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AOPA says it’s added two more influential politicians to what it says is a growing list of legislators who are opposed to FAA user fees. At a “town hall meeting” in San Diego last week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) (a pilot and AOPA member) said via video presentation that he opposes fees. “If a general […]

As AVweb told you a couple of weeks ago, the potential loss of the AIP money is a serious concern to many local airport authorities. Maryland, for example, seems to recognize the positive influence of general aviation, particularly to the tourism-driven economy of the Eastern Shore, and several airports in that area are undergoing some […]

Against a backdrop of restraint and intense lobbying for increased funding by other government agencies, the FAA may be forced to accept an extra $1.4 billion or so that it doesn’t want (or the administration doesn’t want it to have). The House Transportation-Treasury subcommittee late Thursday decided to boost the FAA’s budget to $15.2 billion […]

As if to punctuate Lycoming’s difficulties, authorities are investigating an incident at St. Augustine Airport in Florida last Tuesday in which the prop on a newer Cessna 172 came off shortly after the aircraft took off. Sources say the aircraft was about 100 feet off the ground when the prop departed. There’s no confirmation of […]

It’s not often the FAA is more liberal than a company Service Bulletin in its handling of a potential safety issue but that appears to be the case with a proposed AD affecting thousands of suspect crankshafts in Lycoming engines. Lycoming’s Mandatory Service Bulletin requires crank replacement the next time the crankcase is split or […]

Light sport aircraft were designed to provide easy, fun flying for the masses, but inevitably, creative thinkers are finding other ways to put them to use. In California, police chief Jim Bueermann is trying to convince the city of Redlands that a Flight Design CTSW would be an asset to his department. The aircraft could […]

At least a few new LSA models will be on display at EAA AirVenture in late July. The Nexaer may be flying by then, Johnson said. Also, the Ion aircraft will be there, Steve Schultz, of Minnesota, told AVweb on Tuesday. “We’ve had the engine on and off the plane a few times — we […]

For the great-big bizjet world, 901 airplanes is a lot, but the newly emerging Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) sector could flit right past there by next year. “I’m forecasting at least 1,000 unit sales during 2007,” LSA marketing consultant Dan Johnson told AVweb yesterday. “That would be deliveries.” Many manufacturers have been ramping up to […]

Despite those “daunting” obstacles to the success of the VLJ sector, millions of dollars have been invested and thousands of aircraft are on order. The faithful are abundant, and next month, they will gather in St. Petersburg, Fla., to examine the industry as it is poised for launch. A day-long “Flight School” will be hosted […]

“We remain air-taxi agnostics,” said Aboulafia, “although we do forecast a market for 2,310 very light jets [over the next 10 years], including 620 Cessna Citation Mustangs.” The arguments against mass adaptation of VLJs are “daunting,” says the report. They’re too small for business flyers and too expensive for piston pilots who want to upgrade. […]