News

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 […]

Bombardier has sold its Flexjet fractional business toU.S. private equity firm Directional Aviation Capital in a deal that could reap the Canadian bizjet maker up to $5.2 billion in orders. Bombardier sold Flexjet, which currently operates 79 mostly high-end aircraft, for $185 million. But the deal comes with a firm order for 85 aircraft worth […]

Piper Aircraft has announced the successful completion of a 2100-mile round-trip flight in a Piper Archer flying with 93 octane unleaded automobile gasoline provided by Airworthy AutoGas LLC. The company says the flight was conducted as a demonstration and test of Airworthy’s specially formulated auto gas. It is a continuation of previous joint testing that […]

Virgin Galactic tested its SpaceShipTwo, space-tourist-carrying vehicle Thursday over the Mojave Desert, exceeding Mach 1 and achieving an altitude of nearly 70,000 feet while demonstrating less than rock-solid stability. The vehicle was dropped at 46,000 feet and climbed under rocket power for 20 seconds, reaching 69,000 feet and 1.43 Mach (nearly 1,100 mph) with two […]

Thursday, Pipistrel announced its new Sinus Flex model, an aircraft that the company says offers its pilot “three aircraft in one” with the use of interchangeable wing tips. The company says the “Flex wingtips” can be swapped out in “about five minutes.” The outer five-foot portion of each wing can be replaced with either a […]