News

Friday, the FAA approved a redesigned battery system for the 787 Dreamliner created by Boeing to protect the aircraft from potential battery fires, meaning the airliners may soon return to service. The 50 jets in service have been grounded since January, when two 787s suffered fires. Boeing must now issue a service bulletin that details […]

Of eighty men, three of the four surviving members of Doolittle’s Raiders, all now living their ninth decade, met publicly — and, they say, for the final time — during the week of April 15, at Eglin Air Force Base, to commemorate the 71st anniversary of their April 18, 1942, one-way mission to bomb Japan. […]

Cessna has again cut back production of its light jets including the Mustang, CJ2, CJ3 and CJ4, potentially by up to 30 percent, citing a first-quarter loss and weak sales. In June of 2010, the company briefly stalled production of the Citation Mustang, largely as a result of issues in the supply chain. At the […]

It appears the FAA is backtracking on an earlier directive that forbade at least some of its FAA Safety Team (FAAST) representatives from talking about pending tower closures. On Wednesday the FAAST Safety Team issued a general note of advice about operating at non-towered airports (the FAAST Team doesn’t like the term “uncontrolled”) and touched […]

The USDA is extending for five years a 2010-2012 program that joins the FAA with partners from the commercial aviation segment to develop biofuels for the aviation industry. Participants include the USDA, the FAA, Boeing and a trade group called Airlines for America. The program will focus on evaluating feedstock and supply chains with the […]

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta says Boeing “has completed all required tests and analysis” of fixes for battery problems suffered by its 787 Dreamliner, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, but no decision had yet been made to clear the jet for flight. Huerta also noted that the FAA has not yet determined whether it will […]

New airplanes were scarce at last week’s Sun ‘n Fun show in Lakeland, Fla., but a new electric ultralight motorglider held center stage at the new LSA Mall, attracting a constant stream of curious visitors all week long. The ElectraFlyer ULS was first seen last summer at EAA AirVenture, just a few days after its […]

Cessna has rolled out the first production aircraft of the newest version of the Citation X and in doing so plans to reclaim the title of fastest civilian aircraft in the world. The aircraft was announced at NBAA 2010 not long after Gulfstream laid claim to the title for its G650, but Cessna said the […]

Daher-Socata brought the newest model of its popular TBM 850 turboprop to Sun ‘n Fun last week. The 2013 Elite version features integrated electronic solid-state standby instruments by L-3 Avionics, the Trilogy ESI-2000, to replace the previous electro-mechanical instrument version. The unit has an internal battery and a 4-by-3-inch active matrix liquid crystal display. Interior […]

The airplane industry is eager to push into emerging markets, and that’s evident this week with robust attendance at the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, taking place in Shanghai Tuesday through Thursday. Organizers said they had registered a record 6,284 people to attend the event, with more than 180 exhibitors on site and 34 […]