Aviation News

Stratos Aircraft announced on Thursday that its 716X single-engine jet has successfully completed its first flight. The flight lasted 22 minutes and included a full-power takeoff and climb to 13,500 feet followed by a series of maneuvers to evaluate handling characteristics. Stratos says it will be offering the 716X as an experimental kit, along with […]

Redbird Flight Simulations has announced a new product designed to enable flight instructors to conduct remote simulator sessions with their students. Redbird Connect allows instructors remote access to a web-based version of Redbird’s Navigator flight simulator operating system, through which they can control simulator conditions including setting and changing the weather, initiating failures, pausing and […]

The FAA and Boeing have completed the certification flight tests for the grounded Boeing 737 MAX. According to the FAA, the tests were aimed at evaluating “Boeing’s proposed changes in connection with the automated flight control system on the aircraft.” The test flights occurred over three days with the first series performed on Monday. “While […]

Airbus has announced that its multi-role H160 helicopter has received its type certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The twin-engine H160 was designed for missions including offshore transportation, emergency medical services, private and business aviation and public services. According to Airbus, FAA certification is expected to follow shortly with the first H160 […]

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has canceled its 2020 Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The organization cited COVID-19-related travel restrictions and guidance from public health officials, such as recommendations to avoid gatherings of more than 50 people, as reasoning for the cancellation. The event was scheduled to […]

Blackhawk Aerospace has received FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for its XR Upgrade Kit for King Air 350 series aircraft. Along with replacing the original engines and propellers with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engines and MT five-bladed composite propellers, the XR kit includes new heavy-weight landing gear, high flotation tires, fully enclosed landing […]

David Reser was test-flying his Thatcher CX-4 homebuilt last week in Southern California when the propeller departed the airplane. Fearing that he would end up in somebody’s back yard, Reser dove for the runway at Cable (KCCB) with a bit too much energy and no drag benefit from a windmilling prop. Floating past the end […]

Yeah, we know you’re not going. Neither are we. But we’ve already got the t-shirt and the rest of the soon-to-be collector’s items bling. So get yourself an AirVenture 2020 hat, t-shirt, banner, flag, cup holder, souvenir pen or whatever and take a picture of you with it. Stand by your airplane, your hangar, in […]

The NBAA has called on the FAA to abandon trying to define “gateway operators” in a way that would include many Part 91 operations in an expanded electronic records-keeping program. In rebutting the FAA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (whose comments closed yesterday), NBAA says that “The FAA’s proposed PRD [Pilot Records Database] would create substantial […]

The U.S. Navy has announced the completion of the first sea trials of the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter. According to the Navy, testing took place on the landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ship USS Wasp. The two-week trials included launch and recovery operations, rotor start and shutdown, blade fold and shipboard […]