News

The Senate on Monday passed a bill to provide funding for the FAA and modernize the air traffic control system by 2020. The $34.5 billion three-year budget is expected to jump-start the agency’s long slow transition to NextGen. The bill also features changes to FAA rules prompted mainly by last year’s Colgan Air crash. Relatives […]

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Enterprise spaceship flew for the first time Monday morning, carried in place between the twin cockpits of its mothership, Eve. The coupled aircraft took off from Mojave Air and Spaceport in California at 7:05 a.m. local time. “This is a momentous day for the Scaled and Virgin Teams,” said Burt Rutan, designer […]

Certified flight instructors due for a refresher now have the option to attend a live seminar online. The FAA has given its OK for AVseminars to offer its flight instructor refresher clinic (FIRC) to CFIs who participate remotely in a real-time live discussion, using a computer, microphone and webcam. The $69 course for the FAA-required […]

Three people died in a midair collision near Williston, Fla., on Saturday. Lee Sentman, 73, has been identified as the lone occupant of an aircraft that was arriving at the Williston Airport on a flight from Ocala when it was in collision with an aircraft that was departing Williston. The names of the two occupants […]

Click to view full-size image An auction in Manhattan on April 13 will feature an annotated checklist used to power down damaged parts of Apollo 13, other space memorabilia and a complete 93-year-old Curtiss MF flying boat. The auction by Bonhams will be held on the 40th anniversary of the oxygen tank explosion that nearly […]

Cirrus Aircraft has gone to court to stop a former supplier from allegedly telling other suppliers that Cirrus is headed for bankruptcy. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune Cirrus filed suit Thursday against Grand Rapids, Mich.-based L-3 Communications and also claims L-3 has been encouraging other suppliers to stop doing business with Cirrus. Cirrus wants […]

FAA chief Randy Babbitt was in Washington Thursday to explain why the FAA wants $1.14 billion for fiscal 2011. The administrator defended the request to the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development subcommittee, explaining that the move to NextGen involves a “complex series of programs” and inter-related initiatives. If granted, the funding would be a […]

The Federal Court of Canada has backed flight attendants who refused to work a flight because they believed the pilot was suicidally depressed. It’s not clear if the attendants, as part of the ruling, would have to tell passengers on the flight about their motivation to deplane. The court challenge arose when four Air Canada […]

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated its guide explaining the required electronic Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) used by pilots flying into the U.S., with consideration given to suggestions from EAA. The new guide clarifies certain requirements first published in 2008 and adds instruction designed to help pilots deal with real-world complications […]

The on-again, off-again, on-again, four-plus-one place Seawind 300C has received its flight permit, flown over Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada, and is heading for certification, according to company chief, Richard Silva. The aircraft is marketed by Seawind as both “the world’s most versatile land plane” and “the world’s fastest seaplane.” Flight testing will be performed by the National […]