Aviation News

USAIG, one of the largest aviation insurance companies, is offering up to a 7.5 percent premium credit to owner pilots who attend annual formal recurrent training classes. That is in addition to the company?s policy of no hull loss deductibles, $5,000 per person medical payment coverage for pilots and passengers, and up to $250,000 voluntary […]

The National Transportation Safety Board released its final report for 2007, and the statistics reveal that general aviation has gotten safer, at least in terms of fatal accidents. The number of accidents involving general aviation aircraft (non-airline; not-for-hire charter) was actually up last year to 1,631 from 1,518 in 2006. But fatalities were down a […]

In February Cessna announced details of its new Model 850 Citation Columbus, the first business jet in the line to have a flat-floor cabin with 6-feet 1-inch stand-up headroom. The Columbus promises 4,000 nm of IFR range flying at Mach .80 (459 knots) while carrying eight passengers. The airplane is an all-new design and will […]

The National Weather Association is offering a free ?Weather Theory for Pilots? interactive course on its website. The course covers basic atmospheric theory, including moisture, vertical motion and stability, and is designed for new or low-time pilots. This course compliments other online courses already offered by the NWA that address flying when thunderstorms are present […]

Bombardier confirmed, as first reported in Flying, that the company’s next generation Learjet will be built entirely from composite plastics. The new Learjet 85 would be the first transport category airplane with an all-composite airframe, and is the first in the Learjet, Challenger or Global Express line from Bombardier to use composites for primary structure […]

Avidyne has introduced a product that claims to reduce pilot IFR workload by 75 to 90 percent, compared with “existing units.” Replicating the function of a business jet’s flight management system (FMS), the Avidyne FMS900W works in conjunction with the Entegra integrated avionics suite. The goal is to make operating the system easier; one example […]

Jeppesen has teamed with Hilton Software to offer up to 15 applications for pilots that will interface with an increasing number of smart mobile phones. Jeppesen Mobile expects to be available soon on Blackberrys and iPhones, offering full Airport Facility Directory information, including touch activation for hotlinks to ASOS, ATIS and FBO phone numbers. The […]

The FAA has granted supplemental type certification for Garmin’s three-dimensional Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT). The system displays high-resolution, 3D graphic depictions of terrain, runways, obstacles and even traffic on the primary flight display (PFD). The graphics replace Garmin’s previous blue-over-brown PFD depiction. The user-customizable system also incorporates highway-in-the-sky guidance with rectangular boxes depicted on the […]

Embraer has confirmed it will proceed with development of two new jet projects, a so-called Midlight Jet (MLJ) and a Midsize Jet (MSJ). Though not yet named, the new jets will fall between the Brazilian company’s Phenom 100 and 300 models and the Legacy 600, a business jet version of the ERJ135 regional jet liner. […]

Citing a need to bolster the accuracy of its aircraft registration database, the FAA is proposing new registration parameters. Under the proposed rules, all aircraft currently registered would need to be re-registered; and that registration renewed at three-year intervals. The FAA maintains that more than 27,500 of the 240,000 active aircraft registered have inaccurate information […]