briefs

We have lived to see a day without commercial supersonic flight. But it’s an idea that won’t go away, despite the demise of the Concorde. The French and Japanese are working to launch a test model of a supersonic aircraft in the Australian desert this Friday — presuming they have fixed an “anomaly” with the […]

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COLUMNS The Savvy Aviator #23: Maintenance RecordsMaintenance records are a pivotal element of your aircraft’s maintainability and resale value. Are yours in good shape? AVweb’s Mike Busch says the FAA’s regulations may not be thorough enough when the time comes to sell the plane.

It’s been almost a year since the Burt Rutan/Paul Allen collaboration resulted in the first (and second) private manned space flight but some of the dreamers and doers left in the dust by that well-funded operation are still hoping to see the black sky themselves. The Countdown to the X Prize Cup is being held […]

Not all business aircraft are created equal in the eyes of the security mandarins in Washington, and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is hoping to change that. When Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) “opens” to general aviation on Oct. 18, many charter aircraft will be excluded while identical planes operated under corporate classification […]

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds is defending his use of government aircraft (which he frequently flies himself) to attend, among other things, his son’s high school basketball games, saying he always makes sure some state business gets done at the same time if taxpayers are picking up the tab. Now, according to an Associated Press […]

Pilots in New Jersey say the decision to close an automated flight service station (AFSS) — the building’s roof collapsed last month — will cause safety concerns. The Millville AFSS was scheduled to close in six to 18 months as part of the consolidation of flight service facilities under Lockheed Martin’s contract, which takes effect […]

The FAA says its air traffic control computers are hack resistant in part because they’re so old. The Government Accountability Office released a report this week saying the FAA’s systems are vulnerable to cyber-attack because the agency hasn’t finished implementing information security programs. The report says that while progress has been made in protecting the […]

We can’t remember the last time the FAA handed out new ratings without requiring additional training but thousands of airline first officers should be lining up for the new paper, but only if they fly internationally. According to the National Air Transportation Association, the agency has started issuing second-in-command (SIC) type ratings to right-seaters on […]