News

For years, ducted fans have been tinkered with as a means to propel vehicles into the air and bring us a step closer to the “flying car” of the old Jetsons cartoons. So far the technology has proved less robust than the vision, but an Israeli company has recently attracted attention from Bell Helicopter for […]

It’s not often that a brand-new airport opens up, but Houston Executive Airport (HEA) is now ready for landings. Located in Brookshire, west of Houston, the private airport is VFR-only, with a single 5,050-foot runway. HEA will cater to general aviation aircraft and provide FBO services, including fuel. The airport was established by former commercial […]

Cessna Aircraft Company said on Tuesday it delivered 1,239 aircraft last year, keeping its spot as the world’s largest manufacturer of general aviation aircraft. Jet sales and overseas sales both grew significantly, said company CEO Jack Pelton. “We also did very well with our single-engine line, with 865 piston aircraft and 67 turboprops delivered,” he […]

The FAA’s new budget proposal could mean a fourfold hike in fuel taxes and “severely threatens the freedom of our country’s general aviation community,” EAA said on Monday. The proposal would create new user fees for FAA services that today are provided free, says Doug Macnair, EAA’s vice president of government relations. “Such a system […]

The FAA will probably issue a new rule to permanently impose restrictions on VFR traffic above New York’s East River, according to the NTSB. The Safety Board released documents on Monday in connection with a fatal airplane crash last October when New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor, Tyler Stanger, hit a […]

Of the 1,239 aircraft delivered last year, Cessna delivered 307 Citations (that’s up more than 50 aircraft year-over-year) and 67 turboprops. Business jet deliveries outside of the U.S. accounted for 48 percent of the company’s total orders, helping to boost revenue from $3.5 billion in 2005 to $4.2 billion in 2006, and Cessna remains bullish […]

Cardiff By The Sea, Calif.-based Spectrum Aeronautical continues to build a “company-conforming” model of its all-composite very light jet, the Spectrum Model 33 Independence. Company President Austin Blue told AVweb that it will indeed resume test flights in the fall when the airplane comes on line. The “proof of concept” Spectrum 33 crashed on takeoff […]

A 787 VIP luxo-cruiser? If you happen to fall on the right side of the CEO-to-employee pay gap, Boeing has got a deal for you. On January 30, the company announced at the Middle East Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition in Dubai concepts of a VIP version of the in-development Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The luxury […]

Cockpit checklists and procedures, along with radar data collection, will now become key players as the NTSB takes on the investigation of the King Air B200 (N777AJ) headed from Rogers, Ark., for Stanton, Va., last Friday morning. The twin turboprop encountered complications after suffering a shattered (but not blown out) windshield at 27,000 feet and […]

On January 30, the FAA said both Embraer and Grob filed to seek Part 23 commuter category certification status for specific jet lines born of their stables. And so, the twist: under FAR 23.3(d), the commuter category is currently limited to, “propeller-driven, multiengine airplanes that have a seating configuration, excluding pilot seats, of 19 or […]