News

Bonus depreciation could be making a comeback for business aircraft buyers and NBAA is encouraging lawmakers to make it happen. The Senate Finance Committee last week drafted legislation that would restore a series of tax incentives for two years, including bonus depreciation on capital assets. Under bonus depreciation, businesses are allowed to write off a […]

The total number of helicopter accidents in the U.S. has dipped sharply in recent years but the distribution of mishaps across the various industry sectors hasn’t changed according to the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team. The group did a detailed analysis of accidents from 2009-2011 and compared the data from an earlier assessment of the years […]

With the FAA running into a legal quagmire over its blanket ban on commercial drone use, operators are losing patience. A Texas group that uses drones to help search for missing people told the Wall Street Journal they plan to challenge the FAA’s restrictions in federal court. The FAA responded that the group should try […]

A total of 5,703 girls and women all over the world took their first flights in airplanes during Women of Aviation Worldwide Week in early March. In a news release, organizer Mireille Goyer said more than 26,000 people took part in events at 96 locations on four continents, including Australia for the first time this […]

Sun ‘n Fun’s efforts to promote aviation as a means to inspire students to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathare paying off for Florida youth, Eric Crump, the aerospace program director for Polk State College, told AVweb on Sunday. “Sun ‘n Fun grabs the kids with youth programs,” Crump said. “A lot of […]

XtremeAir, a German company that has been selling a kit-built tandem aerobatic airplane known as the sBach 342, now has a certified version, which the company brought to Sun ‘n Fun for the first time last week. The company also now has an official dealer based in Florida — SunQuest Aviation, in West Palm Beach […]

While security appears to be paramount at many airports, the Ventura County 99s are inviting people, especially the young, inside the fence to its Viewport, a new aircraft viewing and picnic area at Camarillo Airport in California. With help from the airport authority and other airport groups, the dedicated area is being built outside the […]

Rud Aero, a small company based in Sebastian, Fla., told AVweb at Sun ‘n Fun that besides the two carbon-fiber aerobatic aircraft they had on display, they have two more designs in the works — a single-engine four-seat high-wing airplane, and a small twin based on the same cabin and wing. The two airplanes on […]

The president of the Civil Aviation Medical Association, the group that represents aviation medical examiners (AMEs), says doing away with the third class medical is a threat to public safety. Dr. Mark Eidson has written members of Congress urging them to vote against bills in front of both houses that would eliminate the third class […]

“We blew it out of the water, went through the roof,” Sun ‘n Fun President John “Lites” Leenhouts told AVweb on Sunday morning as the show started to wind down for its final day. “The weather gods owed us one, from 2011, and they were very good to us.” Severe clear weather reigned all week […]