Aviation News

Astronics Max-Viz infrared enhanced vision systems are now available for Cessna 172, 182 and 206 piston singles. Priced at just over $30,000 for a retrofit system ($22,145 as an option on a new aircraft), the system includes a wing-mounted infrared camera feeding a full- or split-screen black-and-white depiction on the Garmin G1000 multifunction display. The […]

The FAA FAR Part 23 Aviation Rule Making Committee (ARC) formed in the fall of 2011 met for the last time to finalize its recommendations for the overhaul of certification standards for aircraft weighing less than 19,000 pounds. More than 65 regulators and industry team members from the U.S., China, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil and […]

Yet another airport in New Jersey is shutting down, though this time there might be hope of a revival in the future. Newton Airport (3N5) has been sold to Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), which intends to use the 96-acre site to store material and construction equipment for a new transmission line in the […]

Recognizing that pilots’ stick-and-rudder skills may be atrophying in an increasingly high-tech world, the FAA has issued a new safety alert for operators (SAFO) reminding crew members to continuously maintain and improve their hand-flying skills by switching off the autopilot every once in awhile. An analysis of flight operations data including several incidents and accidents […]

Garmin today introduced a series of VHF comm and navcom radios that redefine what the modern aviation transceiver can and should be. The GTR 225 and GNC 255 series stand-alone radios replace Garmin’s SL 30 and SL 40 units with a modern take on the trusty VHF navcom by including features like automatic frequency lookup […]

After a series of tantalizing Facebook posts Kermit Weeks announced yesterday that he has concluded a decade-long quest. The sole remaining flyable Sikorsky S-43 flying boat (of 53 built in the 1930s) is now his. Weeks also believes that the metaphysical spirit of the airplane’s former owner, Howard Hughes, himself, helped him acquire the aircraft. […]

Cessna has earned FAA approval for its Grand Caravan EX. The new model is outfitted with the Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140, which puts out 867 shp, a nearly 40 percent improvement in power and a roughly 20 percent improvement in its already good climb performance. Certain operators are excited about this fact, as the EX […]

Announced just last spring, the latest version of Cessna’s venerable 525 CitationJet lineup, the M2 model, is already making its way down the production line at the company’s Independence, Kansas, factory. The new model features Garmin G3000 avionics, a completely updated interior scheme and Williams FJ44 turbofan engines producing nearly 2,000 pounds of thrust apiece. […]

Dennis Butler has had two careers. The first, based on his degree in physics, was working for a number of companies that were involved with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The second was his Cozy III. The aircraft was an “endeavor” that took 20 years to build and kept him fascinated and involved all […]

Austro Engines, a division of Diamond Aircraft, has capped two and a half years of developing its AE80R rotary aircraft engine with successful bench testing. The company announced the tests yesterday, saying the new engine is a higher-power derivative of its successful 55-hp AE50R rotary. Target weight of the AE80 is less than 60 pounds. […]