Aviation News

The volunteers in Wichita, Kansas, have been hard at work restoring Doc, a B-29 Superfortress, since the project resumed nearly one year ago. “We have made significant progress recently hanging the first engine on the airplane,” said Jeff Turner, chairman of the board of Doc’s Friends, the non-profit organization set up to restore the Superfortress. […]

As of this month, the Eurocopter brand name is no more as the new Airbus Helicopters emerges as the world’s dominant player in civil rotorcraft manufacturing. The company was formally renamed on January 2, and the transition is now complete as the new-look Airbus Helicopters has rolled out a revamped website and officially changed the […]

The $1.1 trillion government spending bill passed by Congress includes money for the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI), an FAA plan to start the transition to high-octane unleaded piston aviation fuel by 2018. The appropriation for fuel research was slightly higher than the requested level through fiscal year 2014. PAFI is an FAA/industry partnership that […]

If you wish to honor one of aviation’s true stars, Bob Hoover, while rubbing elbows with some of the most influential people in aviation, here is your chance. At the end of February, a series of events has been planned in the Los Angeles area to celebrate the life of the iconic pilot and person. […]

Robinson Helicopter Co. out of Torrance, California, has released a service bulletin requiring all R22 owners to replace the fuel bladders for their helicopters. The bulletin, SB 109, affects all R22s up to and including S/N 4620. Any helicopters beyond that serial number were produced with the new fuel bladders, Robinson says. The aluminum tanks […]

French airframer Daher-Socata released delivery figures for its TBM 850 turboprop single in 2013, and the total of 40 aircraft delivered represents an increase of 5 percent. Most of the 320-knot (FL 260, ISA conditions) turboprops went to North American buyers, with four going to Europe and three more to buyers in Brazil, China and […]

The parent companies of Gulfstream and Cessna each reported positive year-end financial results, although for very different reasons — profits at Gulfstream soared to record numbers in 2013, while Cessna reported a smaller loss this year than last. Both manufacturers, however, are hinting that 2014 will be a very good year. Gulfstream hauled in revenues […]

While Bombardier finished up 2013 with good news, announcing the certification of the Learjet 70 and 75, the Montreal company has chosen to eliminate 1,700 jobs to reduce expenses because of a combination of delays in the CSeries and Learjet 85 programs. The CSeries has now been delayed for another year, with introduction into service […]

The mysterious early morning crash of a Cessna 172 on October 29 just became a little less mysterious. Canadian pilot Michael Callan’s blood alcohol level (BAC) has been reported by the Tennessee state medical examiner as 0.081 percent — more than twice the FAA limit of 0.040 percent and just in excess of Tennessee’s threshold […]

Henry Ogrodzinski, a “beloved gentleman-statesman” of aviation who for the past 18 years served as president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials, died at his home in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 65. Ogrodzinski, known as Henry O to friends, began his aviation advocacy […]