News

A new $1.1 trillion federal budget bill passed last week includes $140 million to ensure all 252 contract towers will stay open — at least through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. The tower staffing became uncertain during last year’s budget battles, but a planned shutdown of 149 of the towers was averted […]

A new system to project images through glass using nanotechnology could lead to inexpensive, effective head-up displays for aircraft, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said this week. The new approach combines a wide viewing angle, simplicity of manufacture, potentially low cost, and scalability. The system uses nanoparticles embedded in a thin transparent plastic […]

The Canadian government is considering law changes that could give local and provincial jurisdictions a say in airport construction or expansion projects, according to the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association President Kevin Psutka. In a letter to members, Psutka said the proposed changes to the Aeronautics Act are so far ambiguous but could chip away […]

Bombardier is laying off 1,700 aerospace workers, 1,100 in Montreal and 600 in Wichita, because of slow sales and delays in the CSeries airliner and Learjet 85 programs. Last week, the Canadian planemaker announced the CSeries wouldn’t be ready for its first deliveries until the last half of 2015, and a few days later it […]

The Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance said this week it has several scholarships available for anyone interested in careers in aircraft maintenance. The opportunities include free tuition for a Learjet 45 maintenance course, sponsored by Bombardier; a scholarship for attaining inspection authorization from the Baker School of Aeronautics, including hotel and exam fees; and […]

Beechcraft has been through a lot in the last few years, emerging from bankruptcy and now under new ownership, but its long heritage remains intact — a fact that was celebrated this week, when the company marked the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the King Air Model 90. Several three-ship passes of the […]

If you’ve seen videos online of the annual STOL competition at Pioneer Field Airport in Valdez, Alaska, you know the amazing capabilities of these bush planes and their pilots — and this year, for the first time, you can catch their demo flights at EAA AirVenture, in Oshkosh, instead of traveling all the way to […]

An Alaska inventor has come up with a relatively low-cost ($2500) solution to a vexing problem for float and amphibian pilots and, well, really all pilots. John Pursey says his FlareAssist will help anyone skim (or grease) their landings through the use of ultrasonics. Pursey, whose background is in sensing technology, had one too many […]

A Florida company is hoping to revive a proven 1950s concept that mounted a ducted fan under a stand-up control station to create a 21st century version of the Hiller “flying platform.” Flying Platform LLC, of Lake Placid, Fla., had the nuts and bolts of their design at U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla., […]

The NTSB says the pilots of a Southwest flight that landed at the wrong airport last week simply followed the wrong bright lights after opting for a visual approach to what they thought was Branson Airport in Missouri. According to the board’s preliminary report, the crew was told by the Branson tower that they were […]