News

Puts Finishing Touches On The 170… Embraer finished certification of its 170 model in late October. Luis Carlos Affonso, Embraer’s vice president of engineering and development, told reporters that completing the documentation was the most important part of the certification process. Affonso said more meetings with regulators will follow as the world’s fourth largest aircraft […]

Cruson said new minimum altitudes for tour operators could actually create safety problems. Currently, sightseeing aircraft operate between 500 and 1,000 feet AGL depending on aircraft type and the areas over which they are flying. The new rule would set the limit at 1,000 feet for all sightseeing aircraft. And since the essence of sightseeing […]

Although it can be argued that Part 91 operators will be the hardest hit, larger companies are also counting up the costs. Jim Cruson, president of Air Vegas, one of the biggest air tour companies in the country, says some of the proposed regulations will hit his firm squarely in the bottom line. For instance, […]

NPRM Affects Hundreds Of Sightseeing Businesses… As the aviation industry is pummeled by a weak economy and staggered by the 9/11 hangover, it might seem like curious timing for the FAA to write regulations that it believes will cost $238 million over ten years and drive 700 enterprises out of at least a portion of […]

AVweb and AVflash are pleased to announce the launch of Business AVflash, a new no-cost e-news service covering the business aviation market. If you fly business aircraft, manage an FBO, are a flight instructor, perform airport ground services, run a charter operation, manufacture or supply parts, airframes, engines or avionics, or if you are simply […]

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified Eurocopter France model helicopters that requires operators to either temporarily or permanently secure the electrical bonding braid that is installed on the left cyclic pitch control stick base within 10 hours time-in-service (TIS) and, if temporarily secured, installing a permanent attachment system for the […]

Beech 400A and 400T The FAA is proposing the adoption of a new airworthiness directive (AD) that is applicable to certain Raytheon Model Beech 400A and 400T series airplanes. This rule would require an inspection to determine the part number of the A194 roll trim printed circuit board (PCB), and replacement of certain PCBs with […]

Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) says the work it’s doing on emergency parachutes for light jets could one day put a canopy over some airliners. Vice President Dan Johnson said BRS, best known for the chute it developed for Cirrus, has a NASA contract to develop a system that would handle the much higher speeds and […]

The folks at Extra Aircraft claim NBAA was a success but they also found themselves with a scary scenario on the way to the annual event. The prototype of the company’s entry to the high-performance touring/business market very nearly became a tragic NTSB statistic, taking the celebrated founder of the company, Walter Extra, with it. […]

As of this moment, some seven manufacturers promising a new generation of light jets sit on a collective order roster tallying well more than 2,000 aircraft. The light jets promise certification for single-pilot operations from nearly all GA airports. Some offer acquisition costs below that of a brand-new light twin, operating costs similar to light […]