Business & Military

For the world’s scheduled airlines, 2015 “was an extraordinarily safe year,” according to an analysis issued today by the International Air Transport Association, based in Montreal. However, the world was “shocked and horrified” by two deliberate acts that caused the loss of two airplanes and all 374 on board — Germanwings 9525 and Metrojet 9268. […]

A flight simulator enthusiast has answered the question that lingers in the back of the minds of non-pilots everywhere with a video and a fairly detailed narrative he calls How to Land a 737 (Nervous Passenger Edition). Tim Morgan answered a question from a reader of Quora, a popular Q&A site, who wanted to know […]

A group of businesses and advocates of Santa Monica Airport have filed a formal complaint with the FAA, charging that the city has improperly diverted airport funds and denied airport leases. The complaint (PDF), filed under Part 16 regulations for federally funded airports, says the city has imposed interest “on purported loans at rates exceeding […]

The controversial FAA reauthorization bill that would privatize air traffic control services made it out of a House committee Thursday in a 32-26 vote that almost followed partisan lines but there will be much more debate and it’s still not clear what’s on the Senate’s collective mind. Bill 4441, the Aircraft Innovation Reform and Reauthorization […]

AVweb’s search of news in aviation found announcements from FlyThisSim, Rectrix Aviation, Aviator Flight Training and Baldwin Aviation. Increasing demand for FlyThisSim TouchTrainers from international customers has prompted FlyThisSim to integrate worldwide navigation data into their range of TouchTrainers. “TouchTrainer customers can now switch their simulators to fly approaches into airfields in any country,” said […]

Hybrid Air Vehicles of England plans to test fly its Airlander 10 in March for the first time. The aircraft is a combination of lighter-than-air, airplane and helicopter concepts and resembles an airship. It’s capable of high-altitude flight, although the first test will be limited to 4,000 feet over a two-hour flight, according to the […]

What to make of Mooney’s new M20V Acclaim Ultra? It’s at once more than I ever expected and less than I might have wished. Then again, in this business, the survivors learn that the orbits of expectation rarely intersect with those of reality and we all know about wishes, horses and beggars. But give the […]

General aviation manufacturing saw declines in the overall market worldwide as shipments for airplanes are reported down for 2015 over the previous year, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported Wednesday (PDF). Airplane shipments declined 4.6 percent, from 2,376 units in 2014 to 2,267 units in 2015. GA airplane billings also are down 4 percent with […]

A British pilot flying a helicopter to track poachers in Tanzania was killed recently when he was hit by gunfire from the ground and the helicopter crashed into trees. Roger Gower, 37, was flying in partnership with Tanzanian wildlife authorities on Jan. 28, to track down and arrest active elephant poachers. “In the course of […]

The controversial FAA reauthorization bill that includes privatizing the air traffic control system will begin its journey through what is expected to be a tough legislative process Wednesday with a hearing. Four witnesses, including representatives of Airlines 4 America, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the Reason Foundation and NBAA President Ed Bolen will testify. […]