News

NASA dedicated a new astronomy aircraft to aviator Charles Lindbergh on the 80th anniversary of his historic trans-Atlantic flight. Erik Lindbergh, the pilot’s grandson, joined NASA for the event on Monday, in Waco, Texas. NASA’s new Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a highly modified 747 that carries a 45,000-pound infrared telescope system. At […]

The seventh annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE 2007) is underway this week in Geneva, Switzerland, and it’s expected to be the biggest ever, with more than 10,000 visitors, 354 exhibitors and 55 aircraft on static display. Already announcements of deals show a strong market, likely enhanced by the strength of the Euro […]

AOPA President Phil Boyer faced off with James May of the Air Transport Association (ATA) on Tuesday at the Washington, D.C., Aero Club in a debate about the pending FAA reauthorization legislation. May questioned why Boyer was opposing the Senate bill that would require a $25 user fee for turbine aircraft flying in the IFR […]

The first fully conforming A700 AdamJet, S/N 003, has been flying since April, and is performing as expected, Adam Aircraft said on Wednesday. “We are working on airspeed calibration and stability and control effectiveness with different configurations throughout the flight envelope,” said test pilot Jeff Peer. “The three-screen Avidyne display has been particularly impressive.” According […]

The plans that government contractor Lockheed Martin had in place for this spring to consolidate Flight Service Stations and implement new software were doomed to fail. That’s the gist of the results from a study by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General that was released last week. The study was conducted from May […]

Does the FAA have an adequate plan in place for training the 15,000 new air traffic controllers it plans to hire over the next 10 years? That’s what the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is wondering, and it plans to commence a study of the issue next month. Top among its concerns […]

Aviation weather and safety consultant/author and retired TWA captain Robert N. Buck, 93, recently passed away in Berlin, Vt. He started flying at age 15 and set a New York to Los Angeles speed record before reaching his 16th birthday. By his 20th birthday, he broke an altitude record for light airplanes and became the […]

Not all the news this week was datelined Geneva: The Savannah Air Center yesterday said it broke ground for a new hangar facility designed to increase the companys capacity to accommodate large business aircraft. The under-construction 101,500-square-foot state-of-the-art structure will hold up to six large-cabin aircraft such as the Global Express and Gulfstream V and […]

Jet Aviation this week said it named Peter G. Edwards as its Group CEO, effective May 20. Edwards, who succeeds interim CEO Carl W. Hirschmann, will be based at Jet Aviation’s global headquarters in Zurich. Additionally, the company named Jim Ziegler as COO North America, effective June 1. As Group CEO, Edwards will be responsible […]

Also at EBACE this week, Jeppesen announced a new pricing option for its International Trip Planning Services it says is “straightforward and easy to understand” — implying its current options aren’t. The company divided the globe into eight predefined regions and established fixed sector fees for each trip segment between or within these regions. Included […]