Aviation News

Kansas State University Salina will double its current fleet of Cessna 172 Skyhawks with an order for 10 new training aircraft announced on October 5 by Cessna parent Textron Aviation. The university’s Aerospace and Technology Campus, which operates more than 30 aircraft already as well as a complement of flight training devices, will start taking […]

The FAA announced on Monday that drone pilots with current Part 107 remote pilot certificates can now receive authorization to fly at night via the low altitude authorization and notification capability (LAANC) network. LAANC, an automated system designed to provide near real-time authorizations for drone pilots looking to operate below 400 feet in controlled airspace, […]

Bristol, U.K.-based Vertical Aerospace has hired Justin “Jif” Paines to take the reins as chief test pilot. Paines comes to Vertical from another electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer, California-based Joby Aviation, where he served as chief test pilot for three years. Paines holds a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts […]

Italian air traffic control reported there was no distress call from the pilot of a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop single before it crashed “minutes” after takeoff on Sunday (Oct. 3) from Milan Linate Airport. The pilot was Romanian billionaire Dan Petrescu, head of a major construction company and a chain of shopping malls, and reportedly one […]

A massive oil spill off the coast of Orange County, California, over the weekend prompted officials to cancel Sunday performances of the popular three-day Pacific Airshow. Largely free to the public, the annual show featured the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the Air Force Thunderbirds and the Canadian Snowbirds demonstration teams, along with a host of […]

At a gala celebration at its Savannah, Georgia, headquarters on Monday, Gulfstream Aerospace introduced two new options in its line of large-cabin business jets, one at each end of the spectrum of offerings. The $71.5 million G800 adds 500 nautical miles of range (8,000 NM) to that of its 10-foot-longer, larger-cabin G700 sibling, the in-development […]

A Denver pilot says he’s successfully tested an app that can detect drones that might conflict with aircraft. Drone Traffic CEO Rick Zelenka said the test was conducted at Platte Valley Airport in Hudson, Colorado, and was the result of a NASA-funded contract to develop a drone detection system for aircraft. “It spots a drone and […]

The FAA has taken a major step in certificating commercial electric aircraft by publishing special conditions for the approval of motors, controllers and support equipment made by magniX. The Washington State company has been testing two different motors on Cessna Caravan and De Havilland Beaver aircraft. “These engines have a novel or unusual design feature […]

Virgin Galactic says it’s planning its next crewed launch in mid-October after some remedial training from the FAA on the role of the push-to-talk button when flights don’t go according to plan. The agency has lifted its grounding order on the enterprise after the July publicity flight carrying founder Sir Richard Branson and other Virgin […]

Adding to the list of COVID-19-related shortages, CNBC is reporting that there aren’t enough business jets to go around. The network says a trifecta of factors, including an uptick in private travel by COVID-conscious wealthy travelers, an uptick in suddenly wealthy people able to afford private air travel and a shortage of both used and […]