News

It still has a long way to go, but Tuesday’s approval by a key Senate committee was seen as a major step toward getting a new FAA funding bill passed. The bill would fund the FAA for two years, giving the Obama administration time to come up with its own plans for how to fund […]

The FAA said this week it is ready to change the way it deals with air traffic controllers, but the controllers union is skeptical. On Monday the agency took what it calls “another step toward a new safety culture,” by reducing the emphasis on blame in the reporting of operational errors. “We’re moving away from […]

With the start of EAA AirVenture just a few days off, our inbox is flooded with updates and announcements. On Tuesday, an unmanned Predator B landed at Oshkosh, its first landing ever at a civilian airport. Click here for the video. The folks at the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association are excited about the new location […]

Sadler Aircraft Company, of Roseburg, Ore., will be at EAA AirVenture next week showing off the latest version of their Vampire airplane. The company has spent three years on research and development to develop a new interior and prepare the design, derived from military aircraft, for the LSA market. “We’re really excited to go from […]

Click for video of the Yuneec electric airplane’s first flight The e-Spyder, a single-seat electric-powered ultralight built by Flightstar Sportplanes of South Woodstock, Conn., flew for the first time last weekend. Company president Tom Peghiny, the test pilot, said the aircraft was a pleasure to fly. “Without the bulk of a two-stroke engine out front, […]

photo by John Olafson We first saw the Private Explorer back in 1999, when a copy turned up on the experimental flight line at Oshkosh, and recently we heard of a pair that are working their way across Canada, fitted out for cross-country travel with PT6 turbine engines and amphibious floats. The airplane’s cabin is […]

Stratos Aircraft is now taking deposits on its proposed single-engine personal jet but it’s pledging to protect the deposit money. The company says its Assurance Deposit Program ensures that deposits are held in an interest-bearing escrow account until “applied to a progress payment that is made after a formal aircraft purchase agreement has been signed,” […]

Diamond Aircraft has received supplementary type certification (STC) for its Lycoming-powered DA42 L360 from Transport Canada. The STC allows the production of new aircraft and the retrofit of twins originally equipped with Thielert diesels. The conventionally powered DA42 was a partial response to the problems caused by the insolvency of Thielert last year. The DA42 […]

NexAir Avionics, based in Mansfield, Mass., this week introduced the Saratoga NX, a spinner-to-tail modernization of Piper’s single-engine six-seater. The NX features an Avidyne Integra Release 9 integrated flight deck and a zero-time factory remanufactured engine. The interior has been spiffed up with added soundproofing, leather seating, a center-console drink cooler, a DVD entertainment system […]

In an online news conference on Monday, Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn said the WhiteKnightTwo space launch vehicle is ready to launch and will arrive at Oshkosh for the EAA AirVenture opening airshow at about 2:30 p.m. on Monday July 27. “It’s an amazing vehicle,” he said. The aircraft, which is the largest aircraft ever […]