Aviation News

Attendance at the National Business Aviation Association convention in Orlando last week was down by 25 percent compared with last year. The 23,000 figure is the second lowest since 1994, exceeded only by the hastily rescheduled show held in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, when fewer than 12,000 registered. On the plus side, most […]

Bill Garvey, former Flying editor and current editor-in-chief of Business & Commercial Aviation magazine, received this year’s Dave Ewald Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award for journalism from the NBAA. His op-ed piece in the Jan. 31 issue of The New York Times defended business aviation. This year’s NBAA Gold Wing Award for journalism went to Robert […]

When Airbus decided to configure its A320 with sidesticks, one of the benefits was that the crew would have ample workroom without a control column in front of them. Northwest captain Timothy Cheney and first officer Richard Cole might now be wishing Airbus had stuck with the old school. According to the latest reports from […]

Garmin announced on Monday that it has two launch aircraft for its G3000 avionics suite. On Tuesday, Honda Aircraft and Piper both confirmed their developmental jets are the aircraft Garmin was referring to. Honda’s HondaJet has completed talks with the FAA on a variety of structural certification standards and is preparing for final assembly of […]

GTC 570 Garmin Vice President of Marketing Gary Kelley said the engineers at Garmin have not been idle during the downturn. As proof, the company announced its latest new product, the G3000 integrated flight deck, which Kelley said, “promises to be one of the most intuitive and powerful flight deck systems ever designed for Part […]

With typical Midwest pragmatism, Cessna addressed the clear problems it faces while also outlining its reasons for optimism. At his press conference during the NBAA convention, Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton acknowledged the grim reality of layoffs. The work force at Cessna has contracted to 10,000 employees from 18,000 at this time last […]

The dream persists. Stratos Aircraft of Bend, Oregon, introduced its new CEO during the NBAA convention this week, and has a cabin mockup of its single-engine Stratos 714 personal jet on display. Alexander Craig has held high-level positions at aviation companies, including Honeywell International and Williams International. He admits the Stratos 714 has a long […]

Ten-year forecasts are often more a reflection of current conditions than realistic predictors of future activity. As an example, this year’s Honeywell market outlook for the coming decade calls for deliveries of up to 11,000 new business jets by 2019. But last year’s 10-year forecast envisioned 17,000 deliveries. Still, the Honeywell forecast is one that […]

Brazilian airframer Embraer hasn’t let the down economy slow its developments plan. The company surprised NBAA convention attendees by announcing a new product, the Legacy 650 large-cabin business jet priced at $29.5 million. The Legacy 650 combines the fuselage of the smaller EMB-135 regional airliner with the wings of the larger EMB-145, resulting in more […]

The tone at this year’s 62nd National Business Aviation Association convention was almost warlike. In fact, Hawker Beechcraft’s press conference at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, was conducted as though it were a combat mission briefing. CEO Bill Boisture and other members of the management staff wore flight suits and boots and […]