Aviation News

Waco, Texas-based Blackhawk Modifications is getting close to achieving STC approval for its Cessna 208A XP42A upgrade package, which replaces the 675 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A with an 850 shp PT6A-42A engine spinning a 100-inch-diameter Hartzell four-blade prop. The performance of the new engine is monitored by Blackhawk’s Hawkeye DigiLog engine gauges and the […]

Did you ever wish you could record your flights so you could show your non-flying friends how great they are? Or show your hot pilot friends how good your landings really are? Maybe you’re a student (or on a recurrent training flight – in which case, you’re a student, like it or not) and would […]

The first production example of the new Cessna 182 JT-A Turbo Skylane made its inaugural flight this week, ushering in a new era as the first modern single-engine piston airplane designed specifically to run on jet-A. “The Turbo Skylane JT-A performed just as expected,” said Cessna senior test pilot Dale Bleakney. “The weather conditions were […]

An Arizona company called Airworthy AutoGas said it plans to start production of a high-purity, low-vapor-pressure 93 octane unleaded aviation gasoline this fall that could replace 100LL avgas in about 80 percent of piston airplanes. “A growing number of general aviation aircraft do not require 100LL avgas or a 100 octane unleaded drop-in replacement,” noted […]

Cessna CEO Scott Ernest updated the European market on Cessna’s current business state during the EBACE show in Geneva. Since it’s primarily a business aviation venue, he started with a report on the developmental jets in the company design pipeline. He said, “The Garmin 3000-equipped Citation M2 is right on track,” adding that the new […]

Showing its post-bankruptcy commitment to the progressing Hawker 400XPR upgrade program, Beechcraft announced it has started flight testing the winglets on the light jet this month with positive results. “We’ve been beating performance estimates in flight testing, and we’re in the final certification phase for the 400XPR,” said Brian Howell, Hawker Beechcraft vice president, aftermarket […]

Flight test crews at Lockheed Martin have hit some milestones this month as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program slowly progresses. At the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland on May 10, the F-35B short-takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) Lightning II test airplane completed its first vertical takeoff — a flight that also included a vertical […]

At EBACE Gulfstream president Larry Flynn discussed the fortunes of the world’s most successful airplane manufacturer and concluded that, despite “headwinds” in every market around the world, the company was pleased with its sales and bullish on its prospects. Flynn said that “uncertainty” in financial markets, political instability in the Middle East and elsewhere on […]

GE Aviation says interest in its H80 turboprop engine family has been stronger than expected, leading to a decision to increase production this year to meet customer demand. The H80, a modernized version of the 1960s-era Walter M601, has been certified on the Thrush 510G agplane, as well as by Aircraft Industries in Europe for […]

Bombardier introduced a new addition to the Challenger series this week at EBACE in Geneva. The Challenger 350 is not a clean-sheet design, but rather a modified version of the Challenger 300 super-midsize jet. The new product is largely the result of input from customers, and mostly from one of Bombardier’s most loyal customers, NetJets, […]