News

It was five years in development, but collective efforts by three Chinese organizations to design, assemble, and fly a new single-engine airplane came to fruition Dec. 7. The five-seat plane, dubbed “AC500” or “Air Car 500,” made its first flight in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province. The Nanjing Light Aircraft Company Ltd. and […]

Long-time NBAA staffer Bill Stine last week marked his 25th year with the association. Presently serving the association as director of international operations, Stine has been the association’s spokesman on matters involving international business aviation, communications, navigation and surveillance since 1979. He served as staff liaison for the NBAA International Operators Committee for six years, […]

While they were gearing up to open their new maintenance facility, the men and women at Cessna took a break on Dec. 1 to deliver the company’s first Citation CJ3. In presenting the keys to the first CJ3, Cessna marked the third new Citation model to enter service in 2004; earlier this year Cessna certified […]

The Helicopter Association International (HAI) last week announced that Elling Halvorson, chairman of Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, Inc., is the recipient of the association’s 2004 Lawrence D. Bell Award. The award will be presented Feb. 7, 2005, at HELI-EXPO in Anaheim, Calif., during HAI’s 44th annual “Salute to Excellence” awards ceremony. During his 37-year association […]

As AVweb reported Monday, Eclipse Aviation Corporation on Saturday rolled out its first certification flight test aircraft equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW610F turbofan engines. Eclipse 500, N503EA, is scheduled for its first flight by Dec. 31, 2004. Vern Raburn, Eclipse president and CEO, said, “Over the coming months, we will have […]

Gulfstream Aerospace this week announced that its London-Luton Airport-based service center received Part 145 approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Nov. 29. The new approval replaces the previous Joint Aviation Authorities repair station authorization and allows the U.K. facility to perform base and line maintenance activities. The Luton service was acquired by […]

Cessna last week celebrated the grand opening of its Wichita Citation Service Center, which it touts as the world’s largest general aviation maintenance facility, with the cutting of 25-foot-long red ribbon. The complex includes five hangars, three of which are 60,000 square feet in size, plus numerous customer lounges and offices, flight-planning areas, a restaurant, […]

Some other tidbits in the GAO study have to do with temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) and how often they are violated. According to the GAO, numerous operators and airports have suffered a “negative economic impact” — that’s government-speak for “losing money” — as a result of TFRs and other steps. The GAO cited, but did […]

In publicly releasing its long-awaited report on general aviation security (PDF), the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) last week said that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) “and other federal agencies have not conducted an overall systematic assessment of threats to, or vulnerabilities of, general aviation to determine how to better prepare against terrorist threats.” This, […]

Canadian business and regional jet manufacturer Bombardier Inc., jettisoned its chief executive on Monday amid poor financial results, lowered growth projections and apparent internal disagreements coupled with public uncertainty over the company’s direction. Paul Tellier, who was president and chief executive officer as well as director, became a casualty after telling Bombardier’s board of directors […]