News

The common practice of municipal governments in the U.S. providing incentives for aircraft companies has apparently been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. On Monday the WTO determined that both Boeing and Airbus received billions in illegal subsidies to develop and produce commercial aircraft. The WTO noted that NASA and the U.S. military had […]

The Boeing 787 was chosen for the 2011 Robert J. Collier Trophy, which honors the “greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America,” the National Aeronautic Association announced on Tuesday. The jet was one of four finalists for the award, along with the Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy, the Gamera human-powered helicopter, and Pipistrel’s Taurus G4 […]

Some workers on the Premier 1A and Hawker 4000 assembly lines will be furloughed for four to six weeks due to delays in the composite-material supply line, Hawker Beechcraft said this week. Production of the jets will be slowed down, according to the Wichita Eagle. The company didn’t release information about how many workers will […]

Diamond Aircraft says it’s very close to flying a fly-by-wire version of its Austro-diesel-powered DA42 twin and the company’s CEO Christian Dries told AVweb that he sees this technology as an “electronic parachute.” On a visit to Diamond’s headquarters at Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, AVweb was shown a test project under way in the […]

European aviation officials say the threat of economic reprisals from countries opposed to the European Union’s application of a carbon tax to foreign airlines is growing. As we reported last week, Li Jiaxiang, China’s director of the Civil Aviation Administration, told Bloomberg the choice of airplanes was up to the airlines, but Airbus claims that’s […]

Women in Aviation International wrapped up its annual conference over the weekend, drawing 3,350 participants to Dallas, a new attendance record for the event. “Our numbers were up almost 8 percent from last year,” said WAI President Peggy Chabrian. Participants at the conference represent diverse interests within the aviation community, including military, commercial, corporate and […]

The NTSB says pilots involved in the fatal fall of a wing walker at an airshow in Michigan last August both told them he mistimed his transfer from a biplane to a helicopter. Todd Green died after falling about 150 feet during his routine at the Selfridge Air Force Base airshow on Aug. 21. He […]

Aviation groups say avgas will continue to be available despite an escalation of Friends of the Earth’s efforts to force the EPA to deal with the last remaining leaded fuel. “Despite the lawsuit, the near-term availability of leaded aviation fuel is not threatened in any way,” the GA Avgas Coalition said in a joint statement. […]

The Chinese government says the country’s airlines are free to choose the airliners they need despite suggestions by Airbus that they might be discouraged from buying the European products. Last week Airbus said it was afraid the burgeoning Chinese market would shun its products to protest the European Union’s new carbon tax on foreign carriers […]

The NTSB says a high-speed pitch-up “consistent with an ostentatious display” snapped the wing of a Cessna 337 and resulted in the deaths of all five people onboard at Farmingdale, N.J., on Feb. 15, 2010. The board also said data recovered from the Skymaster’s GPS showed the aircraft was going about 160 knots when witnesses […]