Aviation News

In the spring of 2002 a Beech D-45, the civilianized version of the Bonanza-derived T-34 Mentor military trainer, crashed while attempting a landing in gusty conditions at Minden, Louisiana. Both occupants of the tandem two-seat airplane were killed. The Mentor’s owner, a private pilot, had flown over 1,000 hours in it since acquiring it in […]

In December 2000 a tower controller in southern Florida received a single radio transmission: “Mayday mayday mayday Pitts 260DB in an unrecoverable flat spin at 3,500 feet.” The airplane crashed in the Everglades, coming to rest partially inverted and nearly vertical in several feet of water. The canopy, which had been jettisoned in flight, was […]

The Biplane Expo, held every summer in the northeast Oklahoma city of Bartlesville, brings together two-winged creations from every era of flying history. Flying traveled to the 2006 edition of the Expo to check out the wings and meet the people who keep and fly these magnificent machines, some of which represent one of the […]

In May 1999, in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, a two-seat homebuilt GP-4 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing its 73-year-old builder and 60-year-old passenger. Both men were licensed pilots. The builder had logged 181.4 hours in the airplane since first flying it 15 months earlier. The weather at the time of the accident was clear and mild. According […]

Amid much fanfare at the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In in April, Mooney launched its new Acclaim piston single. The ceremoney featured a surprise appearance by Mooney CEO Gretchen Jahn, who just before the announcement had snuck into the airplane and was waiting inside as the new model was unveiled. If it meets the manufacturer’s projections, […]

In April, 2003, a Beech B200 King Air on approach to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, crashed about a mile from the airport. It had made a normal approach before overflying the runway, making a couple of steep turns and then diving into a single-story industrial building, penetrating the wall just below the roof. Of the King Air’s […]

It’s official: The United States Air Force has certified the world’s only “fifth generation” fighter jet as operationally ready. The Lockheed Martin F-22 combines supersonic speed (including supersonic cruise without afterburner) with stealth and advanced targeting, weaponry and defense capabilities to make it hands down the most advanced fighter jet on the planet. With plans […]

LAST DECEMBER, EADS SOCATA ANNOUNCED THE TBM 850, an upgraded version of its single-engine turboprop TBM 700. After some 15 years of production, three different models and more than 300 airplanes, the 700 has been replaced on the production line by the TBM 850. Featuring a 1,825-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D turboprop engine flat rated […]

The Aerion SBJ, a Mach 1.6 business jet, has completed Phase One of its development program and the company is confi dent of its viability. A proprietary market survey of more than 1,100 “Global-class” operators confirmed a demand for 250 to 300 Aerion SBJs during the fi rst 10 years of production, according to Aerion. […]