Aviation News

One of the industry’s oldest and strongest “type clubs” is readjusting its leadership. The American Bonanza Society has a new president and an interim executive director, effective the beginning of this month. Nancy Johnson is stepping down as executive director after 13 years in that position, replaced by Tom Turner, who has been the group’s […]

On March 4, 2008, a Citation 500 with five people aboard took off from Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City. Two minutes later, it lay a smoking wreckage in a wooded area four miles away. Many witnesses saw the crash. One reported hearing what “sounded like an engine compressor stall” — that is, a loud […]

Earlier this week, Cirrus Aircraft announced that Purdue University’s Department of Aviation Technology agreed to purchase 16 new SR20s. Deliveries will begin in March and all 16 are expected to arrive by the end of July, replacing the program’s current fleet of Piper Warriors. One issue cited in the university’s decision to choose Cirrus was […]

Garmin took the stage at the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, last week to announce a new engine information system and integrated autopilot interface for its G3X glass cockpit suite. The G3X is strictly for experimental and Light Sport aircraft, and the EIS will be available next month via a free software download. Sensor […]

Good weather combined with some hot news to make last week’s Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, a successful mid-winter show. The big news was Piper’s entry into the Light Sport trainer market with its PiperSport, a Czech-built, all-metal two-seater powered by a Rotax 912 engine. For photos and a description of the PiperSport, click […]

AOPA President Craig Fuller summarized the thoughts of many aircraft operators in response to the devastation in Haiti: “We all want to jump in our aircraft and fly down to help.” Indeed, in the days following the Jan. 12 earthquake, operators of aircraft ranging from individual owners of single-engine pistons to corporate fleet and charter […]

Approximately 3,000 airport operators are not sure how best to respond to a survey form from the Transportation Security Administration. As part of the TSA response to the 9/11 Commission Recommendation Act of 2007, the security agency is assessing liabilities at all airports. The focus is on those with runways of at least 2,000 feet […]

Electronic screen failures, runway incursions, separated propeller blades and turbine engine debris are all represented on the list of new incidents requiring a report to the National Transportation Safety Board. In a rule that becomes effective March 8, operators will have to report: complete loss of more than half of an aircraft’s cockpit displays (not […]

The FAA and Europe’s EASA have approved Hawker Beechcraft’s latest King Air 350 variant, the 350i. The updated turboprop twin features HBC’s “FlexCabin” configuration — able to be swapped easily for various missions. The 350i also boasts a quieter cabin with sound levels reduced to an average of 78 dBA. The standard cabin management system […]

According to numbers supplied by Avdata, North American sales of used turbine aircraft in November last year were comparable to those recorded in 2008 — the first month following the economic collapse. For example, in 2009, there were 36 sales of light business jets compared with 35 in 2008. Medium jet sales improved last year […]