Aviation News

The sudden shutdown of service for air-cab operator SATSair came as a surprise to many. When the company suspended service on Oct. 23, the official reason was “a combination of circumstances.” President and CEO Steve Hanvey has since defended his company’s business model, but has so far declined to go into details on the circumstances […]

Brazilian airframer Embraer has begun construction on a combination final assembly and customer-delivery center in Melbourne, Florida. The new facility will be capable of completing up to eight Phenom 100 and 300 light jets per month – mostly for North American customers – and is meant to serve that role in tandem with the factory […]

A joint industry/government task force on NextGen implementation recently delivered its report, and at least one politician called it a “breakthrough.” One key element at issue is whether air traffic control would shift from its legacy “first-come, first-served” protocol to one of “best-equipped, best served.” General aviation leaders have spoken out on the complex issues […]

Ever wonder what happened to the ‘500’ series of Garmin portables? When the big dog on the GA avionics porch released its 695/696 units last year, some questioned why the leapfrog from the enormously successful 496. Now we know. Garmin announced its latest, the Aera (pronounced ‘air-uh’) series of portables at this week’s AOPA Summit […]

At about 8:25 A.M. on Sept. 3, 2007, Steve Fossett took off from a friend’s ranch, about 60 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada, in a borrowed 1980 Bellanca Super Decathlon. A few minutes later, about nine miles south of the airstrip, an employee of the ranch who knew the airplane well saw the Decathlon fly […]

NBAA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to coordinate Light Business Aviation (LBA) conferences. There will be LBA conferences at each of the associations’ meetings every year starting in 2010. NBAA had planned a dedicated LBA conference of its own this year, but cancelled plans in light of […]

Greenville, South Carolina-based SATSair has quit flying. The company used a fleet of Cirrus SR22s in what had been an apparently successful air-taxi model. But last week, the company cited “a combination of circumstances” and suspended flights, including those that had been previously booked. Customers were told they would be notified if SATSair were to […]

Long before Eclipse, Cirrus or even Lear Jet, the Morane-Saulnier MS-760 brought jet performance to personal aircraft. In production from 1959 to 1966, the four-place twinjet was powered by a pair of Marbore straight-pipe turbojets and sold reasonably well for its time. Now, a new company plans to revive the design, known as the Paris […]

While NBAA exhibitors were downsizing and fewer attendees were traveling to the show, the spirit of giving was not sacrificed on the altar of frugality. The Corporate Angel Network (CAN) combined with NBAA this year to hold a Charity Benefit, including a combination live and online auction. Auction items donated by NBAA members included a […]

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 […]