News

Click for larger version A hot-air balloon and a paraglider collided as they flew above an airport open house in Cottonwood, Ariz., on Saturday morning. The balloon envelope tore but did not completely collapse, and photos from the scene appear to show the paraglider’s canopy entangled in the envelope structure. The two aircraft fell about […]

In two decisions handed down last week, Canada’s Supreme Court confirmed that airports fall under federal jurisdiction exclusively, a decision heralded by aviation supporters. “This is a great day for Canadian aviation,” said Kevin Psutka, president of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. “This issue has been debated for decades.” The two court decisions cited […]

Machinists employed by Hawker Beechcraft have rejected a new seven-year contract, raising questions about the company’s future in Wichita. The workers voted 55 percent against the deal, which would have cut their pay by 10 percent and raised their health insurance premiums. “It was just a bad contract. Everything. Wages, insurance and everything else was […]

Bombardier didn’t wait for NBAA to announce two new aircraft aimed at the ultra-long-range, large-cabin market. The Global 7000 and Global 8000 aircraft are extensions of the Global series that currently rests with the XRS model. Bombardier announced Saturday that the 8000 model, due for delivery in 2017, will be the longest-range aircraft in its […]

Reports from China Friday state that authorities there have approved guidelines to reform low-altitude airspace management over the next five to 10 years with the goal of encouraging the development of general aviation. Under the guidelines, low altitude is defined by airspace below 1,000 meters (general aviation advocates had pushed for a 3,000-meter boundary). The […]

European pilots flying under FAA certificates and with N-registered aircraft have a couple of months of breathing room in which to press their case against proposed rule changes they believe will seriously damage general aviation in Europe. A conciliation committee between the European Union Commission and the national governments has delayed until December a decision […]

Nine major U.S. airlines could collectively post $2.4 billion in profits, a record for the third quarter, according to AirlineFinancials.com, while the DOT’s workforce figures through August haven’t recorded much positive change. AirlineFinancials predicts the airlines will post average net profit margins of 7.2 percent in the third quarter, with combined revenue figures near $33 […]

As unmanned aerial vehicles inevitably find their way into the National Airspace System, both the FAA and other airspace users worry that these remotely piloted aircraft can’t see other traffic the way a human pilot can. The reality, says the Air Force, is that the current generation of UAVs may be able to see traffic […]

Now’s your chance to win 100,000 Air BP Bravo Rewards Points – there are more than 45 million reward options available through the Bravo program – as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you’ll […]

Six companies, including Lockheed Martin and a division of Pratt & Whitney, have won 12-month contracts for early phase development studies of a semi-autonomous “Transformer” vehicle that aims to combine the “HumVee” with the helicopter. The Transformer, or TX program, aims to develop a “robust ground vehicle” that has vertical takeoff and landing capability and […]