News

Gulfstream says it is maintaining its test schedule for the flagship G650 despite the crash of a test airplane that killed four people in April and the resulting two-month suspension of flight testing. The company says it is on track for certification “later this year” and will deliver 10 to 12 of the $65 million […]

By all accounts the Latin American Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (LABACE) was a major success with more exhibitors, more static aircraft and more delegates than the 2010 edition. Officials said up to 160 exhibitors and more than 60 aircraft were on view to a crowd that may have reached 16,000. Certainly, all the major […]

The current economic turmoil likely won’t be felt much by the general aviation industry but that’s because things couldn’t really get much worse for GA manufacturers. Most analysts believe the roller coaster stock market will stabilize without affecting the bottom lines of most companies. Still, it’s another reason for those thinking of buying an airplane […]

LightSquared said last week the GPS industry’s demands that it should not interfere with their signals are “irrational,” but AOPA and GAMA responded on Monday that LightSquared has failed to address safety of flight concerns. In a statement filed on Monday to the Federal Communications Commission, the advocacy groups ask the agency to terminate LightSquared’s […]

The federal government will spend up to $510 million over the next three years to develop “drop-in” biofuels for aircraft, ships, and ground transportation, for both military and civilian use, the Obama administration announced on Tuesday. The plan aims to jump-start biofuels efforts, while creating jobs in rural states. It requires private investors to put […]

Training for airline pilots should utilize more-realistic simulators and focus more on manual flying skills, according to a new report by a panel of experts, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. The 54-page report, which was requested by Congress, has been presented to the FAA but has not yet been publicly released. It includes […]

The FCC has essentially asked LightSquared and the GPS industry to cut the rhetoric and provide it with the facts it needs to make a decision on LightSquared’s plan to provide nationwide wireless broadband on radio frequencies and at power levels that have been shown to interfere with GPS signals. Last Tuesday, FCC Chairman Julius […]

Pipistrel announced the first flight of its oddly configured Taurus four-place electric aircraft that it plans to enter into the $1.65 million Green Flight Challenge. The aircraft flew Friday morning at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, where it had remained after the show while myriad issues relating to its FAA approval were sorted out. The […]

Two Marines were plucked out of the Pacific by the Coast Guard at about 2:30 Thursday morning, four hours after ejecting from an F/A-18D 85 miles southwest of San Diego. Both men were listed in stable condition after being delivered to Naval Medical Center San Diego but suffered from injuries that included broken bones and […]

The Aerotrek A240 Light Sport Aircraft is a sleeper offering in the LSA market that may be running under the radar because of its lack of formal marketing infrastructure — it sells mainly by word of mouth. The LSA mall at AirVenture Oshkosh didn’t include Aerotrek in 2011, but the company did have a display […]