Aviation News

The FAA recently published updated practical test standards (PTS) for several certificates, including the private and commercial pilot certificates. While the FAA published these documents last fall, they just came into effect on June 1st. This is significant if you’re a flight instructor or a student working on a rating since the examiners are bound […]

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified the first three airplanes in a newly created certification category for light sport aircraft. Airplanes approved under the new framework are the Czech Sport Aircraft PS-28 Cruiser, Flight Design CTLS-ELA and Evektor SportStar RTC. Airplanes in the European LSA category are limited to two seats and a […]

NetJets on Monday announced orders with Cessna and Bombardier for up to 425 new business jets worth $9.6 billion that will form the cornerstone of the private aviation giant’s new NetJets Signature Series fractional ownership program. NetJets called the purchases the largest deal for private aircraft in aviation history. The Ohio-based fractional ownership firm said […]

A Pilatus PC-12 carrying a family of six crashed in Central Florida on Thursday, killing all six individuals aboard after what appears to have been an in-flight separation of the aircraft, authorities say. Just 30 minutes prior to the crash, the single-engine turboprop had made a stopover to clear customs in Fort Pierce, Florida, while […]

The top-secret Boeing X-37B space plane that has been orbiting the Earth for the last 15 months is scheduled to descend on Vandenberg Air Force Base “during the early- to mid-June timeframe,” according to a statement issued by the base. The landing will constitute the second for the unmanned spacecraft, following the completion of the […]

Boeing’s hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye UAV made its maiden autonomous flight last Friday, staying aloft for 28 minutes after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California. During the flight, Phantom Eye reached an altitude of just over 4,000 feet and a cruising speed of 68 knots before coming in for a rough landing that […]

Three GA aircraft were intercepted by F-16s in the past two days after busting a presidential TFR in the airspace surrounding Los Angeles, marking the latest in a growing string of TFR busts in the area since February. On Wednesday night, the offending airplane was a single-engine Cessna, which was intercepted northwest of L.A. around […]

The Aviation Fuel Club is urging anyone who can fly to Oshkosh next month using unleaded autogas to do as part of an event it’s calling “Unleaded to Oshkosh” to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the FAA’s approval of the first autogas STC. Dubbed U2OSH by event organizers, the effort is being led in part […]

Eurocopter is bringing its X3 experimental hybrid helicopter demonstrator to the United States this month for a summer tour that could include a visit to a town near you. The first stop will be American Eurocopter’s headquarters in Grand Prairie, Texas, on June 20. Where it heads from there is anybody’s guess. The X3 is […]

Ray Bradbury, a writer whose science fiction novels were loved by many aviators, has died at the age of 91. Bradbury received many awards during his long writing career, including the National Medal of Arts in 2004 and the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation in 2007. Bradbury published nearly 50 books, hundreds of short stories and […]