Aviation News

For nervous passengers who stiffen the moment an airplane begins to move forward and do not relax until the grab-your-carry-ons chime has sounded, it must be hard to imagine that pilots could actually fall asleep while flying. No pilot would like to admit to doing so. Nevertheless, there have been instances of airline crews overshooting […]

The McMinnville, Oregon, museum housing Howard Hughes’ mammoth H-4 Hercules (better known as the “Spruce Goose”) is facing financial scrutiny, and the ownership of the historic airplane is in question. The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is backed by Evergreen International Airlines founder Delford Smith, 83, and along with some of Smith’s other business entities, […]

Cessna has extra reason to celebrate this holiday season after announcing the recent FAA certification of both the new Citation M2 and the Citation Sovereign+. The Cessna Citation M2 was first introduced in the fall of 2011 and intended as a step-up for Citation Mustang owners. Priced at $4.4 million, the M2 features Garmin G3000 […]

Following the announcement of the certification of the GE Honda HF120 engine last week, the HondaJet has received its type inspection authorization from the FAA. The TIA indicates that the HondaJet meets certain design requirements, and it allows FAA test pilots to begin the final testing phase required for type certification. Over the past couple […]

First it was happening, then it was delayed, then it was happening again, and now it’s not. The FAA says it will delay implementation of its controversial sleep apnea policy after all, as it gathers additional input from the aviation and medical communities. The policy, which infuriated overweight pilots by mandating obstructive sleep apnea screening […]

The Financial Times caused a stir with a report that Cessna parent company Textron has reached an agreement to buy Beechcraft for $1.4 billion. Neither company has commented on the story, which sent Textron’s stock soaring after the news first leaked on Friday. According to the report, Beechcraft hired Credit Suisse in October to identify […]

On the 110th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight, owner-pilot John Magoffin pushed the throttle lever forward on his rare 1933 Lockheed Vega, the aircraft of choice of pioneer aviators, including Amelia Earhart (who flew one on her solo transatlantic record flight) and Wiley Post, who flew a Vega around the world twice. Magoffin’s […]

National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen welcomed a bipartisan budget agreement approved by the House and Senate this week that he said “appears to lessen the likelihood of another near-term government shutdown,” according to an NBAA statement. The measure sets funding for all federal agencies, including the FAA. When the government shut […]

A new experimental airplane, the two-tandem-seat Thatcher CX5, has taken its maiden flight. Glen Bradley, who helped build and design the airplane together with the main designer, Dave Thatcher, was at the controls when the CX5 took off from the Jack Edwards Airport near Gulf Shores, Alabama. Bradley used one word to describe the visibility, […]

Bombardier achieved certification of its Learjet 70, a super-light-jet stalemate of the Learjet 75 that earned its approval papers a few weeks ago. Validation of the airplane, a revamped version of the Learjet 40, clears the way for immediate deliveries of the Model 70, which Bombardier launched in May 2012 amid a slowing market for […]