Aviation News

Warbird pilot and restorer Bob Odegaard captured the hearts of many who knew him, and his death in the crash of his Super Corsair (Race Plane 74) on September 7 left many of his friends with deeply empty feelings. Odegaard was known for his playful, positive nature and his penchant for pithy quotes, such as […]

Van’s Aircraft celebrated a milestone this week as the 8,000th confirmed RV kit airplane made its first flight. The airplane, an RV-7A built by Stephen Watson from Santa Clarita, California, took flight on Monday. At the completion of the flight, the builder proclaimed: “She flew like an RV.” Watson, who works at the Jet Propulsion […]

As the rise of pilotless drones in U.S. airspace becomes more prevalent, some local and state governments are adopting measures to curtail their use. On Monday, the Charlottesville, Virginia, city council became the latest to do so, voting 3-2 in favor of a resolution that “calls on the United States Congress and the General Assembly […]

While the rest of the Boeing 787 fleet remains grounded, the FAA has authorized a one-time crew-only Dreamliner flight to return one of the airplanes from a paint facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to the company’s factory outside Seattle. FAA approval for the flight was given alongside the stipulations that the flight crew take a […]

If NASA’s recent research efforts come to fruition, air travel of the future could take place in flatter, sleeker aircraft that resemble manta rays and require drastically less fuel than contemporary designs. Such designs have often been posed throughout history as potential solutions in the drive to increase efficiency and reduce fuel consumption, but the […]

The National Aeronautic Association has announced the finalists for the 2012 Collier Trophy, the industry’s highest honor, which recognizes the top achievement in aerospace during the previous year. While the committee has had some glaring misses in recent years, recognizing airplanes that would struggle to certification in at least two cases, the nominees this year […]

Rockwell Collins has decided to bid adieu to its well traveled and much beloved North American Sabreliner 50 avionics test bed, an airplane the company has owned since 1976. The airplane has been used over the decades for testing a variety of groundbreaking avionics developments, including early satellite communications, radio altimeters, the first Mode-S transponder, […]

Flying editor-in-chief Robert Goyer presented Garmin with a 2012 Flying Editors’ Choice Award at the company’s headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, for the innovative G2000 integrated avionics suite, which received TSO approval last year. The presentation ceremony took place in front of 200 employees from Olathe and was webcast to Garmin facilities in Wichita, Salem, Oregon, […]

There’s good news and bad news about general aviation safety. An analysis by Robert E. Breiling & Associates notes that last year there were a total of 19 business jet accidents, including five fatal accidents that killed a total of 21. This represents an increase of five accidents compared with the 14 in 2011, when […]

Airplane lovers looking for a new event to attend this summer can now mark their calendars for “The Gathering of Warbirds and Legends.” This inaugural event, scheduled to take place August 1-4 in Topeka, Kansas, is expected to become an annual gathering where historical airplanes, still in airworthy condition, will be on display. While “The […]