News

A jointly funded industry/government initiative in the UK is operating a Jetstream 31 commuter plane in flight trials to demonstrate autonomous flight systems and flight via a remotely based pilot, while also carrying two onboard safety pilots. The twin-engine turboprop aircraft will be flown in trials during the next few weeks from Warton Aerodrome in […]

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to download the video directly. If it’s a fake, it’s a pretty good one and if it isn’t a fake it’s likely the FAA will be paying a visit to New York Giants star receiver Victor Cruz to […]

Australia recorded its first “successful” Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) Nov. 21, according to the Australian Transportation Safety Board, and pilot John Nixon’s cellphone self-portraiture told the story pretty well. After the engine on the SR22 G3 he and a friend were flying lost oil pressure and seized near Gilgandra, New South Wales, Nixon told […]

One of the most unusual hangar queens in the U.S. got a little sun and exercised its considerable muscles last week, but the fate of the Il-78 cargo plane is still not clear. As we reported in 2010, the Russian-built cargo plane has been at Sawyer International Airport in Marquette, Mich., since 2009 after the […]

click to view images A Cape Air Cessna 402C out of Barnstable Municipal Airport Wednesday for Nantucket returned to the airport after a red-throated loon crashed through the right windscreen, sending blood and bird fragments into the cabin and slightly injuring the flight’s co-pilot. The flight’s captain and four passengers were uninjured, though “they all […]

Citing concerns over privacy, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has told members of Congress that the selection of six test sites for unmanned aerial systems will not happen in time to meet the agency’s target of the end of this year. In a letter (PDF) to U.S. Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., co-chair of the Unmanned Systems […]

Aero Telemetry, a small company in southern California, is finishing up a model of Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose flying boat with a 20-foot wingspan, which it calls “the world’s largest flyable, most historically accurate and detailed scale model” of the iconic aircraft. The airplane is one of three Hughes aircraft that the company is building […]

Dassault has created a wholly owned subsidiary in China to secure its stake in that market. The company, Dassault Falcon Business Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., is based in Beijing and will look after creating a customer support network in the country that will include maintenance specialists and even a couple of “jump-seat support” pilots. “Firmly […]

The FAA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking covering aircraft with 10 or more passenger seats that will require much more comprehensive monitoring and record-keeping concerning contract maintenance. The new rule was mandated by the recent reauthorization of the FAA but the FAA seems to agree there’s a need. “These changes are needed because […]

A bankruptcy judge has rejected Hawker Beechcraft’s bid to fire-sale its inventory of Hawker 4000 jets to raise some quick cash. The company was planning to dump the aircraft, the all-composite flagship of its jet roster, for as little as about 35 cents on the dollar until some existing 4000 owners stepped in to prevent […]