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Peters spent the day with GA supporters, and after the tour, she told reporters she heard “loud and clear” that user fees would have a negative impact on the GA industry. When asked if the day left her leaning against user fees, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who accompanied her on the tour and opposes aviation […]

Mary Peters, recently appointed as head of the U.S. Department of Transportation, says traffic is up, air traffic controllers are retiring and safety equipment needs to be upgraded — all of that costs money, and it will have to come from somewhere. Peters toured the GA world of Wichita, Kan., on Monday, and said she […]

If, as predicted by the study, the air taxi market doesn’t materialize as predicted, a lot of the customers for those 4,200-odd jets will be owner pilots and that raises training and insurance issues. A Canadian company is addressing the pilot issues head-on with an “introductory” course for piston pilots who think they might like […]

The very light jet (VLJ) market is fueled largely by the salesmanship of its optimistic originators and the potential of a boom in air taxi operations, but a study by a European media consultant company still predicts that 4,154 aircraft will be delivered over the next 10 years by at least five manufacturers. “Some industry […]

The latest crash occurred Friday in Statesville, N.C., in bad weather. Two people were killed and two were injured when the SR22 they were in crashed about 50 feet from the airport in a wooded ravine. NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz told The Charlotte Observer the aircraft was on an instrument approach when it crashed. According […]

Cirrus pilots also heard from the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association on the same topic and President Mike Radomsky was a little more candid in his message (.DOC file). “It is tempting, but very dangerous, to believe that because the airplane is capable of flying in challenging conditions, the pilot can take it there,” he […]

In the wake of three fatal crashes involving Cirrus aircraft in the past couple of weeks, Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier is urging pilots to set and follow their own personal limits for flying in marginal weather. And although his message is addressed to Cirrus owners and pilots, it could apply to just about any pilot. […]

Alaka’i Technologies Tuesday announced a comprehensive all-digital flight data monitoring and recording system for Cirrus piston-engine aircraft that records at least 51 flight and engine parameters, consumes less than eight watts of energy and weighs less than four pounds. All data is recorded on a solid-state, physically protected disk that is “always on,” providing a […]

A seminar in Caravan safety awareness is now available online, Cessna announced last week, and will soon become mandatory for pilots who fly the Caravan in icing conditions. The Caravan Cold Weather Operations course is a series of five self-paced training modules that should take about two to three hours to complete. Cessna will issue […]

Although the Eclipse 500 is fully certified for day and night, single-pilot, VFR, IFR and RVSM operations, some systems are still evolving. The Avio avionics system will be supplemented by Garmin 496 handheld units to provide operators with GPS functionality until the Avio system can take over that function, Broom said. Early copies will also […]