News

A compromise bill on FAA budget reauthorization is meeting swift — and predictable — opposition from the aviation sector it hits hardest. The National Business Aviation Association has come out swinging against the bill proposed by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., that would shift all of the burden of general aviation user […]

With the FAA’s proposal to restructure the way it’s financed facing a broad array of opposition, Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., have come up with their own solution, The Hill reported on Tuesday. Their bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate later this week. It exempts piston-driven aircraft from user […]

Point2Point, the regional air-taxi service based in North Dakota, has suspended operations, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. The company had shown exponential growth in several quarters last year, and last July, at AirVenture, had placed an order for up to 100 Diamond aircraft, including DA42 Twin Stars and D-Jets. Company founder John Boehle told […]

Yes, it’s three months away, but the official FAA NOTAM is now available, and if you are planning to fly in to EAA AirVenture this summer, it’s not too soon to start studying up on the event’s unique arrival and departure procedures. The NOTAM provides details for the many types of aircraft that fly to […]

If you conduct sightseeing flights, whether for charity or for profit, new FAA rules affect you. AOPA has updated its “Charity Flying Safety Brief,” posted free online, to reflect those changes. For example, flight schools that give sightseeing rides under the Part 91 25-mile exception must now apply for a “Letter of Authorization” from the […]

City commissioners in Santa Monica, Calif., voted last week to cordon off nearly 1,200 feet of a runway at the Santa Monica Airport, despite assertions from FAA officials that such restrictions would not be allowed. The move is the latest effort from the city to restrict jet traffic. The airport has become increasingly popular over […]

Traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS) should be designed to ensure that flight crews know when they are not operating, the NTSB said in a safety recommendation issued on Wednesday. The recommendation is based on preliminary findings in the ongoing investigation into the midair collision between an Embraer Legacy bizjet and a Gol Airlines […]

Pilots now can train to recognize and recover from unusual attitudes in a Columbia 400 at Sean D. Tucker’s Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety in King City, Calif. The school’s Columbia 400 is a stock factory model, but has been reclassified as an experimental by the FAA to allow it to be used for aerobatic […]

Miles Hilton-Barber, 58, a British pilot who has been blind for 25 years, landed his microlight aircraft at Bankstown airport in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, after flying more than halfway around the world. His 59-day trip through 21 countries raised money for a charity that works to prevent blindness in poor countries. “It’s the fulfillment […]

Mooney Airplane Co. of Kerrville, Texas, has named two new executives to its staff, with the appointment of Jon Greenwood to the position of vice president and chief financial officer and John McCoury as vice president of engineering. Greenwood previously worked for M7 Aerospace. McCoury has worked with Aviation Technology Group (ATG) and Eclipse Aviation. […]