Aviation News

Members of a bipartisan group of 33 U.S. senators have signed a letter sent to Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski urging him to overturn a frequency spectrum license waiver awarded to broadband satellite communications company LightSquared until testing can show the company’s mobile 4G technology won’t interfere with GPS signal reception. The issue has […]

This week’s eruption of an Icelandic volcano seems to be a repeat of much of last year’s drama when a larger eruption shut down much of Europe’s airspace for nearly a week, costing billions of Euros in the process. ** ** This time around, the authorities were well prepared, though how much good that preparation […]

A New York federal jury on Tuesday found Cirrus Design does not bear any blame for the October 2006 crash of an SR20 that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, 34, and flight instructor Tyler Stanger, 26. The pair crashed into a high-rise apartment building as they attempted to make a turn in the […]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday blamed “pilot unresponsiveness” for last August’s crash of a de Havilland Turbo Otter amphibious floatplane in remote Alaska that killed pilot Terry Smith and four passengers including former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. The Board said a flight surgeon’s decision to reinstate Smith’s first-class medical certificate without a […]

__Eurocopter recently reported that flight-testing on the X3 is progressing nicely and its test pilots attained a sustained true airspeed of 232 knots. This number, which was achieved during stable, level flight on the third flight-testing mission after the X3’s gear boxes were modified, is significantly higher than the 220 knots the Marignane, France-based company […]

__Continuing a trend that is sweeping business aviation, Hawker Beechcraft says it has developed an aftermarket retrofit kit allowing the installation of blended winglets on the Hawker 750. The modification will add 100 miles to the airplane’s range and improve time-to-climb by 5 percent, the company says. An effective increase in the wing aspect ratio […]

A 30-year-old commercial pilot and a passenger left Plant City, Florida, on a Saturday morning in March for a time-building trip to Las Vegas. The plan was to return around the middle of the coming week, depending on weather. The pilot had rented a Diamond DA40 for the trip, a four-seater with a 180 hp […]

Tecnam recently introduced two certified airplanes currently in development: the P2012 Traveller and the P Twenty-Ten. Both of the new airplanes will undergo FAA Part 23 and European Aviation Safety Agency CS-23 certification concurrently. With the capacity to carry 11 passengers, the P2012 is by far the largest airplane Tecnam has brought to market since […]

The new Conservative Canadian government has denied a $35 million loan request from Diamond Aircraft, possibly affecting the D-Jet program and the Canadian segment of Diamond Aircraft. The Liberal party had made it clear that, if elected, it would be in support of the request after Diamond laid off 213 of its 380 workers at […]

After a difficult 2010, Cirrus shipments bounced back during the first quarter of 2011, according to recent data released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. A GAMA report showed Cirrus made 61 aircraft shipments in the first quarter, up from the 53 the Duluth, Minnesota-based manufacturer reported during the same period last year. The company’s […]