In Brief

Cessna says its Mach 0.92 Citation X is gaining popularity, announcing this week that production for the aircraft has risen 40 percent since 2003 and continues to rise to meet demand. More than 260 Citation Xs have been delivered and the model’s order backlog extends well into 2008. Cessna delivered 307 business jets last year, […]

Plans to remove weather forecasters from Air Route Traffic Control Centers might be reviewed by the Government Accountability Office. Opponents say the move will endanger flight operations because weather information wont be as readily available to pilots and controllers… EAA members in Hawaii are lobbying the state to include aviation fueling stations in a bill […]

Piaggio will announce a new jet design by the end of this year, a company official said this week. The jet, currently known as the P-1XX, is expected to sell for $15 million… Cirrus Design and Jeppesen are teaming to provide a Web-based transition course for Cirrus pilots, the first in a series of courses […]

New Zealand planemaker Alpha Aviation has hired former Mooney CEO Gretchen Jahn as general manager to take resurrection of the French-designed Robin series to the next level. The Alpha 160, a low-wing trainer, is made in Hamilton, N.Z. and recently gained FAA certification… Dayton, Ohio, is the heart of a new aviation tourism marketing program. […]

Columbia Aircraft’s Web site now offers “white papers” about aircraft systems, explaining some of the complexities for those new to aviation… “Doc,” the B-29 Superfortress being restored in Wichita, was moved out of its hangar this week. It will sit outside until funds can be raised to build a new hangar. (Listen to AVweb‘s recent […]

Theres no common frequency to comments being received on the future of Loran. While airline groups and manufacturers say nobody uses it anymore, sea captains and communications firms want it maintained for its jam-resistance and reliability… A stowaway squirrel forced a Tokyo-Dallas American Airlines flight to divert to Honolulu last week. The animal was heard […]

A Beech Bonanza broke up in flight above Savannah, Ga., on Friday. No distress call was made. All three on board were killed… Aero Technical Institute is offering new classes in Rotax engines for aircraft owners, to be held in Florida before and after Sun ‘n Fun… CubCrafters, of Yakima, Wash., received an FAA production […]

The FAA turned on seven approach lights at New Bedford Airport last week a week after a fatal crash. There’s still more work to do to get all the lights working, but about 1,400 feet is now illuminated… All that fancy navigation gear on a Gulfstream 550 was put to the test last week as […]

The National Aeronautic Association yesterday said Lockheed Martin and the F-22 Raptor Team have won the 2006 Robert J. Collier Trophy. On June 8, the Raptor team will be presented the trophy for designing, testing, and operating the newly-operational F-22 Raptor… Comp Air hopes to have its new Comp Air 12 turboprop prototype ready to […]

Avidyne and S-Tec say that their Alliant Integrated Flight Deck – a digital autopilot, large primary flight displays, dual-redundant PFDs, dual ADAHRS — have arrived as a retrofit package installed in a 1979 King Air. The 369-pound increase in useful load (due to replacement of the old avionics) isn’t hurting, either. The companies point out […]