News

On Friday, Eclipse Aviation announced its new team of partners — Flight Simulation Company of The Netherlands and Higher Power Aviation of Dallas — who will train Eclipse 500 pilots. These organizations join Eclipse’s previously established simulator vendor OPINICUS of Lutz, Florida. United Airlines and Eclipse last month severed ties under which United would have […]

Diamond Aircraft said on Friday that its continuing its investigation into the dual engine failure of a diesel-powered DA42 Twin Star last month in Germany, and the fix might be a backup battery for the engines electronic control units (ECUs). In meantime, AVweb has learned that an Airworthiness Directive for the airplanes two Thielert 1.7 […]

In most cases, the investigation of a fatal accident reveals an all-too-familiar chain of events leading up to the crash that may include pilot error, weather and, sometimes, mechanical malfunction. But a crash on a calm clear day in Hawaii on Dec. 15, 2005, gave investigators nothing to go on except the smoking wreck of […]

Actor John Travolta has caught the ire of the London’s Daily Mail and the retirees of Owl’s Head, Maine, in recent days for his flying behavior. On the U.S. side of the pond, the folks in Owl’s Head wish he would abide by the voluntary curfew at Knox County Regional Airport. According to airport manager […]

The FAA’s unprecedented recruiting drive for air traffic controllers has caused bitter division between the new recruits and those who’ve taken the college route to the console. Pat Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told AVweb in an interview that controller trainees who have gone through college, often amassing large student loans, […]

A Vancouver Island company has committed to resurrecting one of the most popular passenger/utility aircraft ever built. Viking Air of Saanich (near Victoria) British Columbia intends to begin building DHC-6 Twin Otters this year. Parts will be built at the Saanich plant for assembly in Calgary. The company hopes to build nine aircraft this year, […]

Cirrus and Cessna continue to battle it out for supremacy of the piston single market, and the airplanes with a parachute still have the edge. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s quarterly report on aircraft shipments, Cirrus delivered 144 aircraft over three model types in the first quarter, bringing in a little more than […]

Recent evidence suggests that managers at the FAA might have rushed the issuance of the Eclipse 500 type certificate (TC) last Sept. 30. A grievance filed on Oct. 20 by National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) aircraft certification representative Tomaso DiPaolo and posted this week to a blog site alleges that aircraft certification engineers and […]

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has joined the juggernaut of opposition to the FAA’s funding proposal, saying it’s nothing more than a bailout of airlines on the backs of small-town America. In a news release, NFU President Pat Buis said the plan to more than triple the existing general aviation fuel tax will have a […]

One of the oldest family businesses in U.S. aviation is changing hands at the end of June. It was announced Thursday that Executive Beechcraft, which was started by Dan Meisinger Sr. in 1938, is being purchased by BBA Aviation. Terms haven’t been disclosed, but the deal gives BBA 100 percent of the capital stock of […]