News

The last of the original Twin Otters flew off from the de Havilland factory back in 1988, but this week a new version, produced by Viking Air in Canada, flew for the first time. “Flying the first new Twin Otter in 22 years is the culmination of many months of hard work and determination by […]

Experiments by scientists at the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are moving forward quickly and could be producing jet fuel from algae at competitive prices by next year, the UK Guardian reported this week. “The claim … has taken industry insiders by surprise,” according to the news story. DARPA researchers have already produced […]

Pilots who are still carrying old paper FAA airmen certificates need to have them replaced with the new plastic card versions by the end of March. On March 31, the old certificates will expire. The only exceptions are temporary certificates and student certificates, which will remain valid until their expiration date. The fee for most […]

The trade show season revs up next weekend in Houston with Heli-Expo 2010 put on by Helicopter Association International (HAI). Thousands of delegates and hundreds of exhibitors will fill the George R. Brown Convention Center for the event, which runs from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23. Exhibits and business meetings will go from Sunday to […]

Texas-based Flexjet and Switzerland-based VistaJet have formed an alliance to expand service to their customers. Flexjet, which is owned by Bombardier and VistaJet, which bought Bombardier’s European and Middle East-based Skyjet International in 2008, have reached an agreement that will allow customers of each company access to the other’s aircraft. The deal also includes customers […]

Business aviation analyst Brian Foley has taken a cue from the judging protocols of some sports competitions in determining that, overall, business jet sales will grow at 2.7 percent over the next 10 years. Foley tossed out the results of bizav’s best year in recent memory (2008) and one of it’s worst (2009) to come […]

The Doolittle Raiders Reunion, set for April 16 to 18 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, is sure to be a memorable event, and now the folks who fly the Pacific Prowler B-25 are offering a chance to ride along with them on their flight to Dayton, Ohio. The Prowler, operated by […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced on Tuesday that 2009 worldwide shipments and billings of general aviation airplanes were down in all categories. GAMA Chairman Rob Wilson, president of Honeywell Business and General Aviation, said it was one of the toughest years ever for GA manufacturers. “The worldwide economic crisis, which included major constraints […]

It’s no secret that 2009 was a tough year for the U.S. economy, and year-end reports released last week by two industry stalwarts show how hard it’s been for general aviation. Sales of business and GA aircraft at Hawker Beechcraft were down by about 30 percent in 2009 compared to the year before, the company […]

You’d think there would be plenty of airspace to go around in North Dakota, one of the most sparsely inhabited states in the U.S., but pilots there are protesting a plan to create some large new restricted areas near Grand Forks that would enable the military to operate unmanned aerial vehicles there. Hearings held last […]