News

Non-scheduled airlines and air taxis operating under Part 135 will have two years to create crew resource management (CRM) training programs for their roughly 24,000 pilots, plus flight attendants, according to a final rule announced Thursday. The FAA said analysis showed that CRM training helped reduce the rate of fatal accidents caused by pilot error […]

A Circuit Court has ruled that because Santa Monica has accepted millions in federal grants it cannot ban the business jets that make up roughly 7 percent of its operations. The court found that, between 1985 and 2003, the city accepted $10.2 million in federal funds under the airport improvement program, and terms of that […]

Our news team is gearing up for light sport news from the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida — but before things got busy they had time to check out a few displays and kick some tires. CLICK FOR LARGER INDIVIDUAL IMAGES EACH IMAGE WILL OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW

A standing order for 200 Boeing commercial aircraft worth $19 billion has been approved by the Chinese government, paving the way for delivery to begin later this year. The deal includes 185 Boeing 737 and 15 Boeing 777 jets. Large international orders like this one are sometimes part of a broader relationship and Boeing has […]

The FAA’s formal reporting system in 2010 recorded a sharp increase in laser-related incidents at the same time that much more powerful handheld lasers began entering the market at significantly lower price points. The FAA recorded 2,836 laser-related complaints in 2010, which almost doubles the 1,527 incidents reported in 2009. Meanwhile, Class 4 lasers have […]

The U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla., hasn’t gotten under way yet — but that didn’t stop us from prowling the grounds and snapping a few photos of the LSA vendors moving into their booths and setting up displays. CLICK FOR LARGER INDIVIDUAL IMAGES EACH IMAGE WILL OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW

An agreement between Groen Brothers Aviation International LLC (GBA) and China’s Guangzhou Suntrans Aviation Science and Technology Co. Ltd. will see light gyroplanes produced in China for sales worldwide. The deal creates a cooperative joint venture under a new entity, Foshan Suntrans-Groen Aviation Co., and creates infrastructure to produce and support GBA’s SparrowHawk III, GBA’s […]

Local pilots are concerned that a proposal to test drones in a central Oregon military operations area will effectively close that airspace to private aircraft, but proponents say the concerns are overblown. The pilots say the MOA falls along a popular route between Bend and points in Idaho, and is also used by AirLink Critical […]

Regardless of its name, the soon-to-be-former PiperSport will continue to be a part of the LSA market, according to the head of the company that brings them into the U.S. Piper announced earlier this week that it was dropping the PiperSport, citing a difference in business goals with its manufacturer, Czech Aircraft Works (CZAW). Although […]

The sixth annual U.S. Sport Aviation Expo runs Thursday through Sunday this week, in Sebring, Fla., offering the year’s first big aviation event. The expo features forums and exhibits, but the main attraction is the easy access to sport airplanes and demo flights, along with a first look at the latest new models and accessories. […]