, is in the process of developing an airplane that incorporates environmentally friendly propulsion methods melded into what it calls a Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft, or BEHA for short. The hybrid airplane is designed for six occupants and features a […]

Torrance, California-based Robinson Helicopter has achieved FAA certification for inflatable floats for its turbine-powered R66 — an option named the R66 Turbine Marine. The floats were primarily added for emergency purposes in case of a forced landing while flying over water. While primarily designed for emergency use, the floats are approved for water takeoffs during […]