FAA Certification

Textron Aviation announced this week that it has achieved steep approach certification for two of its Cessna Citation products — the Sovereign+ and Latitude. Both the FAA and EASA have signed off on the certification, which allows the midsize jets to fly approaches as steep as 6.65 degrees. A typical approach path angle is 3 […]

At long last, Tamarack Aerospace has achieved the coveted supplemental type certificate for the Cessna Citation CJ series of bizjets for its Atlas active winglet system. The Atlas system features a wingtip extension that includes load alleviation, which eliminates the additional stress on the wing structure created by the extended wingspan. The performance enhancement realized […]

Cirrus Aircraft’s long journey to certification of the industry’s first single-engine personal jet culminated with FAA type approval of the SF50 Vision Jet nearly 10 years after the program’s launch. The FAA ceremoniously presented the type certificate for the SF50 to senior Cirrus executives at the NBAA Convention in Orlando, Florida, yesterday as the company […]

Coming on the heels of the certification of the Falcon 8X, Dassault Aviation has achieved both EASA and FAA certification for its FalconEye Combined Vision System. The FalconEye certification currently includes installation in the Falcon 2000S and LHX bizjets and is expected to be approved for a dual HUD installation in the 8X in 2018. […]

Textron’s Beechcraft subsidiary has received full FAA certification for all program elements of its Beechcraft/Hawker 400A upgrade. All upgrade work is completed either in Wichita, Kansas, or at a Textron Aviation service center. The completed effort transforms the old 1980s-era airframe into a Hawker 400XPR that offers improved climb and takeoff performance, as well as […]

Greensboro, North Carolina-based Honda Aircraft Company has achieved the final level of U.S. aircraft certification for the HA-420 HondaJet, snagging the coveted FAA Production Certificate for the light twinjet. The new approval allows the company to produce, flight test and issue airworthiness certificates to its HondaJets, a process that has previously required some involvement by […]

The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the proposed revision of Part 23, published by the FAA in March, is a remarkable document. During an election campaign in which the inability of Washington to get anything done is a central theme, the NPRM is a libertarian’s fever dream of deregulation. It’s hard to imagine how […]

Dassault Aviation’s new flagship, the Dassault Falcon 8X, achieved European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification. FAA certification is expected in the coming weeks, with entry into service planned for this fall. Three aircraft were used in the flight test program, which totaled more than 830 hours on 400 flights. Those airplanes will now be used […]

The FAA says the Terrafugia Transition can now be called a light sport aircraft despite the fact that its maximum weight is 370 pounds greater than the standard LSA 1,430-pound limit. Terrafugia petitioned the agency for the exemption to use the LSA label for a street-legal version of the aircraft back in 2014. Although the […]

Piper’s M600 single-engine turboprop achieved FAA type certification last week, adding a new model to the Vero Beach, Florida, manufacturer’s lineup that features more power and improved avionics. The $2.853 million M600 features the same Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-42A engine as the Piper M500, but power has been boosted from 500 to 600 shp, […]