News

It’s all about the spike. Equipped with a Gulfstream-patented prosthetic nose (a.k.a. “Quiet Spike” sonic boom mitigator), a NASA F-15 managed to convert its transonic sound signature from a climactic boom to a series of small “almost inaudible” rumbles. The test flight program concluded this month, marking a critical step “moving us forward in the […]

Dassault took a record 158 orders in 2006, expects its 7X to continue flying toward certification in April and then plans to produce 10 each month for two years — but the company already has its sights set on a new midsize jet offering and that project should give the company something to do with […]

Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center will on March 13 at 1800 UTC expand throughout the Oakland Oceanic CTA operational trials of 30-nm lateral and 30-nm longitudinal separation (30/30). Aircraft operating 30/30 carry required communications, navigation and surveillance equipment, along with authorization, but those aircraft not so blessed will still be accommodated. Specific instructions for […]

All operators of certain Bombardier Challenger 600-series aircraft with General Electric CF34-3A1/-3B/-3B1 turbofans will soon receive word in the form of an emergency airworthiness directive 2007-04-51 informing them that an electrical arc-out defect potentially introduced during manufacturing could lead to uncontained engine failure. The FAA found that the defect can be introduced during the part-marking […]

The Greater Washington Business Aviation Association (GWBAA), established to “represent the interests of business aviation in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia,” has announced a March 8 “Safety Standdown” meeting at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Northern Virginia. The gathering includes presentations from Bob Agonstino, director of flight operations for Bombardier; former NTSB […]

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) last week called the FAA’s proposed funding plan a huge tax break for large airlines that punishes small and midsize general aviation businesses, while stripping Congress of its aviation system oversight. Basically labeling the plan as a Valentine’s Day gift from the FAA to the airlines, NBAA says airline […]

Speculation is reborn from the release of published excerpts from the cockpit voice recorder of the Embraer Legacy 600 jet that last September survived airborne contact with a Gol Airlines 737-800; all 154 aboard the Boeing died. But the renewed controversy might center on the exact translation of the scripts from English to Portuguese and […]

Any pilot who’s tried to communicate on a busy frequency can appreciate the value of having a datalink option in the cockpit, where controllers can send instructions directly to a computer screen. This week, Europe’s airspace system moved a step closer to implementing a universal datalink system, announcing the choice of a contractor to build […]

Cirrus Design on Monday announced that it delivered 721 airplanes last year, a 20-percent jump compared with the previous year. This total includes 565 copies of the SR22, making that model the best-selling single-engine airplane in the world. The world beyond North America seems to be ready for more GA airplanes, and Cirrus has been […]

Minnesota is a big, spread-out state, and Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson’s district covers 35 counties. He’s found his Beech Bonanza beats out any other way to travel, but new ethics rules have left him grounded. “It’s a pretty stupid deal,” Peterson, 62, told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune. House officials have said the new rules are […]