Aviation News

Piper Aircraft reported this week that its first quarter billings are up by nearly $7.7 million over the same time period last year. The increase is a 40 percent improvement from $18,458,531 in the first quarter of 2010 to $26,159,703 this year. While the total number of airplanes delivered by the company dropped from 30 […]

The Civil Air Patrol has been tapped to participate in a major homeland security and disaster response exercise starting on May 16 that will test emergency responders’ ability to handle a massive earthquake in America’s heartland along the seismic-sensitive New Madrid fault. “CAP is a nationwide organization with a tremendous amount of resources it can […]

Boeing recently made the first flight of its Phantom Ray, a remotely piloted aerial vehicle — Boeing uses the term “unmanned airborne system” (UAS) — from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. The airplane looks for all the world like a half-scale radio-control early prototype of the Stealth Fighter, which […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) came out with its First Quarter stats on Tuesday, and to the surprise of no one familiar with industry activity, they were further proof of a slow economic recovery process. Overall, total billings were down $3.7 billion compared to the first quarter of last year, a nearly 20 percent […]

Industry representatives from all facets of aviation attended the Pilot Training Reform Symposium put on by the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) last week in Atlanta, Georgia. The event kicked off a broad reform program aimed at improving civilian flight training. SAFE sees reformed flight instruction as an opportunity to address current issues […]

(May 2011) IN THE MARCH ISSUE OF Flying, On the Record reported on the crash of a Cessna 172S Skyhawk in January 2010, about 20 miles north of Bangor, Maine. The pilot had picked up the brand-new airplane in Independence, Kansas, and flown it to Bangor, where an additional fuel tank was installed for a […]

Cessna, which made its name in the turbofan business with simple and strong light jets, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the Cessna 525 CitationJet, the company’s groundbreaking single-pilot jet that first took flight in late April of 1991. That airplane, equipped with an all-new laminar flow wing and powered by […]

Hawker Beechcraft issued a mixed-bag earnings report on Monday, highlighting an increase in deliveries, but a decrease in sales and operational income sparked largely by the continuing underperformance of business and general aviation. During January through March of this year, the company made a total of 45 deliveries, a significant increase from the 34 deliveries […]

Redbird Flight Simulations of Austin, Texas, has signed a lease at nearby San Marcos Municipal Airport (KHYI) for an innovative, multi-pronged aviation business that aims to do training differently. The facility will house a traditional FBO with fuel sales and a foodie-quality eatery, as well as a flight school that will incorporate Redbird’s popular flight […]

Hartzell’s 7391 ‘Scimitar’ blade, the choice of Hawker Beechcraft for the 50th anniversary special edition G58 Baron, is now available for all Baron 55 models, as well as earlier 58 models as the key piece of the Top Prop conversion. The Hartzell kit features Scimitar aluminum alloy blades, derived from Hartzell’s Reno Super Sport racing […]