News

Ten years ago, a NASA DC-8 unintentionally flew through a diffuse ash cloud generated by Hekla, a volcano in Iceland, and upon first inspection showed no damage — key words “unintentionally” and “upon first inspection.” What the event showed is that the most up-to-date information on ash cloud location could be misinterpreted and significant damage […]

DARPA is seeking “innovative solutions” and is offering financial rewards for work that would by 2015 lead to a roadable/flyable VTOL vehicle prototype capable of carrying up to four persons and their gear. Dubbed the “Transformer (TX)” program, the end result may not lead to production of such a vehicle, but DARPA intends to “at […]

Industry efforts to find a replacement for 100LL are expected to intensify now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the need to eliminate lead from fuel. The ANPRM does not set a date for eliminating the fuel, but invites interested parties to send comments on the […]

For the first time, visitors to Sun ‘n Fun last week had a chance to bid on airplanes for sale at a live auction, and the organizer of the event told AVweb on Wednesday that he and his partners will be back next year. Wes Lutz, the president of Flight Level Auctions, said the event […]

The FAA on Tuesday announced that it would levy a $330,000 fine against North-Aire Aviation, an Arizona flight school, for allowing at least 18 unqualified students to graduate, but North-Aire on Wednesday disputed the action, calling the FAA’s news release “inflammatory.” In a statement posted on its Web site (PDF), the school’s management states that […]

Cessna has delivered the first CJ4, which was certified in March. The new owner wasn’t named. The aircraft is, of course, filled with the latest electronics, including a system called Green Trak. It was the first delivery of the flight planning software that figures out how to minimize trip cost by balancing the costs of […]

Quest Aircraft has gotten the OK from the FAA to increase the maximum takeoff weight of its Kodiak aircraft from 6,750 pounds to 7,255 pounds, the company said this week. “The Kodiak was designed with and for mission and humanitarian aviation organizations to perform under extremely rigorous conditions in the most remote regions of the […]

The Wide Area Augmentation System, which broadcasts GPS corrections used by aviators across North America, is powered by just two satellites, and one of them has failed. Intelsat, the company that provides the satellite service to the FAA, lost control of the satellite on April 3. The satellite will “drift out of orbit over the […]

With the downturn in the economy, the order count that used to be a fixture of major aviation events has all but disappeared, but Cessna broke the recent mold at Sun ‘n Fun 2010, or more accurately, just after it. Cessna linked an order for 12 Cessna 182s to the Civil Air Patrol to the […]

The FAA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (PDF) that could significantly complicate the certification process for several small jets currently in development and future aircraft weighing less than 6,000 pounds with turbine engines. The FAA is proposing that all turbine-powered aircraft be put through function and reliability tests. Function and reliability testing is […]