Aviation News

Aerobatics legend Betty Skelton died at her home in Winter Park, Florida, on Tuesday at the age of 85. Skelton won the 1948, 1949 and 1950 U.S. National Female Aerobatic Championships, the latter two titles in her famous Pitts Special, Li’l Stinker, which today hangs in the Smithsonian. In addition to her aerobatics prowess, Skelton […]

After the retirement of the space shuttle program this summer, the government’s support of emerging commercial space travel continues. The FAA has issued grants to three licensed Spaceports to aid in the efforts of expanding the infrastructure of commercial space transportation. “These grants will go a long way toward meeting President Obama’s National Space Policy […]

While Boeing’s newly certified 787 Dreamliner is dominating headlines, a gathering of vintage aircraft enthusiasts in Mukilteo, Washington, will get the chance to look back at the company’s roots as they catch a glimpse of the oldest flying Boeing in the world.**** The Boeing Model 40C, owned and restored by a family in Spokane, arrived […]

DARPA has released video footage of the recent HTV-2 test flight, giving the public a glimpse, albeit a distant one, into the movements of the unmanned hypersonic aircraft shortly before it was lost in the Pacific Ocean. The video, shot with a handheld camera by a crewmember aboard a tracking vessel, shows the aircraft in […]

Darren Large, manager of facilities and projects at Morristown Municipal Airport, was on hand at the popular GA airport as hurricane Irene swiped through the Northeast this past weekend. Here’s his first-hand account of how MMU weathered the storm. On Friday/Saturday leading up to the storm, all tenants were notified of potential wind/flooding hazards on […]

The massive storm that was Hurricane Irene spared the East Coast much of the damage that had been feared, as its winds dissipated shortly after it made landfall in North Carolina on Saturday, its energy diffused by wind shear and starved of moisture by dry continental air once it made landfall. All three major airports […]

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) filed a joint opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit opposing the FAA’s major revisions to the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program. The associations argue that the revisions are illegal and should be […]

Rockwell Collins and Inmarsat have entered into an exclusive partnership for the development, production and distribution of hardware to support Inmarsat’s Global Xpress Ka-band Internet service for business jets, airliners and government airplanes. The Inmarsat GX service will provide global in-flight Ka broadband connectivity at speeds of up to 50 megabits per second when the […]

James Peters, a 40-year-old helicopter pilot for the Department of Homeland Security, went on trial this week for his role in the aftermath of the death of an alleged border crosser back in 2005. In federal court in Houston, Texas, Peters is accused of making false statements to prosecutors about the incident, which resulted in […]

Former Platinum Jet pilot Francis Vieira, 61, was sentenced to six months in federal prison on Monday for his role in fraudulent activity that led up to the crash of a Challenger 600 charter jet in 2005, which veered off the runway after a failed takeoff attempt from Teterboro Airport. During court hearings last year, […]