News

“Crossing the Channel with a pedal-powered airship is both totally unnecessary and a very eloquent statement on human nature,” said Stephane Rousson, the 39-year-old man who plans to do it if only the winds (and his stamina) will cooperate. Rousson is hoping for a near-windless day to facilitate his attempt next month. His airship, Zeppy, […]

Virgin Atlantic and Boeing first flew a commercial airliner on biofuel earlier this year, followed by Continental Airline’s announcement that Continental would fly a demonstration flight in 2009, and now Airbus with Honeywell, International Aero Engines and JetBlue have announced an alternative fuel partnership. The new partnership will work to develop renewable energy technology that […]

The FAA has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for specific Superior Air Parts (SAP) cylinder assemblies that may be installed in up to 8,000 aircraft here in the U.S. The engines in question are Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) IO-520, TSIO-520 and IO-550 models. Specific SAP cylinders (identified by part number) installed in those […]

“About midnight last night, the FAA Notam system crashed,” AOPA’s Chris Dancy told AVweb early on Friday morning. “Pilots need to know that the system is not being updated, and we don’t know at this point how long it will be before it is back on line.” Flight service briefers at Lockheed Martin are advising […]

Now that U.S. airline pilots can fly to age 65, litigation is now moving forward to overturn wording in the 2007 law that also specifically barred some 3,000 pilots forced into retirement before age 60 from being rehired with their prior pay, position and benefits. Congress last year passed the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots […]

L-3 Communications Avionics Systems (L-3 Avionics) Thursday received TSO authorization and STC approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for the SmartDeck integrated flight controls and display system. The system is currently the only one available in the light aircraft market, according to the L-3, that includes a standard dedicated 4 x 5.25-inch display for flight […]

For a week in early May Middle Tennessee State University played host to this year’s Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON). This event, which is governed by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA), allows different universities to compete in 12 aviation events to test their students’ piloting skills. Four events are in the air and […]

Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly is not one to let anything get in the way of his goals. After losing his right leg below the knee in Iraq five years ago, Kelly has since earned his helicopter and helicopter CFI certificates as well as a degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Now, Kelly is the first wounded […]

Our sister magazine, Aviation Consumer, is conducting a survey on hangar availability, cost and purchase options. We would love to hear from you on this topic. Just drop an e-mail to aviation_safety@hotmail.com, and we’ll respond. (The results will appear in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. For subscription information, click here.)

Sales of piston aircraft showed a slump in the first quarter of this year, down 28 percent compared to the year before, as AVweb recently reported, and the numbers for light sport aircraft reflect a similar trend. The data for 2008 through April show sales off 30 percent compared to a year ago. The numbers […]