News

AgustaWestland is responsible for the basic airframe design, production and vehicle support and Lockheed Martin is handling systems integration for the VH-71 presidential helicopter replacement program that has now produced its second production aircraft. The first VH-71 began testing Nov. 24 and the new aircraft, which Nov. 29 flew for the first time, is due […]

Fresh off a now-resolved machinists strike that cost the company an estimated $100 million per day, and a prediction of layoffs in 2009, Boeing has now hit an impasse with 700 of its engineers and is expected to announce further delays for its 787 Dreamliner. The company has announced a halt to its contract negotiations […]

Former pilot union president Duane Woerth is among the names said to be at the top of the list, but reports over the weekend suggested both Woerth and Robert T. Herbert are among those who might be selected to lead the FAA. While Woerth is a familiar name for many longtime aviators (Woerth was president […]

In October, AVweb found that new standards set by the EPA and meant to “slash the amount of the toxic metal [lead] in the nation’s air by 90 percent,” may affect the pilots of small aircraft and now AOPA has reviewed the matter and taken action. Formal comments filed by AOPA in response to the […]

The Massachusetts Air National Guard (ANG) is hoping to file a proposal with the FAA next spring that would lower the floor of their training flights from 2800 to 500 feet over the hills of western Maine and is using 9/11 to counter public opposition. Brig. Gen. Leon Rice told residents that the terrorist attacks […]

Pilots at American Airlines, Delta (the nation’s two largest carriers), and Comair have opted out of the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) that allows them to self-report mistakes without disciplinary action, because it might not be working that way. Safety advocates believe the program has helped uncover and resolve potentially dangerous situations before they caused […]

Cirrus Design CEO Alan Klapmeier and Mike Van Staggen, vice president for advanced development, briefed the press on Wednesday on the status of the Vision single-engine jet program, and revealed new details and updates about the design. Klapmeier stressed that the jet is aimed directly at the personal-transportation niche, not the corporate or air-taxi segments, […]

Pilots who are trying to catch some sleep between shifts on the Emirates Airbus A380 have complained that noise from the cabin keeps waking them up, because the airplane itself is so quiet they can hear all the crying babies and flushing toilets. “We’re getting a lot of complaints. It’s not something we expected,” Emirates […]

With lots of changes ahead for key Washington offices that affect general aviation, staffers from AOPA are busy working to ensure that the new appointees know exactly what GA pilots are concerned about. “We’re meeting with members of the transition team and preparing briefing papers to be sure that the new administration is aware of […]

Commissioners in Clark County, Nev., on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to their local director of aviation to lobby for federal legislation that would enable him to ban experimental aircraft from local airports. The effort is in response to the crash of a homebuilt Velocity near North Las Vegas Airport in August. The airplane struck a […]