News

The FAA said on Tuesday that small airports around the country must upgrade their taxiway markings by March 31, 2010. The upgrades previously were voluntary. The agency also plans to mandate a change in how taxi clearances are issued. More explicit instructions are needed, the FAA says, and the U.S. should adopt international phraseology such […]

The aviation infrastructure in China is about to take a big leap forward with the addition of 97 airports, including a second international airport in Beijing. As of now, the country has only 147 airports, so the goal is to reach 244 in the next 12 years. (By comparison, the U.S.A., with less than one-quarter […]

Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is conducting a survey on aircraft engine cylinder products. If you’ve done an overhaul during the past several years, the magazine’s editors would like to hear from you on how the cylinders have performed. Just click on this link to take the survey. The results will appear in a future […]

Kerosene and LCD screens may keep the business aviation industry going but its the people in the back who are generally paying the bills for all that gear, and keeping them fed, comfortable and rested is not only high art, its a big-bucks industry. Witness the pre-registration figures for the Aircraft Interiors Expo that will […]

Bombardier isnt just sniffing the ground for customers for its proposed C Series aircraft, its also looking for a place to build them. Folks in Kansas City consider themselves to be front-runners for the $375 million plant that would turn out the 110- and 130-seat airliners, which are the first clean-sheet aircraft from the Montreal-based […]

The National Business Aviation Association spent $2.4 million getting its members’ views across to politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, note lobbying-disclosure statements quoted by Business Week. According to the magazine, the group spend $1.4 million in the second half of the year lobbying on aviation security funding, general transportation matters and on the bills to […]

FAA investigators were to have arrived in Grand Junction, Colo., Tuesday to try and determine why the cabin door fell off a 25-year-old Canadair (Bombardier) Challenger 600 on climbout from the local airport. The door fell in a desert area and no one was hurt on the ground or in the air. Its not clear […]

As frustrated airline passengers waited for flights to Denver that ranged from a few minutes to six hours late on Mar. 15, airport staff were making public-address system announcements blaming the delays on an influx of private aircraft. That quite naturally riled those cooling their heels in the gates. Youre causing a huge inconvenience for […]

The Air Force flew supersonic on synthetic fuel for the first time last week. A B-1B Lancer burning a 50/50 blend of synthetic and petroleum fuel launched from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and flew the supersonic test above the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Air Force officials said their goal is […]

Hazmat specialists and emergency crews were ready and waiting when an Alitalia cargo flight bound from Milan to Miami diverted into Boston last Tuesday night. The MD-11’s four crewmembers had donned oxygen masks as the cockpit filled with a noxious odor, and radioed ahead that they were concerned the fumes might be toxic or flammable. […]