Aviation News

Two unnamed aircraft manufacturers are said to be close to announcing the selection of the SmartDeck integrated avionics system under development by Esterline CMC Electronics of Montreal. The cockpit was originally a project begun by Goodrich in the 1990s and later transferred to L-3 Avionics Systems before being sold to CMC last year. Throughout its […]

Aircraft distributor SportairUSA is bringing a new LSA option to the American market, and an aerobatic one at that. On Tuesday at EAA AirVenture the company unveiled a prototype of the aircraft, which is a single-seat, 130 horsepower aerobatic LSA known as the Snap. The Snap is a low-wing taildragger manufactured in Italy by Dallair […]

Parachute maker BRS Aerospace announced it is developing a new electronic ignition system for its airplane parachute system. BRS has yet to determine the location of the activation switch or what it may look like, but BRS president Larry Williams said the system will be designed to prevent inadvertent deployment of the parachute. Williams also […]

As the 2011 AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, hit the halfway mark, Icon Aircraft had received deposits for 65 Icon A5 airplanes during the show. Crowds filed into Icon’s dimly lit booth to watch the A5’s wings fold and unfold, and to place their $2,000 show special deposits. For each deposit accepted at the show, Icon […]

Kestrel Aircraft Company has branched out into the aircraft modifications business with a new division called Kestrel Aeroworks. Kestrel Aircraft Chairman and CEO Alan Klapmeier said the purpose of Kestrel Aeroworks is to “take existing aircraft and make them into more modern, more comfortable, more pilot-friendly aircraft.” Kestrel Aeroworks is focusing its efforts on the […]

Despite great uncertainty within the FAA, Administrator Randy Babbitt took some time to show support for the general aviation community today by stopping by EAA AirVenture. With 4,000 FAA employees still furloughed and 70,000 construction workers commissioned for aviation-related projects out of a job, Babbitt gave little indication of an expected end to the shutdown. […]

EAA Chairman Tom Poberezny abruptly retired from the organization on Tuesday in a small event that wasn’t widely announced. During his improvised remarks at that ceremony, Poberezny thanked EAA members and stressed that the real strength of the organization was in its members and that the greatest pride he took in the job was in […]

The day before the official opening of AirVenture, Rockwell Collins in a press event at its impressive new AirVenture pavillion launched a touchscreen component to its Pro Line Fusion integrated flight deck. The touchscreens are scalable, meaning they can be incorporated into a number of installations going forward. The Fusion platform is already planned to […]

Blackhawk Modifications has gotten the FAA seal of approval for its Pratt & Whitney Canada engine upgrade program. The STC swaps out the 675-hp Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-114A for the 850-shp PT6A-42A, an increase of 26 percent. The mod gives operators an increase in takeoff work of 4 percent, 20 percent shorter takeoff performance, and […]

Flight Design came to AirVenture with a mockup of its four-seat C4 and said that it was close to making selections for the suppliers for the engine and the avionics. An all-carbon-fiber Part 23 high-cantilever-wing airplane designed to be a kind of amalgam of Skyhawk, Skylane and Cardinal, the C4 has projected specs — if […]