News

In Monday’s news and podcast, we reported that Precision Airmotive, supplier of MSA carburetors and parts for Lycoming, Continental and Franklin engines might be on the verge of a solution to resume shipping those products in a few weeks. Not so, says Scott Grafenauer, Precision’s president. Grafenauer told us Monday evening that Precision stopped shipping […]

True Flight Aerospace has confirmed it will build a modern version of the Grumman Tiger in Valdosta, Ga., and hopes to have its first aircraft flying by next summer. CEO Kevin Lancaster said in a podcast interview with AVweb that the company intends to build a 60,000-square-foot plant at the Valdosta Airport. “We’re very excited,” […]

Lycoming has lost elements of its appeal against a 2005 jury verdict that blamed design faults for a series of crankshaft failures in its engines. The 14th Court of Appeals in Houston agreed with the earlier verdict that Lycoming’s design was to blame for the failures, but it set aside a $96 million judgment awarded […]

Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, died at his home in Columbus, Ohio, early Thursday. He was 92. Tibbets was a 30-year-old Lt. Col. when he was called on to plan and execute the world-changing mission, a mission he […]

Ercoupe pilots, cover your ears. The rest of you, please get your feet off the floorboards and help us get a grip on a few questions about control surfaces. Proper input coordination is required. Take the quiz. More Brainteasers

Eclipse has received FAA approval of its Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program, the company said on Wednesday. The system is similar to those used by airlines, in which onboard software records the aircraft performance data, and it is then downloaded into a central database for analysis. “FOQA is a perfect addition to our progressive […]

The FAA said on Wednesday it has revoked the air carrier certificate held by AMI Jet Charter of Burlingame, Calif., which was suspended earlier this month. The company had tried to work with the FAA to resolve the issues, but apparently to no avail. The FAA says AMI allowed “entities that do not hold air […]

After being inundated with criticism from all sides after a NASA official refused to release safety data to an Associated Press reporter who requested it, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told a congressional panel on Wednesday that the information will be made public after all (PDF). “I regret any impression that NASA was or would in […]

Pressure for general aviation to clean up its emissions or face restrictions is growing, especially in Europe, and aircraft manufacturers are responding. On Wednesday, Embraer said it will create a new division, the Environmental Strategies and Technologies Office, with the goal “to achieve new levels of sustainable development.” There is a growing concern within the […]

“The number of fatal general aviation accidents declined by 5 percent this year,” the FAA announced in a news release on Monday. But a closer look at the FAA data showed that 5 percent was the difference between the number of accidents they had projected for the fiscal year — 331 — and the number […]