News

Officials in Mexico have cracked down on aerial drug trafficking, says Bob Collins of the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute, and this has created a need for criminals to quickly steal more airplanes to replace those that are seized. Collins said the threat to King Airs, Caravans and Cessna cabin-class twins has intensified, and interest in […]

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is blaming poor controller training practices for a March 13 incident in which a Boeing 737 and an Embraer regional jet did not have adequate separation while on approach to Chicago’s Midway Airport. But the FAA says the current training regime is an improvement over old methods. According […]

“FAA should not attempt to change the experimental amateur-built rules,” says Earl Lawrence, EAA’s vice president of industry and regulatory affairs, in a response to a report published by the FAA last month that raises concerns about the way those rules are being implemented. Lawrence said now is the time for EAA to “articulate a […]

When you’re on final, aiming for the numbers, with passengers squawking, “Are we there yet?” there’s little time to preplan. So, take a moment — assuming you’re not on final — to test your approaches to landing. Take the quiz. More Brainteasers

One of the sales pitches often heard in support of private aircraft travel, whether its about user fees, the environment or the state of the airlines, is that business aircraft can use most of the 5,000 public-use airports outside the main hubs, thus lessening pressure on the system. Well if Flight Options has done its […]

Diamond has announced that the D-Jet, which is undergoing certification in Canada, is getting a bigger engine, delaying first deliveries until the second quarter of 2009. The five-place personal jet was rolled out with a Williams FJ33 rated at 1,564 pounds of thrust but the new engine, the FJ33-19, will push 1,900 pounds. Diamond CEO […]

While business jet demand continues to exceed supply, piston manufacturers have noticed a significant softening of the market this year. Cirrus Designs new Chief Operating Officer Brent Wouters told AVweb in a podcast interview that the current economic downturn and declines on financial markets have hit his sector noticeably. People are feeling less rich, he […]

The Aero Toy Store has been named Factory Authorized Representative for Aerions supersonic business jet. The company, which has sales offices and FBOs for high-end business jets in Fort Lauderdale and Montreal and a sales center in Las Vegas, said in a news release that it already has 12 orders for the Mach 1.6 aircraft, […]

Since the launch of the light sport aircraft, many of the LSAs on the U.S. market have arrived from Europe, where airplanes that fit the certification parameters have long been in production. Now, a company in Canada is building a new clean-sheet LSA for the U.S. market. Rex Meade, president of RAMtech Aviation, based near […]

It may be easy to be skeptical of dreamers who imagine they can launch a space-tourism industry, but when a hard-headed gigantic company like EADS starts talking about building a production line for rocket planes, that’s harder to ignore. “To satisfy the market you will need more planes than you think, because once there is […]