Aviation News

Cessna 182 owners may now be able to get a smoother, quieter ride by converting to a newly STC’d Top Prop propeller kit from Hartzell. The company claims this new three-bladed, scimitar-shaped propeller improves takeoff and climb performance without degrading cruise speed, reduces noise by 2.5 dB(a) compared to the stock propeller, and increases the […]

VoiceFlight has received an STC for its VFS101 voice-recognition system for Garmin’s GNS 430W and 530W GPS/navcoms. The VFS101 enables the pilot to verbally enter flight-plan waypoints using the phonetic alphabet, which takes a fraction of the time of twisting the knobs on the 430W and 530W units. In addition to loading a flight plan, […]

Thousands of people from around the country gathered in Cape Canaveral last week to watch the last operational NASA space shuttle take to the skies during the program’s final launch. Arriving as early as 3 a.m., many slept in their cars for a chance to see Atlantis launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center last Friday […]

Three different private aircraft were intercepted by fighter jets over the weekend after busting the TFR over Camp David in Maryland.** ** According to NORAD, the command responsible for the air defense of North America, the first incident occurred on Saturday just after 12 p.m., when two F-15E fighters intercepted an unspecified general aviation aircraft […]

Diamond Aircraft, which a few months ago laid off a large number of its North America workforce, is cutting back some more. Citing the continued slow market for piston airplanes and its recent financial woes, Diamond Aircraft says that it has made the difficult decision to cancel its plans to attend the three most important […]

Honda Aircraft briefly drew back the veil of mystery surrounding its secretive HondaJet program on Tuesday, allowing members of the media to tour a gleaming, $100 million aircraft factory the company has just completed at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. HondaJet president and CEO Michimasa Fujino led the tour through the brand […]

An all-electric, twin-motor French airplane known as the MC15E Cri Cri piloted by Hugues Duval recently reached 153 knots, breaking its own speed record for electrically powered airplanes by about 10 knots. While several power plants have been tested on the Cri Cri, the record setting airplane was powered by a pair of 35-horsepower Electravia […]

After years of watching and waiting, the world’s aircraft manufacturers could finally be witnessing the first signs that China’s growing economy is ready to fully embrace business aviation. ** ** The leasing division of China Minsheng Banking Corp. has ordered 50 Gulfstreams worth $2.6 billion at list prices in the largest business jet deal ever […]

The FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) have announced an agreement on new guidelines intended to combat fatigue.** ** The agreement is the latest in a series of attempts by the FAA to restore confidence in America’s air traffic control system, which came under heavy fire earlier this year with a barrage […]

A reproduction Curtiss A-1 Triad crash landed last week shortly after taking off from Keuka Lake in New York, postponing a planned demonstration flight celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Navy’s acquisition of the airplane. The replica was built by volunteers at the Glenn Curtiss Museum, located in Hammondsport, NY, and was equipped with an […]