News

As the cash-strapped U.S. government searches under the sofa cushions for extra cash, general aviation user fees are back on the radar. All the major aviation groups have signed a letter (PDF) to House Speaker John Boehner opposing the user fee idea as inefficient and potentially damaging to GA. The idea was floated at meetings […]

The European Commission has added its name to the long list of those opposed to LightSquared’s plan to use satellite band frequencies for a ground network of broadband transmitters. The proposal, which is now before the Federal Communications Commission for comment, has been widely condemned by pro-GPS companies and organizations in the U.S. because it […]

A Denver air traffic controller has been relieved from duty after failing a routine, random FAA drug-and-alcohol test while six hours into his shift, which was scheduled for 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on July 5, the FAA said this week. The legal limit for controllers on duty is .02 (for drivers over age 21, […]

Gulfstream will re-brand its new G250 super-midsize jet as the G280, the company announced on Monday. The change was prompted by the company’s “sensitivity to the varied cultures of its international customer base,” according to the news release. “Since introducing the Gulfstream G250 in 2008 and presenting it to customers around the world, we determined […]

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation’s X2 technology demonstrator flew for the last time last week, and next week it will be on display at EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh. The innovative helicopter, winner of the 2010 Collier Prize, achieved a level flight speed of 253 knots, an unofficial speed record. The X2 is propelled by a unique system […]

Jet Blue’s 29-mile, $8 “microflights” between Burbank and Long Beach during last weekend’s shutdown of the 405 freeway sold out within two hours, but a group of bicycle advocates proved they had an even better alternative — they beat the airline’s door-to-door travel time by more than a half hour. Dubbed the “Tour de Carmageddon,” […]

Over the weekend, Scaled Composites unveiled to the press Burt Rutan’s version of a “roadable aircraft,” the last design he completed for the company he founded before he retired earlier this year. The two-seat hybrid-electric BiPod hasn’t flown, but it has completed some “test hops” on the runway at Mojave, powered by its driving wheels. […]

Although the FCC’s rulemaking process is nowhere near finished on the LightSquared/GPS issue, LightSquared’s multi-billion-dollar business plan appears to be unaffected by the nagging details of regulatory approval and the potential destruction of the GPS system. According to CNET, Sprint, Nextel and LightSquared are about to announce a blockbuster partnership that will allow Sprint to […]

The Russian domestic airline industry says recently announced safety requirements are impossible to achieve and an unusually frank report in the Moscow Times suggests fares will double if they’re implemented as planned. By January, aircraft used for scheduled service have to have TCAS and ground proximity warning systems, which have been standard equipment for airliners […]

An unusual example of grassroots diplomacy has netted Duluth, Minn., an assurance of sorts that it will retain the jobs that go with one of its biggest employers. When China Aviation Industry General Aircraft announced plans to buy Cirrus Aircraft last February, the fear (and assumption by some) was that the operation would be moved […]