News

A couple of pioneers in the piston fractional market have merged and the winner appears to be Cirrus Design. AirShares Elite, which runs a fleet of “professionally managed” Cirrus SR22 G3 Turbos, has taken over iFly, “the world’s first exclusive aero club,” in a deal that will result in iFly members, presumably including spokesman Erik […]

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) held their annual spring fly-in in Frederick, Maryland over the weekend, and we were lucky enough to have a few spare moments to walk around the grounds and snap a few photographs. b CLICK FOR LARGE IMAGES EACH IMAGE WILL OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW

Despite a bit of morning fog and the forecast of a sweltering early-summer day, AOPA hosted a robust turnout for their annual fly-in and open house in Frederick, Md., on Saturday. By mid-afternoon, temperatures were in the 90s, with a heat index hovering near 100 degrees. But with a cool breeze, plenty of shady tents, […]

Scaled Composites’ 100-percent carbon composite WhiteKnightTwo, the aircraft designed to eventually haul SpaceShipTwo and its first sampling of some 254 people who have already deposited cash to be hurtled toward space, is expected to make its debut late next month (July) in Mojave, Calif.. The rollout will mark a milestone step toward seeing suborbital space […]

It had already suffered damage from a forced landing last Saturday, but was sitting harmlessly in a field (with its pilots in a local hospital) when vandals smashed the canopy and cockpit instruments and set fire to both wings. The Pilatus P2 was one of only two in the UK, and following the attack it […]

Hopefully the people of London do not spend much time dwelling on history as a German airship operator is set to next month start flying a Zeppelin over the city’s most famous landmarks. It may be consolation that the flights will originate in east London at Damyns Hall airfield, and not across the Channel. After […]

In an effort to increase and maintain the accuracy of aircraft registration in the U.S., the FAA issued a notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) titled “Re-Registration and Renewal of Aircraft Registration.” This NPRM would replace the current non-expiring aircraft registration with a registration that is only good for three years. If the registration expires […]

click for video The crash on takeoff of a 509th Air Wing, Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber, Feb. 23, operating at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, was caused by water in the aircraft’s sensors, according to an Air Combat report issued Thursday. Specifically, moisture in three port transducer units “distorted data introduced by a B-2 […]

A Mayoral Task Force on Aviation Safety, composed mostly of local pilots, noted last week that changes to non-towered Corona Airport (Calif.), which in January suffered a fatal midair, would likely do more “to improve public relations” than to alter current procedures, according to a local news report at PE.com. The crash, which killed two […]

Scaled Composites, based in Mojave, Calif., announced on Wednesday that Douglas Shane has been appointed president and will assume responsibility for day-to-day operations of the company. Company founder Burt Rutan is named chief technology officer and chairman emeritus. “I suggested this change to our organizational structure because I want to focus on developing our talented, […]