News

The U.S. Navy grounded its fleet of T-45 trainer jets on Wednesday, after instructor pilots refused to fly, complaining that the oxygen systems were not working properly and had caused lightheadedness and blackouts. “We take the concerns of our air crew seriously and have directed a two-day safety pause for the T-45 community to allow […]

Sun ‘n Fun played host on Wednesday to an aviation career fair inviting employers, pilots and mechanics to mix, mingle, interview and trade resumes. Fourteen aviation employers were in attendance, including most of the big regional airlines. Skywest, Envoy, ExpressJet, Frontier, Spirit and Republic all sent pilots or hiring reps to fish for fresh talent. […]

The noise-cancelling aviation headset has been with us for three decades and may have now reached a plateau in further development, according to Allan Schrader of Lightspeed Aviation, which just released the Zulu3, an incremental upgrade to its best-selling Zulu2. “So what could be next? There’s little reason to make a quieter headset. We learned […]

Full-time internet connectivity is a fact of life for businesses, homes and even some cars and will soon be just as common in light aircraft, according to Avidyne’s Dan Schwinn. The company is busily whiteboarding what may be the next big thing in avionics. He explained his vision of the future in this long-form AVweb […]

If drones can do pipeline patrol and survey work, why can’t a light sport aircraft do the same? That’s the question the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association is asking the FAA to consider and the answer may eventually result in an approval for just such work. “We’ve adopted the term aerial work, which is a European […]

This week may be all about Sun ‘n Fun and the Aero Friedrichshafen show in Germany, but it’s not too soon to start planning a trip to EAA AirVenture — especially if you intend to fly your own airplane there. The traffic into Oshkosh requires that a slew of special procedures are put in place, […]

Never one to stand still, French aircraft maker Daher unveiled the TBM 910 at Sun ‘n Fun this week. Although it’s not a complete revision of the popular TBM 900, the 910 features new avionics in the form of the Garmin G1000 NXi, the follow-on to the G1000 suite that has become the de facto […]

For many Mooney owners — and a few would-be buyers — a second cabin door has always been on the wish list and on Tuesday at Sun ‘n Fun, Mooney delivered just that. The company rolled out the fully certified Acclaim Ultra, sporting both the new left-side cabin door and a lighter, spiffed-up interior. Mooney […]

Some FBOs are charging too much for minimal services to general aviation pilots, AOPA said in a report posted online last week. “No one is watching,” said AOPA general counsel Ken Mead. “There’s a fox in the henhouse and no one is paying attention.” AOPA has complained to the FAA, citing incidents of transient pilots […]

Embraer Executive Jets delivered the first Phenom 100 EV to an undisclosed U.S. customer last Friday, the company announced this week. The new aircraft model has been certified both in Brazil and the U.S. An evolution of the Phenom 100, which entered service in 2008, the Phenom 100EV delivers enhanced performance, with new avionics and […]