News

Jonathan Trappe, who has flown his custom cluster-balloon systems across the English Channel and the Alps, is now in Caribou, Maine, assembling a huge system that he plans to fly across the Atlantic, launching sometime Thursday. Col. Joe Kittinger, the last balloonist to cross from the U.S. to Europe, in 1984, is on site to […]

The transportation departments of the 21 countries in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum have agreed on a common set of goals to facilitate the development of business aviation in the region. China Daily USA reported APEC met in Tokyo last week and the business aviation initiative was one of the key announcements. Essentially, the countries […]

FlyRight, a simulator training company that specializes in King Air training, has announced that it has received FAA Level-D certification of its new King Air 350 ProLine21 simulator. The company, which is located at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, already trains to that level in King Air 90-, 100- and 200-series simulators and will start 300-series training […]

Seawind says it has overcome the final major technical roadblock to certifying its amphibious touring aircraft. In a news release Tuesday, the Pennsylvania company said it will be the first to certify a Part 23 aircraft with a stall/spin prevention system, clearing the way toward what CEO Dick Silva called “probably the longest certification of […]

The annual AOPA Summit is coming up in a few weeks, in Fort Worth, Texas, but AOPA said on Tuesday this will be the last time it holds the event. “Convention plans for 2014 have been cancelled,” AOPA said in a news release. AOPA said it plans to redirect the time and resources spent on […]

Billionaire Elon Musk, known for his successful private ventures into space and the Tesla electric roadster, said recently he’d like to develop a supersonic jet capable of vertical takeoffs and landings and powered by electricity. Musk said in an online chat that he’s been thinking about the jet idea for “about four years.” He said […]

Six aviation groups, including AOPA, EAA and the National Air Transport Association, have asked the FAA to publish the data and analysis that led to the agency’s proposal to require thousands of aircraft owners to inspect and perhaps replace certain ECi engine cylinders. The letter also requests that the FAA either withdraw its NPRM until […]

The Colorado town that will vote in October on a controversial ordinance to issue hunting licenses to shoot down unmanned aircraft over the town has been flooded with applications. It has prompted the town to put a whimsical spin on the plan. More than 1,000 people have sent Deer Trail Town Clerk Kim Oldfield $25 […]

The FAA says it needs to train 11,700 new air traffic controllers in the next eight years to cover retirements and budget-related staff cuts, but the Washington Times reports the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General is worried the agency’s training arm won’t be able to do it. For the past several years, the FAA […]

A teenaged member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets was taken to hospital with minor injuries Sunday after his SchweizerSGS 2-33A glider ended up on the roof of a convenience store about a half mile short of the runway at Langley Regional Airport in the Vancouver suburb. It’s not clear if the unidentified pilot, who […]