News

As AVweb reported last week, Honda brought its experimental HondaJet to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh last month, flying the innovative VLJ in from its Greensboro, N.C., testing base. The real news came after the show, however, when Honda executives allowed that they just may offer a certificated version of the jet. Sticking to the “this is […]

Another entrant in the race to bring a VLJ to market, Eclipse Aviation Corporation, used is presence at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh to showcase its Eclipse 500 in fly-bys and update attendees on its flight-test program. According to the company, aircraft N502EA recently reached its service ceiling and its maximum operating speed for the first time. […]

Cessna’s newest offering, the Citation Mustang, made its world debut last month at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, arriving at the fly-in with Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton at the controls. The arrival was the first public display of Cessna’s entry into the coming very light jet (VLJ) sweepstakes; it was announced in 2002 and […]

…AVweb‘s BizAVflash will be making the pilgrimage to Oshkosh, Wis., for this year’s AirVenture extravaganza. Since we can’t be in two places at the same time, the next issue of AVweb‘s BizAVflash will be e-mailed to you on August 17. See you then…

Psst, buddy; want to borrow NASA’s shuttle landing facility? Get in line — the agency says it is considering adopting a policy and developing the plans and procedures appropriate to allow access to and use of the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at John F. Kennedy Space Center by other government agencies and their contractors, university […]

While the 737-derived Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) isn’t the best choice for every operator, one thing it does offer, in large quantities, is reliability. So it should come as no surprise that Royal Jet, the United Arab Emirates-based charter operator, announced last week it had obtained ETOPS-120 certification of its two BBJs. The extended-range twin-engine […]

It’s summer in Washington, D.C., and, with the steamy, dreamy days of August fast approaching, both houses of Congress are looking forward to bailing out and heading off into the wild blue yonder. In addition to all the nasty, time-consuming tasks they will probably leave behind — like Supreme Court nominees, for instance — the […]

Gulfstream Aerospace late last month delivered the first example of its G350 bizjet to an unnamed owner. Just two months ago, we delivered the first large-cabin, long-range G450 and now were delivering its sister ship, the G350, said Bryan Moss, president of Gulfstream. The G350 and the G450 share the same size cabin and baggage […]

Another milestone: Eclipse Aviation this week put its fourth certification prototype in the air, one the company is calling the first of two of its “beta test jets.” The aircraft, N505EA, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW610F turbofan engines, took off from the Albuquerque International Sunport for a 43-minute flight. While aloft, […]

Dassault Falcon Jet’s 7X program last week also passed a major milestone as the second prototype made its first flight from the company’s facility at Bordeaux-Merignac, France. Test pilots Philippe Deleume and Jean-Louis Dumas were at the controls for the maiden flight, which lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes. Typical for a first flight, the […]