News

AVweb doesn’t normally deal in rumors but given the magnitude of this story and the plugged-in source who tipped us, we’ll loosen the reigns a little. Word is that there will be a monumental shakeup at Eclipse Aviation (yes, even bigger than Vern Raburn’s unceremonious departure) and that it began Tuesday. Since nothing has been […]

The Thielert Owners Group, a hastily convened organization of owners and operators of the diesel engines produced by the bankrupt German company has earned a seat at the table in deciding the fate of the company. THENOG, as it calls itself, has been named to the seven-member creditor committee by the German court overseeing the […]

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has leapt to the defense of supervisors at the Elgin radar facility near Chicago in a probe by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General. The Elgin facility is one of several being investigated for alleged cover-ups of controller errors involving minor losses of separation in traffic […]

Bombardier is getting almost $700 million in loans from the Canadian, Quebec and Irish governments to get its CSeries program going and that’s prompted an investigation by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab. “Washington will take a very careful look at the support announced by Canada, Quebec and the U.K.,” Schwab’s spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel told Bloomberg […]

Operators of aircraft heavier than 12,500 pounds will likely have some security-related paperwork to do in the near future as the Transportation Security Administration rolls out new security rules for GA aircraft. According to USA Today, the new measures will include background checks for flight crew members, parking aircraft in secure areas and inspecting aircraft […]

NASA awarded $97,000 in prizes last week at the 2008 General Aviation Technology Challenge, which was held in Santa Rosa, Calif. The largest prize awarded was $50,000 for best safety features, which went to Vance Turner’s team from El Dorado Hills, Calif., flying a modified Pipistrel Virus. The Pipistrel team also won prizes for the […]

Although piston aircraft deliveries for the first half of this year are down 16 percent overall, as the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported last week, not all companies have seen declining numbers. Piper Aircraft increased its piston sales by 18 percent, driven largely by sales of its Piper Matrix, an unpressurized version of the Malibu […]

Air show pilot Patty Wagstaff is denying “rumors” that she was impaired by alcohol when she was taken into custody by Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department officers late July 31 on a runway at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. She told AVweb she was not tested for alcohol impairment during the incident. A report in the […]

The pilot of a Piper Seneca with five aboard was last November instructed to land via text message. The report from the Air Accident Investigation Branch was published Aug. 6 detailing the complete electrical failure aboard the Seneca and the 39-year-old pilot’s reaction to fly clear of clouds after departing Kerry airport for a flight […]

Flying unmanned Predator and Reaper aerial vehicles for the Air Force used to be a job for trained (manned) aircraft pilots, but that is changing. Previously, pilots would rotate from manned aircraft to unmanned aircraft for a period of three years before rotating back into the air, but demand for UAV pilots has caused the […]