News

NEW PRODUCTS: JUNE 2007This month AVweb’s survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners brings you prop locks, oxygen systems, tri-color flashlights and much more.

Wichita-based Cessna Aircraft on Wednesday announced an agreement to collaborate with Germany’s Thielert Aircraft Engines on future programs “centered on the Thielert diesel engine.” Cessna said details will be announced later this year — possibly as early as next month at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. “We think the Thielert engine may provide a very […]

Columbia Aircraft has restored its production level to three new aircraft per week, and nearly all employees furloughed in late March are now back at work, the company said in a news release on Monday. “We made a lot of dramatic moves earlier this year with the objective of increasing our efficiency and strengthening Columbia […]

A new aviation organization will launch in Africa this week that aims to bring the continent’s civil aviation standards to a par with those of Europe and the U.S., AllAfrica reported on Wednesday. The new African Civil Aviation Agency (Afro-CAA) will have its headquarters in Namibia, and its staff will work to establish common technical […]

Boeing’s first 787 hasn’t had a formal rollout yet, but an aviation enthusiast acting on a tip from a blogger caught pictures of the airplane as it was moved to a paint hangar just after midnight on Tuesday morning. Charles Conklin, 30, of Kirkland, Wash., shot with a telephoto lens through a fence from just […]

For the second time in four months, the FAA has revised its air traffic controller retirement projections for the current 2007 fiscal year, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said in a news release on Tuesday. According to NATCA, the changes reflect “the agency’s continuing inability to get a handle on the alarming rate […]

Cirrus Design has so far been coy about the details of its new “personal jet,” but a mock-up will be unveiled on Thursday during the annual gathering of Cirrus owners at the factory in Duluth, Minn. AVweb Contributing Editor Russ Niles will be on scene for the event, so keep an eye on AVweb for […]

Barrington Irving landed his Columbia 400 at Florida’s Opa-Locka Airport Wednesday at 10:26 a.m., completing his round-the-world flight as — unofficially — the youngest person and first person of African descent to fly solo around the world. Irving, 23, launched from Florida in March, and flew up the East Coast and across the Atlantic. He […]

Trainees are being left in charge of critical national airspace equipment without the supervision of certified specialists, the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) said in a news release on Monday. PASS said that managers plan to leave a single trainee on his own at the Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center when one of the […]

Honda Aircraft Company on Wednesday morning began construction of its new 369,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C. “By breaking ground for this new Honda Aircraft facility today, we take the next important step in getting HondaJets into the skies tomorrow,” Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa […]