Aviation News

As were many in the aviation industry, officials at Diamond Aircraft were “surprised” by ExxonMobil’s letter to its network of fuel suppliers warning against using jet fuel in piston-driven diesel aviation engines. Unlike most others, however, Diamond’s brain trust has a vital stake in the issue, since their twin-engine DA42 Twin Star is powered by […]

The flood of bad economic news in aviation has all but overshadowed the drop in fuel prices. Dire predictions of $8 per gallon for 100LL have proved overly pessimistic-at least for now. (The drop in oil prices from $140 per barrel to just over $50 in a few months is unprecedented. So who knows whether […]

A Cessna 210 and a 44-foot Navy ROTC yacht are among the 215 items allegedly stolen by an FAA employee. The San Diego-based field technician apparently identified a vulnerable seam in a government computer program designed to allow different agencies to receive property from other agencies that no longer had need for the assets. Details […]

Recent incentives from aircraft manufacturers have sweetened the IRS’s tax depreciation lure for customers to buy an airplane before year end. Liberty Aircraft is the latest to join the year-end sales blast, offering a year’s free fuel and maintenance (up to 125 hours); free insurance; and five hours’ training for those who take delivery of […]

In what is seen as a challenge to the incoming Obama administration, President Bush issued an executive order on November 18 dictating “effective implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System [NextGen].” The first deadline for establishing a DOT support staff is set for no more than 60 days after the order, or by January […]

Eclipse Aviation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday morning, in order to continue operations “with lower costs and reduced debt liabilities.” As it filed for bankruptcy, Eclipse also announced an agreement to sell its assets for “a combination of cash, equity and debt” to an affiliate of ETIRC Aviation S.a.r.l. of Luxembourg. Roel […]

The image of bailout-seeking executives from the Big Three automakers arriving in Washington, D.C., aboard corporate jets was a lightning rod for the press. Even morning curmudgeon Don Imus, a 12-year NetJets customer (NetJets is also a sponsor of his show), could not help complaining that “we shouldn’t have to pay” for their private jet […]

In a November 17 letter to aviation fuel distributors, ExxonMobil U.S. General Aviation Operations Manager Martin Tippl wrote: “ExxonMobil Aviation does not support or endorse the supply of jet fuel to aircraft powered by diesel engines.” The letter was circulated as a PDF by the Thielert Engine operators’ user group, which called the policy “a […]

Last Friday, the European Aviation Safety Agency (FAA counterpart for the European Union) finally granted certification for the Eclipse 500 twinjet, two years after FAA certification. Friday’s ruling covers private use of the very light jets. Eclipse hopes to receive European approval for commercial operations in time for charter and taxi operators to begin service […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported record dollar volume of new airplane deliveries from airplane manufacturers for the first three quarters of 2008 with a total value of $18.2 billion in deliveries, up from $15.1 billion in the same period of 2007. A total of 2,977 airplanes were delivered compared to 2,918 in 2007, indicating […]