Aviation News

Deborah Hersman earned a second term of the National Transportation Safety Board last week. The two-year term runs through 2013. Hersman has been a busy and active leader of the board. While her first term was thankfully free from any major U.S. airline accidents, she nonetheless oversaw investigations into a number of high-profile crashes, including […]

The SubSonex Jet, one very, very light jet powered by a Czech-built PBS TJ-100 turbine engine, took off for its first flight in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, last week, bringing the prospect of a recreational jet for private pilots one step closer to reality. Renowned airshow pilot Bob Carlton, famous for his performances in a modified Salto […]

The U.S. Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was dealt a setback to its ambitions to create an aircraft capable of traveling at speeds faster than 13,000 mph after contact with its hypersonic test aircraft was lost just minutes into a proving flight on Aug. 11. It’s unclear what caused the loss of contact with the […]

The Taurus G4, a four-seat electric aircraft developed by Pipistrel, took to the air for the first time in the United States during its official maiden flight on Friday in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Designed specifically to compete in NASA’s upcoming CAFE Green Flight Challenge, the aircraft had previously completed a few test hops in Europe before […]

Cessna Aircraft and King Schools have developed the Cessna Instrument Pilot Course kit — a web-based instrument pilot course similar to the Cessna Sport/Private Pilot Course already in use at Cessna Pilot Centers. The course is scheduled to launch at the end of the month and will be accessible from any computer or iPad with […]

A PT-13D Stearman used to train the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II touched down in Washington last week, carrying with it the stories and memories of men who helped shape not only the history of aviation, but the history of a nation as well. The airplane, known as the Spirit of Tuskegee, was used […]

iPad app developer ForeFlight has added coverage of Canada to its all-in-one iPad app, making it only the second electronic chart provider we know of to include international coverage in its offerings. The other, of course, is Jeppesen, which offers worldwide coverage. ForeFlight’s achievement should not be underestimated. ForeFlight co-founder Tyson Weihs told me the […]

It appears someone took a pot shot at a medevac helicopter flying over northern Ohio on Monday, an incident that federal law enforcement officials are taking very seriously but which was shrugged off by local police as probably nothing more than a lucky hit by a kid with a rifle. During a routine pre-flight inspection, […]

Boeing has announced a plan to use Atlas V rockets to launch the company’s commercial astronaut capsule into space for a series of future test flights. The plan is contingent upon additional funding from NASA, but Boeing’s vice president and program manager of commercial crew programs John Elbon maintains that, “This selection marks a major […]

Economic hardship continues to challenge general aviation aircraft manufacturers, and a disappointing first six months of 2011 underscored that point. According to aircraft shipment and billing figures recently released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), airplane shipments worldwide dropped 15.5 percent during the first half of 2011 compared to the same time frame last […]