News

Click for larger image July 17, 2009, an Ilyushin IL-78 tanker jet stopped at Sawyer International Airport, Mich., while en route out of Texas for Europe, beginning a complicated web of legal wranglings that have left the big jet sitting there ever since. The crew that flew the jet to Michigan was, shortly after their […]

A rule proposed in 2008 to remove invalid listings from the aircraft registry would require chronic aircraft re-registration with a proposed chronic fee of $5, yet to be confirmed in the final rule expected this fall. The FAA estimates that about 104,000 of the 343,000 aircraft currently on its aircraft registry are invalid. The rule […]

Although it was introduced three years ago as primarily a renewable biofuel based on cellulosic technology, Swift’s 100SF avgas replacement will also be competitive if made from more conventional petroleum sources, according to the company’s David Perme. In a podcast interview, Perme said that Swift’s best numbers at the moment suggest a retail price between […]

The test flight was planned for July 1, but the aircraft that aims to fly around the world, flying day and night on solar (and stored solar) power, hit a snag when a telemetric transmitter failed. The failure would have kept engineers on the ground in the dark, literally and figuratively, when it came to […]

Two Chances To Fly With The ThunderbirdsThe U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds have been offering flights to special individuals through their Hometown Hero program and time is running out for a chance to fly with the team at McConnell Air Force Base’s (Kansas), or Salinas (California). The special individual who’ll fly as passenger at McConnell will […]

A proposed rule intended to curb noise by requiring helicopters to use specific routes when operating along the north shore of Long Island has met with broad disapproval from industry groups and pilots. The rule was published in the May 26 Federal Register and sought comment prior to June 25. It got them in the […]

Pipistrel‘s “revolutionary four-seat aircraft project” may be an all-composite 200-KTAS low-wing with a 200-hp hybrid powerplant slated for debut before 2012. Lexus Magazine sent a writer to Slovenia to visit Pipistrel and wrote of Pipistrel, “Plans are well under way to create a four-seat hybrid aircraft by the end of 2011.” A separate publication states, […]

It’s only big enough for the pilot, and barely that, but EADS proudly showed off its new version of the Cri-Cri, a French homebuilt design from the 1970s, at the Green Aviation Show at Le Bourget Airport in Paris last week. The airplane is built from composites to reduce weight, and uses high energy-density lithium […]

There’s a chance the Boeing 787 will make its airshow debut at this year’s AirVenture Oshkosh. EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski has confirmed that Boeing has been invited to show off its latest design and is considering the idea. “The Boeing folks have an open invitation to join us, and we have had discussions about them […]

The FAA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (big PDF) that would impose extra icing certification requirements on Part 25 (transport category) aircraft that weigh less than 60,000 pounds and would also amend rules for larger aircraft. The rule has been in the making since the 1994 icing-related crash of an ATR 72 in […]