News

If you needed further proof (besides the funky engine configuration) that Honda is approaching its entry into the aviation industry a little differently than most start-ups, consider the news from Albany, N.Y. Before the first HondaJets roll off the Greensboro, N.C., assembly line sometime in 2010, a network of five full-service dealerships, with maintenance and […]

Eclipse Aviation has subpoenaed Google (PDF) to provide the IP addresses of some commenters to a blog site called Eclipse Aviation Critic NG (hosted by Google) that purports to carry inside information on Eclipse and also carries commentary critical of the company and the Eclipse 500. Eclipse spokeswoman Alana McCarraher declined comment about the action, […]

Suddenly, airplanes are the big thing for the big screen. We caught up with producer Karl Koeppen at Sun ‘n Fun, who is ready to start work on “Northern Lights,” about airshow pilots, later this summer. (Click here for the podcast interview with AVweb editor-in-chief Russ Niles.) This week, a film crew visited EAA in […]

The FAA has made it official, in a written notice published Friday, that existing aircraft kits already approved by the FAA will not be re-evaluated. The clarification is certainly a relief to many kit manufacturers, as well as homebuilders with unfinished kit projects. The agency has temporarily suspended kit evaluations while it develops new procedures, […]

Retired Marine Corps Col. Jack Howell wanted to help the children of fallen soldiers and through the magic of aviation he has found a way. Teens-In-Flight is a program designed to provide flight scholarships to the teenagers of soldiers that were killed or severely disabled in the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I wanted to […]

A Florida pilot is suing the Sun n Fun Fly-in for a crash that occurred four years ago while he was trying to land at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The pilot, Terry Edward Morris, is seeking more than $15,000 in damages. Morris was attempting a go-around in his Glasair III homebuilt when, according to the […]

Texas A&M University researcher Dimitris Lagoudas and his colleagues claim that by creating an undulating skin they have been able to demonstrate reductions in skin friction drag of up to 50 percent. To maximize efficiency, the skin must be able to adapt to very subtle changes (micrometers in height) at different speeds, adopting active wrinkle […]

The U.S. Air Force says that an F-16 came no closer than 600 feet to a Pilatus PC-12 it intercepted while flying VFR in the Gladden MOA near Phoenix last month. The incident raised quite a ruckus when AVweb reported it earlier this month following an eyewitness report from the PC-12s pilot, Patrick McCall, who […]

The European Aviation Safety Agency may put very light jets through additional scrutiny, adapting requirements beyond those of basic certification and addressing an aircraft’s specific performance envelope and complexity, according to Flight International. Considering that the Eclipse 500 VLJ can cruise at 41,000 feet, but has no spoilers to facilitate an emergency descent, EASA has […]

Honda Aircraft Company Inc. will begin expansion of HondaJet sales to Europe beginning at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) to be held in Geneva this May. The move is a reaction to strong demand for the aircraft from customers in the European market, says Honda, and follows on recently expanded sales throughout […]