News

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Fractional operator NetJets Aviation said earlier this month it plans to hire at least 300 pilots this year and has already begun the interview and hiring process. NetJets currently has more than 2,800 pilots, flying customers on the world’s largest, global fractional jet fleet. Last year, NetJets flew more than 275,000 flights to more than […]

There’s a lot of mating going on in aviation this month. In addition to Cessna putting the wings on its first Citation Mustang, Eclipse Aviation last week announced its next two Eclipse 500s, N502EA and N504EA, have completed wing-mate and are standing on their own landing gear. These two aircraft will join N503EA, which has […]

Meanwhile, Cessna has a mock-up of the Mustang and is taking it out on the road. The company’s worldwide tour began last week in Chicago — that stalwart defender of all things general aviation — and is scheduled to conclude on May 20, 2005, at the EBACE convention in Geneva, Switzerland. The Citation Mustang has […]

The wing mating of Cessna’s first Citation Mustang is the latest step the company has accomplished in bringing the type to market. Approximately 50 Cessna employees from the company’s Independence, Kan., and Columbus, Ga., facilities have temporarily relocated to Wichita to help build the first five Citation Mustangs. These five airframes are in various stages […]

Meanwhile, back in Wichita — home to the vast majority of general aviation’s manufacturing capacity — city fathers are looking to help ensure the industry continues to call the area home by developing an aircraft maintenance training facility at the local Col. James Jabara Airport. According to The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle newspaper, the city plans […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) last week held its annual production review and market outlook, and to no one’s great surprise, business aircraft led the industry’s charge to growth. According to GAMA, deliveries of new general aviation aircraft climbed 10 percent in 2004, with billings increasing 19 percent. Turboprops led the growth, with an […]

Originally announced at the 2001 Paris Air Show, the first example of Dassault Aviation’s newest trijet, the 7X, was rolled out last week at the company’s facility in Bordeaux-Mrignac, France. “Today we have made a huge step forward in the industry,” said Charles Edelstenne, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. “Due to the new and […]

The same day the FAA met with industry representatives to discuss voluntary steps aimed at improving business and charter aircraft safety, the agency issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) against an aircraft type involved in two of the recent six accidents that have drawn attention to the issue. The not-unexpected AD targets Bombardier’s Canadair Challenger 600-series […]

The FAA made it pretty clear to charter and corporate aviation industry representatives last week that the recent spate of fatal turbine-powered aircraft accidents has the agency’s attention. Attendees and the top-level agency officials present pledged to work together in tackling the challenge of improving this industry segment’s safety record. The meeting, though planned for […]