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Nearhoof said the fuel system uses a patented technology called “pulse width modulation” to control fuel flow to the engine. The system not only reduces operating and purchase costs, but also simplifies the use of the turbine. “This is light years beyond FADEC,” Nearhoof said. The engine spins at 61,000 rpm and the computer that […]

Small Turbine Engines Ready To Start Production… Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania company called Affordable Turbine Power attracted some attention when they turned up at air shows with a turbine-powered RV-4 and said they would soon be selling their little engines to the experimental market. The company now has changed its name to Innodyn, and […]

OK, there is nothing new about the flying-wing concept, but a project working on what is now called a “blended-wing-body” aircraft just got a major boost, in the form of a 2.5 million-Euro grant from the U.K. government. The project is also gaining momentum by forming a consortium of Britain’s Cranfield and Cambridge Universities with […]

Just when you think there’s nothing new left in the world of flight, another inventor turns up out of nowhere with a plan to go where few have ventured before. This time it’s manned flight via flapping wings, an idea that’s been around since at least 500 years ago, when Leonardo da Vinci experimented with […]

20,000 Miles Round The World Solo… Virgin Atlantic’s GlobalFlyer, the latest brainchild of the brainiacs at Scaled Composites, is just about ready for its round-the-world nonstop flight, with record-setter Steve Fossett in the pilot’s seat. The aircraft is powered by a Williams International FJ44 engine and the 23,000-mile flight (give or take) is expected to […]

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) quickly responded to the scrutiny, sending President Ed Bolen out for interviews with the media and publishing a document on its Web site with details of “Business Aviation’s Excellent Safety Record,” debunking mainstream analyses, and noting that 2003 was the safest year ever for business aviation. An ABC News […]

The accident prompted a rash of stories in the mainstream press questioning the safety of GA flights, citing the death of two pilots in a Gulfstream G-1159A at Houston Hobby Airport on Nov. 22 and the Oct. 24 Hendrick Motorsports accident that killed 10 in a Beech 200 King Air. The Challenger line has accumulated […]

De-Icing, Runway Choices Scrutinized… The NTSB is looking at the choice of runway and the lack of de-icing prior to the crash of a Bombardier Challenger CL-600 in Montrose, Colo., on Sunday morning that killed three of the six people on board. The jet carried NBC sports executive Dick Ebersol and members of his family, […]

New fees recommended by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) could decimate the ranks of FAA designees who “volunteer their service for the betterment of recreational aviation,” according to EAA. A couple of weeks ago, the GAO suggested the FAA improve oversight of safety and certification programs and pay for it by charging application and registration […]

Flight Services, Towers Should Be Open To Pilots… Theoretically, you should be able to get your next weather briefing in person if you want to. With some prompting from AOPA, the FAA has determined that there’s no good reason to keep pilots out of flight service stations and towers as long as the security threat […]