Aviation News

FAA To Consider Allowing Drone Flight Above People

The FAA’s rules currently forbid any operator to fly a drone above people, but the FAA now is reviewing that decision, based on a report (PDF) and recommendations from an aviation rulemaking committee. The ARC’s consensus report, submitted last Friday, recommends establishing four small UAS categories, with the risk level to people defined primarily by […]

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EAA’s STC Initiative

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the biggest story here at Sun ‘n Fun this week was one we didn’t even expect: EAA’s announcement that it has partnered with Dynon Avionics to bring less expensive, non-certified avionics to the cockpits of certified aircraft. The first AML-STC list is modest: Cessna 172s and Piper’s PA-28 and […]

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Alaska Air, Virgin America Plan Merger

Alaska Air, based in Seattle, has agreed to acquire San Francisco-based Virgin America for $2.6 billion, the companies announced this week. “With Alaska Airlines’ strong foundation in the Pacific Northwest, and Virgin America’s California hubs … [the combined airline will offer] more than 1,200 daily departures to destinations across North and Central America,” Alaska Airlines […]

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Part 23 Rewrite Reaction: Tom Peghiny

General aviation manufacturers have been talking for years about revising Part 23, the rule that regulates certification of small aircraft, and a draft new rule was recently released by the FAA. This far-ranging rule will affect almost everyone involved in general aviation, especially aircraft buyers and aircraft manufacturers. Tom Peghiny, president of Flight Design USA, […]

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Jeep Collides With F/A-18

Two people are dead after a Jeep Grand Cherokee collided with an F/A-18E Super Hornet in California. The female passenger in the Jeep died at the scene and the male driver died later in the hospital after the SUV ran into the horizontal stabilizer of the fighter on the ramp at Lemore Naval Air Station […]

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Icon’s Buyer Contract Restricts Liability

Icon has recently started to ask buyers with deposits on the A5 light sport aircraft to sign a sales contract before taking delivery of their airplanes, and the length of that contract — 41 pages (PDF) — is unusual for general aviation, as are a number of Icon’s stipulations. The contract requires that every pilot […]

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Icon: A Dark View Of The Customer Relationship

Icon Aircraft founder Kirk Hawkins has famously said his company aims to reshape—actually reinvent—general aviation by “democratizing” access to it. What that means exactly is about as clear as mud, but this week, Icon’s buyer agreement escaped into the wild, and it appears as though Icon’s view of “democratization” centers on a legal construct that […]

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New This Week

AVweb‘s search of news in aviation found scholarship announcements from Able Flight and the Hayward Air Rally, plus student opportunities at the American Bonanza Society Air Safety Foundation and a safety reminder from the NTSB as this year’s airshow season gets underway. In its 10th anniversary year, Able Flight has awarded a record-setting eight scholarships […]

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