Aviation News

The U.S. Air Force unveiled the X-56A last week, its newest experimental aircraft specifically crafted to explore ways to protect against flutter. Flutter is an aerodynamic effect – one that has caused a number of fatal accidents over the years – that occurs when the vibrations of an aircraft’s wing trigger a potentially dangerous increase […]

Before a crowd of more than a thousand attendees on Sunday, Bell unveiled its new Bell 525 Relentless super medium model that the company hopes will revitalize its commercial helicopter sales. While the uber-cool 525 was big news, the launch itself generated a lot of buzz at Heli-Expo. Featuring lasers, advanced production and lots of […]

At the indoor static at Heli-Expo Garmin was showing off its STC retrofit of the G500H flat panel avionics into the popular Robinson R44 four-place piston powered helicopter. The STC can be applied to every iteration of the R44, including those with Spartan panels — the seven hole versions — and those with all the […]

At Heli-Expo Eurocopter launched its new light single EC130 T2, a model aimed at providing a quiet, cost-effective and profitable upgrade product to companies already operating light singles, including Maverick Helicopters, one of Sunday’s announced launch customers, which currently operates dozens of EC130s. Maverick has ordered 50 T2s for use in its air tour operations, […]

On Sunday Bell Helicopter launched its latest model, the Bell 525 Relentless, a super medium twin capable of carrying up to 16 passengers. A clean sheet design, the new model breaks new ground for Bell and for the rotary wing mark with an entire slate of innovative features, from triple-redundant fly-by-wire flight control to advanced […]

Just a few weeks after the passage of a $64 billion FAA reauthorization bill – a bill void of both user fees and increases on aviation fuel taxes – the Obama administration revived the call for user fees when it unveiled its recent budget proposal for the 2013 fiscal year on Monday. The new proposal […]

The NTSB has released a preliminary report on the Lancair IV-P crash that killed the CEO of Micron Technology Steve Appleton earlier this month, although the initial review leaves many questions about the fatal accident unanswered. According to the NTSB, witnesses saw the homebuilt attempt to take off from Runway 10R at Gowen Field in […]

With the vast distances of Australia, aerial medical transport is a critical service to many of the country’s citizens. The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), an organization that has provided medical services since 1928, has added three King Air B200Cs and two 350Cs to its fleet of approximately 60 aircraft, which covered nearly 38,000 nautical […]

(February 2012) Increasingly, flight is automatic. Navigation no longer requires an ounce of brains. Auto-pilots climb and descend, hold altitude, track waypoints and execute entire flight plans while idled crews ponder football scores. Autoland systems bring airplanes safely to earth, and even to the decks of aircraft carriers, in zero-zero weather. Only one phase of […]

Amidst ongoing financial turmoil at the company, Hawker Beechcraft announced the addition of recovery specialist Robert “Steve” Miller as CEO on Wednesday. Miller, often cited as the “turnaround kid” for his work restructuring struggling companies in the steel, automotive and waste management industry, will take the reins at Beechcraft immediately. Former CEO Bill Boisture will […]