Aviation News

Eleven aviation advocacy groups Wednesday cosigned a letter to the House Appropriations Committee seeking financial support for the FAA contract tower program through 2014. Signatories included AOPA’s Craig Fuller, NBAA’s Ed Bolen, and leading members of the National Air Transport Association, Air Carrier Association of America, Regional Airline Association and others. Currently 251 airports participate […]

Researchers at MIT recently developed two new methodologies for creating composite materials that are both lighter and stronger than today’s materials. Their methods make it easier to create composites of carbon fibers coated with carbon nanotubes, a process that has proved problematic in the past. “Up until now, people were basically improving one part of […]

Kingsley Okoli Kingsley Okoli is the new regional sales director for Beechcraft in sub-Saharan Africa. Okoli was formerly an F-16 crew chief and fighter squadron logistics readiness officer for the U.S. Air Force.

Every year for EAA AirVenture, the FAA sends a batch of controllers to handle all the extra traffic at the Oshkosh tower, but this year, the FAA is asking EAA to chip in to cover their costs. The FAA wants to collect enough to cover the controllers’ travel expenses, per diems, and overtime. EAA is […]

A Utah company says it will introduce the “most affordable” glass-equipped ready-to-fly LSA at AirVenture Oshkosh this year. The SkyCraft SD-1 Minisport is a Czech design that zips its single occupant at 118 mph at 1.8 gph on a 50-horsepower Hirth engine. SkyCraft says the little LSA costs $12 an hour to fly, including the […]

The SpaceShipTwo space tourism vehicle operated by Virgin Galactic is expected to fly into space this year during testing with commercial operations to commence “not too long after,” the company said Tuesday. Virgin Galactic is finalizing customer options and says there will be different price ranges for different experiences. Some 580 customers ranging in age […]

An Arizona-based company Wednesday said that it plans this year to produce and distribute a 93-octane premium unleaded, ethanol-free fuel as an avgas alternative for aircraft that do not require 100LL. Airworthy AutoGas, LLC, says its “high purity, low vapor pressure” fuel will be available beginning late this year. Bringing the fuel to market will […]

Cessna’s first production Turbo Skylane JT-A, running behind a Jet-A fueled diesel engine, Tuesday flew for 2.3 hours, the company announced Wednesday. The Safran-made 227-hp SMA engine is expected to use up to 40 percent less fuel than a comparable avgas engine, according to Cessna, burning 11 gallons per hour at 156 knots and delivering […]

At this week’s European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, in Geneva, Switzerland, representatives from leading business-jet companies provided updates on their newest airplanes. Honda Aircraft Co. CEO Michimasa Fujino said the HondaJet is nearly ready for the final phase of flight testing, and the production line is ready to build customer aircraft. Construction is underway […]

Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb |Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos At the European Business Aircraft Conference & Exhibition in Geneva this week, Pilatus unveiled its design for a new twin-engine jet that can operate from short and unpaved runways. Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here […]