Aviation News

After reviewing four accidents involving volunteer pilots flying medical patients, the National Transportation Safety Board has three areas of concern. There are numerous charity flight organizations throughout the country. Member pilots donate their time and use of their aircraft to transport ambulatory patients and family members to and from treatment. The accidents occurred between Sept. […]

Going to be in Chicago next week? On Tuesday evening (5 pm to 9 pm), the Garmin Store at 663 North Michigan Ave. (corner of Erie) will throw a party to unveil the new Frasca Mentor Simulator, which uses the Garmin G1000 avionics suite. There will also be a seminar covering the retrofit G500/600 series, […]

If a job is dirty, dangerous or just plain dull, you get a robot to do it. And you can add one more ‘D’ to the list of considerations for expanding the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — Dollars. There is great demand at the FAA to permit launching UAVs that would perform a […]

The FAA visited some 30 Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) facilities before releasing its assessment of the industry. And the result? They need to tighten up. LSA manufacturers are responsible for complying with “consensus standards” that were developed by ASTM, and the FAA found that most could not adequately substantiate that they met the standards. Without […]

Since releasing its first product in 2003, Dynon Avionics says it leads all other manufacturers in converting light sport and experimental aircraft from conventional mechanical gauges to “glass panels.” Dynon units are installed in more than 10,000 homebuilts and LSAs, according to the company. Products start at $1,600 with the newest SkyView system priced at […]

I don’t usually turn to The Economist for aviation news, but the June 12 edition had a two-page article on the emergence of alternate-power aircraft. Examples included the ’round-the-world hopeful Solar Impulse and several electric-powered aircraft, including the Chinese Yuneec e430 which made its debut at EAA AirVenture last year. While allowing that the prospect […]

Brian Delauter, the general manager of the Transportation Security Administration’s General Aviation Branch said, “I have an open goal of increasing [GA] flights into DCA [Washington Reagan International Airport].” He said the current regulations permit up to 48 flights per day, but the current set of security rules, known as the DCA Access Security Program […]

Cirrus Aircraft officials say they’re not concerned over an FAA proposal to expand the requirement for function and reliability (F&R) testing to include turbine aircraft less than 6,000 pounds (maximum takeoff weight). They say the planned test program for Cirrus’s single-engine SF50 Vision Jet already included most of the F&R testing they expect to be […]

According to industry analyst Brian Foley of Brian Foley and Associates, Sparta, New Jersey, the current “stagnant period” for general aviation is “no cause for panic or even pessimism.” He added, “Most recoveries aren’t linear and the occasional pullback can be expected. A year ago we postulated this recovery might have a W-shape, and that […]

According to a story posted on Avweb, Lycoming has gone on record opposing the development of 94UL as a replacement for 100 low lead (100LL) aviation gasoline. Continental supports development of 94UL, and is currently experimenting with modifications to its engines to accommodate the lower octane level — approximately 8 octane points less than leaded […]