News

Embraer has completed a 200,000 sq. ft. hangar at Gaviao Peixoto, near Sao Paulo, for final assembly and interior installation on its Phenom 100 and 300 light jets. The state-of-the-art facilities will turn out 120 to 150 Phenoms a year. It will start working on the backlog of 700 Phenoms in 2009. “I am absolutely […]

AOPA’s annual Nall Report (PDF) says 2006 was the safest year ever for general aviation operations. According to the report, there were 6.32 accidents for every 100,000 hours flown in 2006 compared to 7.19 in 1997. The report bases its analysis on trends, rather than year-to-year statistics. There’s been an increase in the number of […]

The FAA has amended its controversial rule requiring pre-takeoff ice inspections to allow Part 135/125 operators the same flexibility as larger carriers when there is threat of ground contamination by ice and snow. Last year, the FAA enacted a rule that required a visual or tactile inspection of wings and control surfaces within five minutes […]

There were a couple of pieces of good news for Eclipse Aviation and its customers this week as the business year wound down. The company received certification for its Avio NG avionics suite and it also got a $30 million shot in the arm from customers who paid deposits in advance in return for a […]

EAA says a judgment against it stemming from an accident at an unnamed regional fly-in resulted in the controversial review of its association with such events. In a statement issued a week after AVweb reported that the annual Texas Fly-In at Hondo was being scrapped because of the proposed policies, EAA said the review was […]

A Scottish company that specializes in providing in-flight medical advice for crew and passengers aboard private jets and airliners, will see its name up in lights again when the next James Bond movie is released. TheFirstCall at the International Centre for Emergency Medicine in Aberdeen has been selected again as advanced medical consultants to the […]

What started as a way to earn extra money during college has grown into a booming holiday business for David Snell, owner of Starlight Flight in Frisco, Texas. This month Snell’s company will fly about 90 people low and slow over the glistening lights of Interlochen and Highland Park, two Dallas-area neighborhoods known for their […]

Santa’s new sleigh? It’s red … Beginning at 0900Z on Dec. 24 you can track Santa live online at www.NoradSanta.org as he makes his annual round-the-world flight. “Santa has had to adapt over the years to having less and less time to deliver his toys,” states the Web site, which is run by the North […]

Airline travelers can now monitor flight delays at airports throughout the world for free on FlightStats.com. The Web site’s new global delay index provides a graphical indication of whether your flight to or from a given airport is likely to be late. Users can get details on the status of particular flights and request e-mail […]

Franz Ivanovich Levitskiy, a helicopter pilot and instructor with UTair Aviation of Surgut, Russia, is the Helicopter Association International’s 2008 Pilot of the Year. During his 40-year career, Levitskiy has logged 27,500 accident-free flight hours in various aircraft including the Mi-4, Mi-6, Mi-8, Mi-8MTV and Mi-26T helicopters. He contributed to the exploration and development of […]