Aviation News

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 […]

When Voyager circled the globe non-stop and unrefueled in 1986, it sounded for all the world like the kind of record that could never be bettered. We should all have known better than to think there’s any such thing in aviation. The next mountaintop to conquer: around the world without a drop of fuel. Today […]

The FAA has issued a document clarifying the rules regarding the use of seat belts for part 91 operations. It is still permissible under 14 CFR 91.107 (a)(3) to share seat belts and to allow children under the age of two to be held on the lap of an adult without any restraining system. But […]

After seeking bankruptcy protection just last month, Hawker Beechcraft is exploring a variety of options to improve its position, including a sale of the company, according to a recent report in the Wichita Eagle. Potential buyers have until Thursday to submit their bids, in anticipation of Hawker Beechcraft’s submission of a detailed restructuring plan to […]

Investigators on Tuesday announced that they have found the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the MD-83 that crashed on Sunday afternoon into the heavily populated city of Lagos, Nigeria, killing all 153 aboard and a number of others on the ground. Recovery workers had found 150 bodies as of Tuesday afternoon. They […]

A Cold War-era Lockheed P2V tanker crashed in western Utah on Sunday, killing two pilots who had been battling a lightning-sparked wildfire. Eyewitnesses said it appeared a wingtip hit the ground in a rocky canyon as the airplane was dropping its fire retardant. The P2V disintegrated on impact, leaving a 1,000-foot-long debris field, officials said. […]

During its inaugural dealer conference last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ** Eclipse Aerospace** announced the official production launch for the Model 550, the successor to the original Eclipse 500 very light jet. To mark the occasion, members of the Eclipse management team and board of directors on Friday signed the fuselage of the first […]

Pieces of a cosmetic jar found on a remote Pacific island have rekindled speculation over what happened to Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan during their ill-fated circumnavigational flight attempt in 1937. The jar remnants, found by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) on the island of Nikumaroro, reportedly resemble pieces of a […]

Members of the House General Aviation Caucus have sent a letter to congressional leaders opposing an amendment to a federal transportation bill that some say could kill the nation’s air tour industry. Eighteen representatives signed the May 30 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. John Mica (R-FL), whose committees will be considering a […]