Aviation News

So much for Burt Rutan’s “retirement.” Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen on Tuesday announced he is teaming with the legendary aerospace designer to launch a new space-tourism company called Stratolaunch Systems that plans, among other accomplishments, to design and build “the largest aircraft ever constructed” – which will be used to carry a 490,000-pound rocket to […]

A veteran airshow pilot says an unleaded biofuel gasoline undergoing testing in his Sukhoi Su-26M is providing power similar to conventional 100LL aviation fuel while greatly boosting his range. It is the latest sign that an alternative to leaded avgas may be within reach. Rick Volker of Rick Volker Air Shows in Niagara Falls, New […]

LightSquared, the company that is rolling out a nationwide broadband network operating in frequencies very near those of GPS, claims it is closing in on final approvals from the Federal Communications Commission after the successful completion of the latest round of interference testing. The company said it believes the FCC will make a decision on […]

Kitplane provider Sonex Aircraft will reach a new milestone next month when it holds its 50th Sonex Builder Workshop, the company recently announced. The workshop is slated for Jan. 28-29 and will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn about the Sonex design and build a sample piece of the Sonex wing. Since 1998, Sonex […]

European aviators can now install Garmin’s GTN 650 and 750 GPS/navcom systems after EASA signed off the validation paperwork for the STC Garmin received from the FAA in March for the touchscreen navigators. To achieve EASA’s validation, the Garmin 650 and 750 had to meet European regulatory requirements, such as 8.33-kHz VHF communication, immunity from […]

A 23-year-old fashion model suffered severe injuries after walking into the propeller of a 2011 Aviat Husky at Aero County Airport in McKinney, Texas, on Saturday night. Lauren Scruggs reportedly went flying with a friend to get an aerial view of the Christmas lights in Dallas immediately before the accident. Scruggs’ parents say they believe […]

Space Adventures took a step closer to making its space tourism a reality this week when its partner, Armadillo Aerospace, conducted a successful rocket flight test out of Spaceport America in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company tested proprietary launch technologies using a reusable sub-orbital rocket called STIG A. “The flight successfully demonstrated many of the […]

Cessna has launched a safety initiative to educate owners of 100- and 200-series single-engine piston aircraft about new supplemental aircraft inspection procedures that will soon be added to Cessna service manuals. The supplemental inspections will cover more than 145,000 Cessna single-engine airplanes produced between 1946 and 1986. The inspections will be incorporated into the service […]

A Eurocopter AS350 operated by Sundance Helicopters crashed during a tour over Hoover Dam near Las Vegas on Wednesday evening at around 5 p.m., killing the pilot and four passengers, according to the National Park Service. The helicopter went down in mountainous terrain about 4.5 miles west of Southern Nevada Water Authority in the Lake […]

Anybody can submit an online petition to the White House on any topic they choose — and that’s just what somebody has done in the wake of FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt’s abrupt departure from the agency this week, in an attempt to build public support for an intriguing potential replacement: Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, known better […]