News

The International Civil Aviation Organization has announced that preliminary figures for air travel during 2009 show that one localized spike was no match for a worldwide decline in airline passenger traffic that could represent the largest drop-off in aviation history. International traffic declined by nearly 4 percent worldwide, while domestic traffic fell about 1.8 percent […]

XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx Mark II suborbital vehicle has been selected by the Republic of Korea and will serve there, pending what may be the first export licensing approval process performed by the U.S. for such a vehicle. XCOR’s announcement, Thursday, said the company plans to supply the Yecheon Astro Space Center with suborbital launch services […]

Joseph Banda, a 13-year-old boy living in a Zambian ghetto, took his first flying lesson recently thanks to the generosity of patrons of the BBC. Edmond Farmer, a flying instructor in Zambia, was paid by a BBC listener to give Banda his first flying lesson, the BBC reported Thursday. Other listeners are organizing a fund […]

Bill Lear, son of William P. Lear, legendary designer and developer of the Learjet business jet, died at the age of 81 Dec. 14, reports the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Lear Jr.’s life is detailed in his autobiography, “Fly Fast…Sin Boldly — Flying, Spying and Surviving.” Spanning a lifetime of aviation, Lear began flying at age […]

Cessna has delivered its first Light Sport Aircraft model 162 Skycatcher to Rose Pelton, the wife of Cessna president and CEO Jack Pelton, Dec. 18. The first delivery was announced at AOPA Summit 2009 in Tampa in November. The company held a ceremony Friday at Yingling Aircraft in Wichita, Kan., which is one of three […]

Requiring 1500-hour ATP certificates for all Part 21 pilots could actually reduce safety according to the National Association of Flight Instructors. In a news release and briefing paper that debunks the impetus behind congressional resolutions that equate the hours required to obtain an ATP with competence in the cockpit. “The emphasis should be on training […]

Mass arrivals are nothing new at AirVenture Oshkosh but this will be one for the history books. An organization called The Last Time is inviting DC-3 and C-47 operators to participate in a 25-ship formation to arrive at Wittman Field on the opening day of AirVenture 2010 next July 26. “This historic flight will recreate […]

Both the House and the Senate have signed off on an FAA funding bill that extends funding for the agency through March 31. The FAA has been operating under such extensions since 2007, when its last long-term authorization expired. Aviation advocacy groups that have been lobbying for reauthorization and fighting against user-fee proposals had hoped […]

The FAA this week issued a new Airworthiness Directive affecting some Cirrus SR22 airplanes equipped with an anti-ice system approved for flight into known icing. Operators must inspect the compression fittings on the anti-ice fluid distribution lines to be sure they were installed correctly. The AD was issued on Monday without any preliminary notice after […]

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, our inbox is overflowing with aviation-related gift ideas. For those in the airplane-shopping mood, perhaps looking to take the bonus-depreciation tax write-off before the end of the year, Liberty Aerospace, in Melbourne, Fla., is selling eight of its demonstrator airplanes at deep discounts. The XL2 two-seaters are […]