Aviation News

The flying car that created a buzz when it was unveiled at Oshkosh three years ago has just received a variety of special exemptions from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The vehicle, known as the Transition Roadable Aircraft, is a dual-purpose model intended for travel both in the air and on the road. […]

The FAA has launched a major review of general aviation airports across the U.S. to better promote “the many roles and functions” these airports serve in their respective communities. The review, which began last fall, is focusing on infrastructure needs and, the agency says, could lead to reclassifications for many airports.** ** In recent years, […]

Last week President Obama touched off a new series of high-level flame wars with aviation industry leaders by calling for new taxes on bizjet owners while at the same time seeming again to call into question the legitimacy of bizjet use. In remarks during a press conference on June 29, the president focused on the […]

Cirrus Aircraft has received a vote of confidence from the U.S. Air Force in the form of a fleet order for 25 single-engine SR20s for the Air Force Academy’s cadet training program. The Academy will take delivery of the airplanes — designated as T-53A trainers in the customized configuration — starting this summer and continuing […]

A rocket carrying a dummy achieved a successful launch last month from a platform in the Baltic Sea. The craft, created by Danish group Copenhagen Suborbital over the course of the last few years, was aiming for an altitude of around 50,000 feet for the launch; it is not yet clear what altitude the HEAT […]

Senator James Inhofe (R.- Okla.) introduced legislation on Wednesday mandating changes to the FAA’s enforcement process to make it “more fair to pilots” who are often left in the dark as to what they are being investigated for and the nature of the evidence against them. ** ** Last year Inhofe had an enforcement action […]

There is plenty of pressure in life these days. Anyone who has been laid off knows how real the pressure is to find another job. When your boss says, “You’d better get this done by 2 p.m.,” the pressure can be intense, especially when it realistically should take at least until 4 p.m. to complete […]

ICON Aircraft, the California developer of the ICON A5 amphibious sport airplane, announced receiving $25 million in additional equity funding that will allow the start-up company to complete engineering development work and enter production as early as next year. The primary financing sources come from venture capitalists Satyen Patel, the former head of Nike’s Asia […]

Mirroring the conclusions of several other recent industry forecasts, the results of a business aviation market survey conduced by JetNet, a Utica, New York-based research firm, predict a surge in bizjet demand in the next decade.** ** JetNet has released its first-ever 10-year business jet delivery forecast, predicting worldwide deliveries of 11,476 new business jets […]

Congress approved another temporary FAA funding bill this week, delaying once again the passage of comprehensive FAA reauthorization legislation.** ** The new short-term bill constitutes the 20th stop-gap measure to pass since the last long-term FAA reauthorization bill expired in 2007. The latest bill, titled the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, Part III, […]