Aviation News

Joby Aviation, an electric aircraft manufacturer that envisions a zero direct-emissions aerial ride-sharing network, says to speed FAA approvals, it will certify the aircraft as a traditional airplane rather than a multirotor. Heretofore, Joby has been secretive about the details of its aircraft, but in an hourlong online briefing this week, the company pulled back […]

Garmin has announced it is flight testing its GFC 500 autopilot on the first light twin aircraft, the PA-30/39 Twin Comanche. Designed for light piston aircraft, the digital GFC 500 includes self-monitoring features and requires far less maintenance than “older generation autopilot systems,” according to the company. “As Garmin continues to roll out GFC 500 […]

Yesterday (Nov. 16), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) addressed the prospect of future commercial space accident investigations with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register. The NPRM is meant to solicit comments on the proposal from regulators, stakeholders and the general public “to add language on procedures for commercial space investigations […]

Bell Textron first incorporated sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with its training and demonstration fleet in March, and today announced it made the first SAF-powered flight of its developmental Bell 525 Relentless helicopter over the past summer. Michael Thacker, executive vice-president of Innovation and Commercial Business, said, “This is a major milestone in our sustainability journey, […]

Terms like “blockbuster” are just about cliches in referring to consolidations involving the FBO industry. But the union of Atlantic Aviation with Ross Aviation qualifies. And in this case, it is also true that personal relationships play a role. Jeffrey Ross has assembled two other FBO chains—or “aviation infrastructure platforms” in press release-speak—that have been […]

John “Lites” Leenhouts, president and CEO of the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) and the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo (SNF), has announced plans to retire after Sun ‘n Fun 2022. Leenhouts has held the position for more than a decade and is credited with having “created a world-class event venue attracting dozens of multiday […]

When Genesah Duffy, chief pilot and senior director of flight operations for Icon Aircraft, took off for a return-to-service shakedown flight in one of the company’s A5 amphibians, she wasn’t expecting it to turn into an air-sea-rescue mission. With the little two-place seaplane just out of a 100-hour inspection, Duffy took off from the company’s […]

There are seemingly shortages of everything these days and Airbus says it’s now effectively sold out of A321neo airliners. U.S. private equity fund Indigo Partners placed an order for 255 of the aircraft on the opening day of the Dubai Airshow on Sunday. At the announcement, Airbus CCO and head of international sales Christian Scherer […]

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were in the right place at the right time to potentially save a pilot’s life off the coast of Florida on Friday. The federal agents were conducting a “maritime operation” when they came upon a sinking aircraft. “As agents and deputies approached the sinking plane, an individual was spotted […]

The actuators that move the elevators of a privately operated MD-87 that crashed at Houston Executive Airport Oct. 19 were jammed in the trailing edge down position and that made it impossible for the aircraft to take off. The NTSB preliminary report says the elevator actuators were both bent enough that they prevented the elevators […]