Aviation News

Press releases from Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) filled journalists’ inboxes as EBACE opened its doors in Geneva this week. One of the new strategies announced there takes a page from premium automobile brands with a “certified” pre-owned aircraft program. Under the Hawker Beechcraft Select Pre-Owned Program, qualifying turbine aircraft (sorry, pistons aren’t included) purchased through […]

In a regulatory move designed to curb runway incursions, after the end of next month, ground controllers will no longer be able to clear you to taxi directly to the takeoff runway if the route involves crossing another runway. Currently, a clearance to the departure runway enabled the pilot to cross any intervening runways without […]

On April 30, a pair of European pilots commemorated the 100th anniversary of the first flight of an aircraft in Switzerland. Their goal? To fly a pair of Flight Design CTLS light sport aircraft (LSAs) around the world. The two Swiss airline pilots, Yannick Bovier and Francisco Agullo, left Sion Switzerland on the first leg […]

American Legend has announced a new model, the Classic J3 Cub, aimed at delivering simple, fun flying at a price lower than most — $95,000. Described as a “slimmed down” version of its other Cub models, the new J3 is powered with a 100-hp Continental O-200.

Concord, Massachusetts-based Linear Air is back to flying point-to-point service from the New York area. Company president William Herp reports the carrier has resumed operations after a shutdown stemming from the failure of Eclipse. Linear Air began service in 2004 with Cessna Grand Caravans and added four Eclipse EA500s.

Phillips 66 Aviation announced a $1-per-gallon rebate program for pilots flying Angel Flight Northeast missions and/or flights approved by Mercy Medical Airlift. The deal will affect some 1,600 pilots flying for the charity organizations. Angel Flight Northeast has flown more than 53,000 patients and family members to medical care facilities.

First quarter results for General Dynamics revealed the largest number of new orders since mid-2008. Jay Johnson, GD’s president and CEO said, “The Aerospace Group is off to a very good start in 2010.” The business group includes Gulfstream Aerospace, Jet Aviation and GD Aviation Services divisions. International orders dominated the ledger for Gulfstream, continuing […]

“The continued use of lead in avgas by piston-engine aircraft is a significant source of current lead emissions to the environment,” said the Environmental Protection Agency. Last week, the EPA issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) addressing leaded avgas and how to balance its threat to the environment with the practicality of phasing […]

A communication from the FAA addressed the issue of cockpit distractions caused by use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) such as laptop computers and multifunction mobile phones. The document opened with three instances of PEDs creating dangerous distractions — beginning with the now infamous Northwest Airlines flight that overflew its destination airport by 150 miles. […]

Starting May 18, the National Transportation Safety Board will hold a three-day forum on professionalism in aviation. The meeting will be held at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C. Addressing recent incidents involving lapsed standards of professional behavior, the agency expects to gather information on how to improve the professionalism of pilots and air traffic controllers. […]