News

While most general aviation advocacy groups had positive reviews overall this week for the FAA’s proposed new rules for commercial operations of unmanned aerial systems, reaction has been mixed on other fronts. One of the biggest disappointments was handed to Amazon, whose plans to develop autonomous delivery drones would be grounded by the proposed rules. […]

Leading advocates of electric technology for aviation will meet later this month at the Museum of Flight in Seattle to offer an all-day symposium that’s free and open to the public. The event will feature talks by Erik Lindbergh, founder of the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize; George Bye, CEO of Aero Electric Aircraft Corp.; Dean […]

Quest Aircraft, which builds the Kodiak turboprop in Sandpoint, Idaho, has been acquired by Setouchi Holdings, the company announced on Tuesday. Setouchi, which has been an authorized Kodiak dealer, is part of the Tsuneishi Group, an international company based in Japan, which is mainly involved in shipbuilding. “We are very excited to have a strong […]

Spaceport America, which was built in a remote area in New Mexico to provide a site for Virgin Galactic’s space-tourism flights, hosted its first-ever general aviation fly-in over the weekend, and announced it will begin to offer more opportunities for private pilots to fly in for visits. Holding the fly-in event was prompted by a […]

Commercial operators of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) weighing less than 55 pounds will have to pass an FAA knowledge test every two years and their aircraft will have to be registered under regulations proposed in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released by the FAA and the DOT Sunday (PDF). In a telephone news briefing, […]

The FAA and Department of Transportation will hold a rare Sunday morning news conference to release the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the use of small unmanned aerial systems in the National Airspace System (NAS). In an even more rare Saturday night statement, the agency outlined what to expect:“The rule is specifically aimed at […]

The U.K.’s Paul Bonhomme won the opening race of the 2015 Red Bull Air Race series in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, edging Australia’s Matt Hall by eight one hundredths of a second in the final round. Canada’s Pete McLeod, who is now sponsored by Garmin Virb, came third more than a half second behind. Hannes […]

The city of Duluth is asking the State of Minnesota for $4 million to help build a $10 million production facility for Cirrus’s SF50 light jet. At a news conference on Friday, Duluth Mayor Don Ness said the city has already committed to fronting $6 million of the construction cost of a 60,000-square-foot building as […]

The FAA grounded more than 300 Enstrom helicopters this week, requiring inspections for cracks such as one that might have caused a fatal crash last month in Colorado. The agency’s emergency Airworthiness Directive requires a magnetic particle inspection to detect cracks in the spindle of the main rotor for those with at least 5,000 hours […]

Two divers have discovered the wreckage of a Korean War-era Douglas A-1 Skyraider off the San Diego coastline, KSWB Fox 5 reported this week. Dennis Burns and Ruth Yu were exploring the shallow waters off Mission Beach when they found an airplane submerged about 60 feet deep. Its identification plate confirmed it was a Skyraider […]