News

Right on schedule, Embraer on Friday afternoon quietly showed off its first fully assembled Phenom 100 to a group of journalists at its headquarters in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. First flight of this airplane is scheduled for the end of June, with Brazilian certification and first delivery expected a year later. The very light […]

The FAA has enacted an Airworthiness Directive (AD) concerning the tightness of fuel line fittings on various Cessna 172, 182 and 206 models after the same problem kept cropping up after the first AD was issued last August. The original AD was intended to ensure that the fittings were all tightened properly to prevent them […]

The long-awaited (and excruciatingly foreshadowed) unveiling of amockup of Cirrus’ “the-jet” will occur at a June 27 private event for the hundreds of people who’ve put up $100,000 to secure positions on theaircraft. The public gets a peek the next day as thecompany uses the unveiling to kick off its annual “migration” ofCirrus aircraft back […]

The Comp Air 12 turboprop single achieved first flight on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. from the Merritt Island (Fla.) Airport, where Comp Air is based. Ron Lueck, owner of Comp Air Aviation, was behind the controls of the all-composite, Honeywell TPE331-14GR-powered airplane. According to the aircraft manufacturer, the maiden flight was “a complete success” and […]

According to Eclipse Aviation President and CEO Vern Raburn, the Eclipse 500 fleet (five customer and five test airplanes) has been temporarily restricted to only visual meteorological conditions flight operations after a teething problem was found with the very light jet’s pitot/static system. In a letter to customers sent Monday night, Raburn outlined the problem: […]

NASA has established the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board, and AOPA President Phil Boyer has been appointed as a member. “GPS has become a public utility like electricity or water,” Boyer said. To help oversee that infrastructure, the board brings together experts to provide advice on policy, planning, program management and funding. […]

If you’re heading to Florida for the annual Sun ‘n Fun air show starting on Tuesday, the FAA has the flight planning info you need. The Notice to Airmen, available online, includes detailed arrival and departure procedures for Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and for Lake Parker, the seaplane destination. Special rules are listed for ultralights, […]

For most workers, taking a break to visit the restroom is not a big deal. But if you are an air traffic controller, and you’ve been at your post over two and a half hours, and the only other worker on duty is a trainee not qualified to take over for you, well, it could […]

On a clear morning in July 2004, a Piper Navajo flown by a retired airline pilot who had more than 32,000 hours of logged flight time hit a forested ridge in Ticonderoga, N.Y. The airplane was torn apart and burned, and the pilot and his passenger both died. The NTSB said in its recently released […]

The NTSB said on Tuesday it wants the FAA to modify the way it schedules air traffic controller work shifts to minimize disrupted sleep patterns and fatigue. The Safety Board said controller fatigue has been an ongoing concern, but the issue was raised again after last August’s fatal crash of a Comair regional jet on […]