News

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 […]

COLUMN INDEX Probable Cause #26: Four MinutesFew things demand getting the airplane on the ground more quickly than an in-flight fire. Here’s why.

COLUMN INDEX Pelican’s Perch #83: The Shell ReportShell’s recent Tech Talk has great advice for how to run engines — and some real bloopers.

Gear-up landings make regular appearances on the local news but not many of them involve police using a Taser gun on the volunteers who turn out to help. According to the Fresno Bee, Merced County Sheriffs Department was called to Castle Airport in Atwater, Calif., last Thursday after a report that a Piper Arrow pilot […]

A German paraglider was frostbitten and bruised from being pummeled by orange-sized hail, but lived to tell the tale of being sucked up inside a thunderstorm and spit out at 30,000 feet. Ewa Wisnerska was practicing for a meet in Australia when the storm hit. Another competitor, He Zhongpin of China, was killed in the […]

University of Utah researchers are working on a device, which, if it works, could help prevent one of the most common causes of aircraft fires. Prof. Cynthia Furse and her students are hoping to create a wire fault detector that works while the plane is in the air. During flight, condensation can trigger tiny short […]

AOPA announced last week that U.S. pilots are one step closer to being able to file their medical renewal information online. The FAA has agreed to accept printouts of AOPAs Turbomedical form as long as theyre signed in the presence of an AME or the doctors staff. Turbomedical is described as a medical assistant designed […]

Thirty years after the worst aviation disaster in history, a permanent reminder of the runway collision at Tenerife Airport in the Canary Islands will be erected on a mountain there. The 60-foot steel sculpture entitled De Wenteltrap (means spiral staircase) was created by Dutch artist Rudi van de Wint. It was commissioned by Foundation Relatives […]