AVweb Insider

I spent the latter part of last week at Diamond Aircraft’s London, Ontario factory which is, by my estimation, what Hollywood would come up with for an airplane plant. High ceilings with skylights, open bays with airplanes moving down the line and lots of bustle.The Diamond factory actually dates to the 1940s, when it made […]

In the 24/7/365 universe of the continuous news cycle, it’s not unusual to see politicians, business people and even world leaders communicate-or should I say engage in snit fits-via the media. But the NTSB, arguably one of the better government agencies, has generally been above this sort of thing. Well, maybe not anymore. Over the […]

In the wake of an accident like the unfortunate midair between a helicopter and a Lance in New York’s Hudson corridor over the weekend, being in the aviation press isn’t so much like waiting for the other shoe to drop as it is trying to count how many shoes zing by. Predictably, New York Senator […]

While I’m not holding my breath, it would be nice to see the Obama administration eating a few of the words it’s used in recent months to describe the supposed excesses of business aircraft use.I would lay a good portion of the horrible downturn the bizjet industry is suffering at the feet of gainsaying politicians […]

At AirVenture, I am routinely asked this question: “Well, so what have you seen that’s interesting?” I’m tempted to reply: a 15-inch computer screen. Although the rest of the AVweb staff spent much of its time walking the show and kicking over stones, I found myself chained to the desk in our press trailer this […]

Somewhere in that little book of unwritten rules that pilots are supposed to adhere to is one that says thou shalt not criticize another airman. This is observed or ignored to varying degrees, thus it was no surprise that we received a blizzard of e-mail on Dan Gryder’s commentary on the spectacular arrival of the […]

Terrafugia’s Long, Hard Road So, Terrafugia….. The sort of things that I hear are: “Two words: Taylor Aerocar”; “So what? I’d buy a used plane for much less, carry four, fly there faster and pick up a rental car on the other end”; and “Do I really want to go find an A&P everytime someone […]

I’ve got this thing for cool, non-electric technology: pocket watches that run on springs and gears, slide rules, carburetors.Maybe that’s why I took a shine to Bill Castlen’s recent article in IFR magazine on Celestial Navigation. In many ways the underlying math isn’t that different than what goes on inside the GPS units that guide […]

Here’s a phrase you don’t hear much anymore: “We can put a man on the moon, but we can’t…” Fill in the outrage or frustration of your choice. One reason for this is that nearly half of the world’s population was born since Apollo 11 touched down in the Sea of Tranquility 40 years ago […]

Sometimes it seems to me that one of the biggest challenges facing American innovators in the pursuit of practical electric aircraft may simply be how American business works. For a long time now, I’ve been talking to some key U.S. players in this game of private electric aircraft development and one thing seems clear. If […]