Aviation News

Congress has confirmed President Obama’s choice of Randy Babbitt as new FAA Administrator. Babbitt is former head of the Air Line Pilots Association and an aviation consultant. Besides living from hand to mouth through a series of temporary funding bills, the FAA has also operated under acting administrators Robert Sturgell (September 2007 to January 2009) […]

Last week, the House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 915, the 2009 version of an FAA funding authorization bill. The legislation is said to be virtually identical to the House bill that passed in 2007, only to be defeated in the Senate. Like the 2007 House proposal, this year’s funding bill does not […]

“No. Hell no.” is the way one skeptic describes the reaction of most general aviation stakeholders to a proposed FAA redesign of New York airspace. As currently proposed (it changes subtly from meeting to meeting), the plan calls for extending Class B airspace out another five miles and lowering the floor from 3,000 feet to […]

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is the trade group representing FBOs, charter operators and other segments of the general aviation industry. NATA coordinates an annual ‘Day on the Hill’ meeting between leaders of the general aviation industry and members of Congress on Capitol Hill. This year’s session, the 13th annual event, included close to […]

It’s not often you hear lobbying groups speak up in favor of tax increases for their constituents. But NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen told the Senate aviation subcommittee that business aviation would shoulder an increase in fuel taxes to pay its share of the cost of the NextGen air-traffic-control modernization program. He told lawmakers, […]

They don’t generate Paris Air Show, AirVenture or Sun ‘n Fun attendance numbers, but Flying‘s Parade of Planes’ intimate regional expos have proven to generate aircraft sales. Conducted in conjunction with AMPT Associates, the POP series visited Olathe, Kansas, last week. AMPT Managing Director of Aviation Randy Bolinger reported modest turnout (challenged, one day, by […]

Someone must have forgotten to tell tradeshow visitors that general aviation is in a death spiral. Last week’s European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) proved to be among the most highly attended since the show launched in 2001. Figures reached well into five digits, and there were 65 aircraft on static display, compared with […]

As if in response to signals of an improved market, Bombardier announced at EBACE that development is continuing apace on its all-composite Learjet 85. This despite other manufacturers recently announcing slowdowns-if not worse-in their new-jet programs. The Learjet 85 program is currently in its joint definition phase, with certification and first deliveries scheduled for 2013. […]

If business aviation has been in a spin, the latest numbers from research firm ARG/US show we’ve likely reduced power and applied opposite rudder. Flight activity in April for that segment of general aviation did decline a whopping 18.8 percent compared with the same month in 2008, but was down only 1.86 percent from March. […]

At the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva this week, Honeywell announced upgrades to the avionics system that forms the basis for Gulfstream’s PlaneView avionics suite and Dassault Falcon’s EASy integrated avionics package. The upgrades include functionality for future air navigation system (FANS1/A); wide area augmentation system localizer performance with vertical guidance (WAAS […]