News

LightSquared says it will take legal action if the FCC rejects its plan to build a nationwide wireless broadband system in the U.S. that the GPS industry and Department of Defense says will interfere with GPS signals. In its most aggressive move so far, LightSquared wrote a letter (PDF) to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski reiterating […]

Facing increasing pressure from both industry and the military to allow greater freedom to unmanned aerial vehicles, the FAA is expected to start integrating small UAVs (generally 55 pounds or less) into the National Airspace System as soon as 2013, the National Defense Industrial Association said this week. The FAA formed a committee in June […]

As of Oct. 1, changes to the Post-9/11 GI Bill have taken effect that include flight-training benefits for veterans. The new benefits aim to provide support for short-term vocational training in addition to the traditional college-degree programs. The change is not expected to create a major new wave of pilots, however, as happened in the […]

Business aviation in Europe is rallying against recommendations in a consultant’s report that, if implemented, could sharply reduce access to some European airports. The Steer Davies and Gleave Impace Assessment report to the European Commission recommends that airport slots be allocated purely based on the number of passengers on board each aircraft. The European Business […]

SuperJet International will be among the prominent presenters as the National Business Aviation Association convention gets under way next week in Las Vegas. The company will be promoting a business version of the SuperJet regional airliner it is building as a joint venture between Russia’s Sukhoi and Italy’s Alenia. The SuperJet business variant was announced […]

One person is dead and four were rescued from a Bell 206 helicopter that crashed on takeoff from the 34th Street heliport on the East River in New York City on Tuesday afternoon. Witnesses told New York media the helicopter launched from the heliport, went out of control and crashed inverted into the river. Two […]

The FAA is expected to issue a proposed rule this month that will require pilots flying in the right seat for airlines to have at least 700 hours, up from the current minimum of 250 hours, according to The Wall Street Journal. Proposals in Congress have suggested raising the minimum as high as 1,500 hours. […]

Production of general aviation aircraft is expected to grow slightly through next year, with stronger growth starting in 2013, according to a report by Forecast International released this week. The research firm, based in Newton, Conn., excluded business jets and light sport aircraft from its study, which focuses on the projected GA market from 2011 […]

First place in NASA’s Green Flight Challenge went to Pipistrel-USA, for a prize of $1.35 million, and the second-place prize of $120,000 went to team eGenius, NASA announced on Monday. The prize purse was the biggest ever awarded for an aviation competition, according to NASA. To win, the aircraft had to fly 200 miles in […]

An independent panel has reviewed how the FAA hires and trains air traffic controllers, and this week released a report (PDF) with 50 recommendations for improvements. The panel, made up of five experts in the field, including one from the FAA and one from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, recommended that the FAA should […]