Aviation News

A security system that uses biometrics embedded in an identification smart card has begun beta testing at FlightSafety International’s training academy in Vero Beach, Florida. Sponsored by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and dubbed the National Air Transportation Security Identification System, the system uses a “SkyGuard” card that contains a 16K computer chip that […]

||| |—|—| | | | The FAA proposed the broadest changes to existing pilot and light plane certification standards in decades, when it published its proposal for the new Light-Sport Pilot and Light-Sport Aircraft rules. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was published in late January. The public has 90 days to comment on it […]

In a revision of its annual forecast presented shortly after the September 11th attacks, Honeywell says that it foresees a “modest decline” of seven to eight percent in bizjet deliveries in 2002 when compared to 2001. Deliveries are expected to increase again in 2003, rising to the record level of deliveries in 2001. In the […]

||| |—|—| | | | The most unusual introduction at the NBAA gathering in New Orleans, maybe at any NBAA gathering, was made by AeroCopter. The Andover, Massachusetts, company announced the Humming, a unique aircraft that combines jet engines and helicopter aerodynamics to create a new kind of tiltrotor aircraft. A relatively traditionally configured delta-wing […]

||| |—|—| | | | Think driving is cheap? Think again. Runzheimer International, a management consulting firm, added up the costs for several trips of around 500 miles and found that driving, which obviously doesn’t save any time on a trip of that length, doesn’t save money either. Once all the costs were figured (fuel, […]

||| |—|—| | | | After nearly a decade’s hiatus, the Tiger has returned to production. On December 3rd Tiger Aircraft hosted a roll-out ceremony at its Martinsburg, West Virginia, factory to announce that it had obtained an FAA type certificate for the sprightly single. For good measure, the company also rolled out the first […]

||| |—|—| | | | In mid-September, Nimbus Group announced that it had ordered 1,000 Eclipse 500 very light jets. Nimbus also made an investment in Eclipse; financial details of that deal have not been disclosed. Under the terms of the agreement, Eclipse will deliver the jets to Nimbus over a five-year period beginning in […]

Dassault Falcon Jet’s new flagship, formerly code-named the “FNX,” has gotten a permanent name, the Falcon 7X.

Bombardier has soft-launched its latest business jet, the “super-large” Global 5000. The intercontinental jet is designed to fill the niche in the company’s product line between the Challenger 604 and the ultra-long-range Global Express. Powered by the same 14,750-pound-thrust Rolls-Royce Deutschland BR710 engines as the Global Express, the 5000 will have a range, with NBAA […]

Do you have a new rating? Congratulations. But be prepared. Pilots are currently experiencing long delays and other problems in getting their new certificates back from the FAA. While this is not a new problem, predating the September 11th attacks by many months at least, it seems to be getting worse. Last April I added […]