Business Aviation

Emirates Airline and a consortium of industry partners have launched an effort to build the “world’s first sector-wide [Aviation] Experimental (X) Lab to co-create the next era of human transportation,” the airline announced on Wednesday. The Aviation X-Lab, based at a Dubai think tank called Area 2071, will bring together airlines, manufacturers, engineers, academics and […]

Flight-path changes implemented due to NextGen have resulted in noise complaints in neighborhoods across the country, but due to the way the NextGen technology works, it may be difficult to address those conflicts, according to an Associated Press story published this week. David Grizzle, a former FAA chief operating officer, said it’s not possible to […]

One Aviation, the company that includes both Eclipse Aviation and Kestrel, announced layoffs late last week. The job cuts reflect the phaseout of production for the EA550 twinjet, which is being replaced by the new EA700 “Project Canada” aircraft, the company said in a statement. “As we transition through the development stages of the highly […]

A New Zealand general aviation manufacturer is facing heavy fines and its executives prison sentences for violating international trade sanctions against North Korea. Pacific Aerospace, which makes a STOL turboprop utility aircraft called the PAC 750, and its executive officers will be sentenced in January after pleading guilty to “indirectly” exporting aircraft parts to the […]

Virgin Galactic is about three months away from launching into space, founder Richard Branson said at a business forum in Finland recently. He added that he expects to fly into space about three months after that. The company has said it expects to start launching flights for paying tourists by the end of next year. […]

After halting a plan last week to start work on shortening the runway at Santa Monica Airport, a federal court has lifted its temporary restraining order, and the work will begin “within the next week,” according to a post on the city’s Facebook page on Tuesday. The court’s order means “the legal complaints raised lack […]

If I were an airplane salesman, I would starve to death. Airplanes that I think have no prayer of selling fly out of the factory almost faster than they can be produced. One of these was Diamond’s DA42, which I thought was a long shot. The DA62, one of the best GA airplanes ever, in […]

The state of Wisconsin plans to take legal action against Kestrel for the company’s failure “to show measurable progress toward obtaining financing” to repay a state loan that’s 11 months overdue, the Duluth News Tribune reported this week. Wisconsin gave the company, headed by Alan Klapmeier, $4 million in state loans and millions more in […]

With sales of new business aircraft relatively flat, the used market has been enjoying a burst of activity for almost two years and may improve further as the economy gains steam. “We’re seeing a lot of pent-up demand as a result of the slow growth of general aviation for the last seven to eight years,” […]

Scaled Composites rolled out and flew its most recent project on Wednesday, the company has announced. The company built two identical single-engine jets to demonstrate for an unnamed customer Scaled’s “advanced, low-cost manufacturing techniques” for the production of research aircraft for industry and government. “Today was a great day for our test team,” said Aaron […]