Business & Military

Jet Blue has launched an ab initio training program that it hopes will help to diversify its hiring pool and also give the company control over a pilot’s training from start to finish. The four-year program, which has been in the works since last year, is now accepting online applicants, at a cost of $125,000. […]

Hartzell’s popular five-blade carbon-fiber composite propeller now is available for Piper’s Meridian and M500 single-engine pressurized turboprops, the companies announced this week. “Hartzell’s new Meridian composite prop boosts climb rate while decreasing noise,” said Hartzell President Joe Brown. The blades are certified for unlimited life and are 5 to 10 times stronger than wood core […]

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said last week it will develop a new X-Plane to pursue “radical improvements” in aircraft that can take off and land vertically, then shift to horizontal flight mode and reach speeds up to 400 knots. “The design envisions an aircraft that could fly fast and far, hover when […]

Standards organization ASTM has approved two new standards for general aviation aircraft on the thorny issues of icing behaviorand icing protection. ASTM says its new standards thread the needle between practicality and performance, establishing handling characteristics and icing protection for airplanes ranging in size from two-place singles to 19-seat business jets. Instead of one standard […]

A couple of months ago, aviation journalists were getting calls from a Japanese survey company with some questions about the aircraft engine market. Over the course of an hour, they asked about market demand, certification requirements and what buyers might expect of a new aircraft engine. The marketeers described themselves as working for a company […]

The National Air Transportation Association’s President and CEO, Thomas L. Hendricks, announced Friday he will resign on Aug. 31. Hendricks, who by then will have served about four years at NATA’s helm, joined the organization in 2012 from Airlines for America, where he was senior vice president of safety, security and operations. During his tenure […]

AVweb’s search of news in aviation found award announcements from Angel Flight and AOPA, and scholarship announcements from the Ninety-Nines/EAA and Whirly-Girls International. Angel Flight South Central announced that Board Chairperson Dianna Stanger has been awarded the coveted Endeavor Award for leadership and service in Public Benefit Flying. As a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight […]

According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don’t own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends. Few […]

Boeing’s first 727 jet to be produced took a final flight Wednesday after 25 years of sitting at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The airliner had been donated to Seattle’s Museum of Flight in 1991, but it was dismantled before undergoing a long, volunteer-driven restoration at Paine. Wednesday’s flawless 10-minute flight to Seattle marked the […]

Seeker Aircraft of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will manufacture its light observation aircraft in the U.S. to accommodate growing demand, the company announced Wednesday.Seeker‘sSB7L-360A and SB7L-360A2 aircraft have only been manufactured in Australia, where Seabird Aviation Australia operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Seeker Aircraft.Erickson Inc. of Portland, Oregon, will be the North American manufacturer. […]