News

Despite FAA efforts to improve safety, the rate of runway incursions has not decreased in the last five years, according to a report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office. The report also notes that air traffic controller fatigue continues to be a matter of concern. As of May 2007, at least 20 percent of […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is being flooded with petitions from various sources to do more to curb greenhouse-gas pollution from aircraft. While the called-for measures are mostly aimed at airlines and large aircraft, general aviation, especially the business sector, is not likely to escape scrutiny. On Wednesday, a consortium of state and regional governments […]

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, has been named to succeed Sen. Trent Lott on the Senate Aviation Subcommittee. When longtime Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., announced last week that he will leave the Senate at year’s end, that raised questions about what will happen next in the user-fee fight in Congress. Lott is the ranking member […]

Sir Richard Branson is among the latest graduates of a two-day training program for space tourists. Future passengers who have reserved seats to fly into space aboard SpaceShipTwo have started their training at the National Aerospace Training and Research Center, a private company based in Bucks County, Pa. Sir Richard Branson completed his course this […]

The Red Baron Squadron, a team of four vintage Stearman biplanes that has flown formation aerobatics at air shows for 28 years, will fly no more (PDF), the team’s sponsor, the Schwan Food Company, said this week. “The Red Baron Squadron has been an incredible asset to our company and we are very proud of […]

That’s the question that Steve Kahn and dozens of other pilots are wondering about, after being hit by the state of Maine with tax bills in the thousands of dollars for flying into the state. Kahn, an investment advisor who lives in Boston, flies his Cirrus SR-22 frequently into Maine to visit a summer home […]

It may seem obvious that the surface of an airplane should be as smooth as possible to minimize aerodynamic drag, but that’s not really the case. A bit of roughness can break up the boundary layer and improve efficiency. Sharks, with skin formed of rough scales called denticles, can slip through the water at speeds […]

CubCrafters, of Yakima, Wash., announced this week that it will sell its 27-year inventory of used, pre-owned and “new old stock” Super Cub and similar parts through eBay. “Ultimately, we’ll get listed just about anything and everything that ever went on a Super Cub,” said CubCrafters President Todd Simmons. That includes engines and engine components, […]

American pilots who brought the Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf’s latest VVIP jet, a “10-seat Learjet,” are now training their Pakistani brethren to fly the aircraft so that it can be put into service alongside the 13 other aircraft already serving the Pakistani president. Training the pilots for the $60 million jet is expected to last […]

The new 2008 State Tax Guide for General Aviation will be released by Conklin & de Decker in January of 2008, offering guidance for ownership, sales, leases, fees imposed in all fifty states and more. The guide itself isn’t a new product, but the 2008 version will be available for download via the internet and […]