Aviation News

The NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Dawn Program Team is the winner of the 2015 Robert J. Collier Trophy, the National Aeronautic Association announced. The NAA‘s selection committee gathered this week to meet with the award’s nine nominees and announced the winner at its annual spring event in Arlington, Virginia.The NASA/JPL team won for its “extraordinary achievements […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news worldwide found announcements from ARGUS International,Keystone Aviation, Bell Helicopter, and Rectrix Aviation.ARGUS International Inc. has announced their intent to acquire Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) of Orlando, Florida, a privately held business that has carved out a recognized and respected position in the safety training, certification and management of Unmanned Aircraft […]

If there’s a great untapped resource in general aviation—other than unsold airplanes—it must be empty seats. Four-place airplanes rarely fly with more than two people and if we had data on it, I suspect most piston aircraft flights have one body aboard. And once this autonomy thing comes together, we can dispense with him/her and […]

The future role of Textron Airland’s Scorpion trainer/light attack jet is in question now that the Air Force is saying the bid requirements for its new jet trainer are firm. A few years ago, Textron, in partnership with Airland Enterprises, secretly developeda small twin-engine military aircraft that has been touted as an affordable front-line attack […]

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said last week it will develop a new X-Plane to pursue “radical improvements” in aircraft that can take off and land vertically, then shift to horizontal flight mode and reach speeds up to 400 knots. “The design envisions an aircraft that could fly fast and far, hover when […]

The National Air Transportation Association’s President and CEO, Thomas L. Hendricks, announced Friday he will resign on Aug. 31. Hendricks, who by then will have served about four years at NATA’s helm, joined the organization in 2012 from Airlines for America, where he was senior vice president of safety, security and operations. During his tenure […]

AVweb’s search of news in aviation found award announcements from Angel Flight and AOPA, and scholarship announcements from the Ninety-Nines/EAA and Whirly-Girls International. Angel Flight South Central announced that Board Chairperson Dianna Stanger has been awarded the coveted Endeavor Award for leadership and service in Public Benefit Flying. As a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight […]

According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don’t own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends. Few […]

Only one person on Earth can claim the title “The Last Man on the Moon,” and a new documentary film by that name takes a look at how Gene Cernan has been affected by his spaceflight experience. Cernan, 81, worked with independent filmmakers Mark Craig and Mark Stewart, from the UK. Craig “deftly creates a […]

Textron Aviation has confirmed that all its U.S. sales are being handled by factory representatives. That would appear to be the end of the extensive dealer network that sold Cessna aircraft for decades. Nikki Riemen, Textron’s media and public relations manager for the piston and defense division, said the company is “focused on developing and […]