News

Also making a first flight of a new jet this month was Cessna, whose new Citation CJ2+ prototype took to the air on April 2. Piloted by test pilots Don Alexander and Jon Cooper, the conforming CJ2+ prototype flew from Mid-Continent Airport for a 02:06 test flight, which, according to Cessna, included an “aggressive flight […]

Swearingen Aircraft Corp. yesterday announced successful completion of cold soak testing as required for FAA certification of the company’s new SJ30-2 twinjet. The testing was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in a facility that lowers temperatures to -40 degrees C. Testing conducted at that temperature includes avionics performance, pre-start, engine start and operation, […]

Eclipse Aviation earlier this month announced reaching new milestones in its efforts to certify is Eclipse 500 very light jet by March 2006. According to the company, Eclipse conducted successful engine inlet icing tests for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F destined to power the twinjet, fulfilling these FAA requirements for the aircraft and its […]

Things are good in Wichita for some companies, but not so good for others. According to The Wichita Eagle, some 2000 people have applied for as many as 500 sheet-metal fabrication jobs at Cessna, while Raytheon finds itself in the opening stages of laying off up to 350 workers. Of course, where they could go […]

So … what’s going on? Is this a “manufactured” crisis in FAA funding? Who’s really behind it? And what do they want? Those answers are a bit more complicated, but the signs point to this being the early stages of an effort by airlines and some in government to undo decades of policy decisions designating […]

To hear many in the FAA’s leadership tell it, AVweb‘s Favorite Aviation Agency is facing a funding crisis: Costs are increasing while revenues are dropping. And, while that’s nothing to surprise anyone who has looked at fuel prices lately, the FAA can and says it just may do something about it. Tomorrow’s quasi-public meeting of […]

… the next issue of AVweb‘s Business AVflash will be e-mailed to you on April 6. See you then!

Boeing, meanwhile, has found a presence in the skies over the Gulf state of Dubai. Emirates Airline has begun taking delivery of 30 new Boeing 777-3000ERs (extended range) aircraft, part of a $30 billion fleet expansion. Emirates has also ordered 45 Airbus A380 super jumbos, so from now through 2012 the airline will be receiving, […]

A distinctly American product appears to be making additional inroads in Europe. Boeing’s new 777 freighter is being mentioned as the heir apparent to the Boeing 747-200s currently in use by Air France. The 777 freighter is the load-hauling version — 222,000 pounds up to 6,500 miles — of the long-range 777-200LR (long range) passenger […]

In a deal worth multiple millions (neither side is saying just how many yet), Wichita, Kan.-based Raytheon Aircraft Company and NetJets have reached a tentative agreement on the sale of a number of Hawker Horizon bizjets. NetJets plans to purchase 50 of the $18.45 million jets for its ever-expanding fractional fleet. $18.45 million is the […]