News

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 […]

Aspen Avionics announced last week that expected certification and deliveries of its new EFD1000-series electronic flight displays have been delayed until the end of March. Rollout was originally planned for this fall. In a letter to customers dated Dec. 19, the company said it has released a preliminary installation manual to dealers that can help […]

The distinctive Lockheed Constellation, with its graceful curves and triple tail, represents a golden age of flight to many aviators, but now the U.S. will lose three of the remaining fleet to a buyer in Europe, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Maurice Roundy, of Auburn, Maine, tried for years to restore at least one […]

Dick Rutan has piloted many challenging flights, including going around the world nonstop in his brother’s Voyager aircraft, but this Tuesday he had a close call while flying one of the simplest airplanes around — a Cessna 150. “It was sudden, catastrophic and inexplicable,” Rutan told The Associated Press. A cylinder blew, and “the engine […]

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced on Wednesday that she will appoint an aviation “czar” to coordinate regional airspace issues and address the problems of congestion and delays in New York’s busy airspace. The czar will serve as director of the newly created New York Integration Office. Some new measures will be put in place […]

Despite the recent decision by organizers of the Texas Fly-In (aka the Southwest Regional Fly-In) to cancel next year’s event, no other regional fly-ins are expected to fold, EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski told AVweb on Tuesday. He said that in the past, the regional fly-ins — which are individually managed events with various kinds of […]

Despite a NOTAM, a remark in the ATIS and signs in the terminal building, a few pilots – including some locals – have attempted to land at the Easton/Newman Field Airport (ESN), in Maryland, without a clearance from the new control tower, which opened Nov. 15. Airport Manager Mike Henry told AVweb that controllers monitor […]

ATG, which hopes to one day see production of its tandem-seat twin-turbofan executive Javelin jet, announced yesterday that it will halt the jet’s development. “Due to circumstances beyond ATG’s control, it is unlikely that adequate funding can be secured in a timely manner,” the company said through an e-mail Tuesday. It seems a 12-month search […]

Aviation pioneer Burt Rutan has been known to speculate that it won’t be long before flying is practically obsolete, since computers will be able to deliver a virtual-reality experience that would satisfy many of the needs that now require travel. We can all get a taste of that today, since those of us who were […]

While general aviation is a great tool for personal transportation and business, it can also open up a world of adventure. For Peter Claeys, regional director for Cirrus in China and Southeast Asia, flying a Cirrus SR22 into airports where no Cirrus has gone before is just part of his job. “My role for Cirrus […]