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Cracking Cessnas Cause Concern… The FAA last week issued a notice of concern about cracks that have been found in the vertical fin attachment brackets of some Cessna 150/152 series airplanes. The Airworthiness Concern Sheet (ACS) is distributed to type clubs and pilot groups for input as the FAA mulls whether the issue needs to […]

Taking one step toward the future, the FAA announced last week it has established (and will help finance) a “Center of Excellence” program based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to research ways to address noise and emissions issues. The FAA said those problems “may represent the single greatest challenge to the continued growth and […]

The NRC report concludes that radical change is needed to meet the demands ahead. “Business as usual, in the form of continued, evolutionary improvements to existing technologies, aircraft, air traffic control systems and operational concepts, is unlikely to meet the needs for air transportation that will emerge over the next 25 to 50 years,” said […]

NRC Report Criticizes Lagging Aviation Technology… Airplanes may be engineering marvels and things of beauty to those who fly them — but to some folks, they’re noisy, they pollute the air, and even fewer want an airport in their backyard. Those are the harsh facts that the aviation industry had better face in the next […]

NBAA is holding the following business aviation events within the next few months: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (PDP) COURSE“Developing a High-Performance Flight Department Team”October 5, Orlando, FL EMERGENCY RESPONSE WORKSHOPOctober 5-6, Orlando, FL MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS FOR FLIGHT DEPARTMENTS WORKSHOPOctober 5-6, Orlando, FL HUMAN FACTORS-FATIGUE MANAGEMENT WORKSHOPOctober 5-6, Orlando, FL

Cessna Model 680 Sovereign The FAA has issued Final Special Conditions for the Cessna Model 680 Sovereign airplane. The agency claims this airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with side-facing single-occupant seats. The FAA states its applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. […]

Speaking of the VIP treatment, the world’s first members only airline, Club Airways of Switzerland, opened a new link with London City Airport on September 22, flying top executives from Geneva on board a Cessna Citation II jet. This latest addition to the Club Airways schedule is operating between the private aviation terminal at Geneva […]

Embraer Sells Five Exec Jets to India… Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (Embraer) announced on September 19 that it had signed a contract to sell India’s government five of its midsize twin-engine Legacy executive jets. The Mach .80 aircraft, which will total about $158 million, will be used to transport the country’s top […]

Raytheon Aircraft Services has named two executives to its leadership team. Harold (Skip) Madsen is Vice President/General Manager of Raytheon Aircraft Services, and Chuck Curry is the General Manager – RAS San Antonio. Madsen – a former president and chief operating officer of Executive Aircraft Corp. of Wichita — assumes all responsibility for the companys […]

Raytheon Aircraft Co., which may or may not be for sale, has come under the Security and Exchange Commissions microscope lately, likely compounding the headaches it’s already enduring in the soft post-9/11 economy. In January, the SEC began to look into how Raytheon Aircraft recognized revenues from 1997 to 2001. The investigation specifically focused on […]