News

Passenger-rights advocates are hailing the announcement made last week by FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt that “when we say customer, we’re talking about the flying public,” but they’re not entirely satisfied. Business Travel Coalition and FlyersRights.org applauded the decision, but stated their shared belief that the FAA “should completely remove the term ‘customer’ from its lexicon” […]

Honeywell’s SmartRunway and SmartLanding products are upgrades to its Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, they talk, they’re recently FAA-approved and they’re designed to directly address major factors identified by the FAA that lead to runway incursions. SmartLanding is designed to identify things like which runway the pilot is approaching and whether the aircraft’s airspeed is […]

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman last week spoke before the Subcommittee on Aviation in the U.S. House of Representatives and stated that the pilot of the Piper involved in the fatal midair with a Eurocopter over the Hudson this August may have transferred to the wrong frequency. Hersman told the Subcommittee that the pilot acknowledged the […]

Airbus, presently the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft, sees airlines picking up some 25,000 aircraft over the next 20 years, to the tune of $3.1 trillion. That’s up 3 percent from the company’s February 2008 forecast. The company expects Asia to firm up demand for single-aisle and other aircraft, accounting for as much as […]

Oct. 16 will see six inducted into the EAA Hall of Fame: Lance Neibauer, the late Stephen Pitcairn, George Baker, Roy Pinner, Paul Sanderson, and, perhaps the most recognized, Bob Hoover. EAA says the group spans the range of aviation within the EAA membership, each achieving a level of notoriety “within their particular realm of […]

An article published Thursday by USA Today notes that Congress has directed billions to general aviation airports, “which typically are tucked on country roads and industrial byways,” usually operate flights on the order of “just a few each hour” and which “the lawmakers also regularly use in their travels,” … “sometimes in planes with lobbyists.” […]

The first production line assembled-in-China Cessna 162 Skycatcher to be flown took flight Thursday at Cessna’s Shenyang production facility in northeast China, performing “a number of handling quality tests during the flight,” Cessna said in a news release. The “first” here means that the particular aircraft was “fabricated and assembled on production tooling.” Cessna in […]

If Glenn Martin has gauged his market correctly, there should be lineup of adrenaline junkies bidding to become the first “test pilot” of the Martin Jetpack. The always-innovative Martin is auctioning off the first six flights of the piston-powered, ducted fan contrivance available to the public on eBay. The winning bidder can take the prize […]

It’s not something you’ll likely see in the classifieds, but the only U.S.-registered Ilyushin IL-78 could go on the block in a court-ordered sale next week in Marquette, Mich. The Mining Journal reports the massive former Ukrainian Air Force four-engine transport/tanker made what was supposed to be a refueling stop at Sawyer International Airport on […]

The Lindbergh Foundation has extended its deadline for submissions of aviation-related grant applications until Oct. 30. “Anyone conducting an aviation/aerospace research project that balances technological advancements with the preservation of our environment is encouraged to apply,” the foundation said. The grants are given to individuals, who are not required to be associated with a university, […]