News

The FAA has decided against issuing an airworthiness directive (AD) like those issued by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Administration (CASA) last week grounding most Beech Bonanzas, Barons and Debonairs in the country. In a news release on Tuesday, American Bonanza Society President Tom Turner said that instead the FAA will issue a special airworthiness information […]

The NTSB said this week it has completed the data-collection phase for a study on the safety of Experimental-Amateur Built aircraft. The study aims to “give the innovators and aviators in the community information about accidents that will result in a real and immediate safety payoff for them when they are flying these aircraft,” said […]

A new art exhibit that uses discarded airplanes as canvases opens this weekend at Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Ariz., and on Monday curators released more photos of the transformed aircraft. This image gallery requires JavaScript. Time Flies By, 2011 How & Nosm Spray paint on DC-3 airplane.203″ x 776″ x 1,142″ [ […]

The tailhook might seem like a mature bit of technology for airplanes — it’s been in use for more than 100 years — but Lockheed Martin is finding it a challenge to get the tailhook to work right on its high-tech F-35C Joint Strike Fighter stealth aircraft. A recent Defense Department report (PDF) about the […]

Wings, the classic 1927 film about World War I pilots, is available on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time, as of this week. The film, which won the first-ever Academy Award for “Best Picture,” has been “meticulously restored,” according to Paramount Home Entertainment. “Featuring groundbreaking aerial dogfights and epic battle sequences, Wings is both […]

Twenty Airbus A380s must undergo inspections to check for cracks in the rib feet — metal brackets that attach the wing ribs to the skin — the European Aviation Safety Agency said in a directive (PDF) published on Friday. Cracks were previously found that originate in the ribs and extend to the skin panel attachment […]

A compromise on an arcane bit of labor law will likely result in a long-term reauthorization bill approval in the next month or so. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have struck a deal that will require a public hearing if the National Mediation Board wants to make changes […]

A Charlotte company has developed a lightweight air conditioning system that could find applications in a broad range of light aircraft. Corbi Air President Ron Corbi said that when he started flying the Alto Light Sport aircraft his company represents, he immediately recognized the need. “I wanted air conditioning and I was told it wasn’t […]

Sport Aviation Expo officials say this year’s show has set attendance records. Although no figures were released, sunshine and warm temperatures in Sebring drew significant crowds. At least one exhibitor reported brisk sales. Renegade Aircraft said it sold at least three aircraft at the show. The weather also boosted fly-in traffic and the normally sleepy […]

Weight increases for light sport aircraft may be intended to allow for the installation of safety equipment, like ballistic parachutes, without affecting payload. Whether the weight increase will open legacy trainers like the Cessna 150 and 152 to be included in the category, as many people have suggested since the category was created in 2008, […]