Business & Military

Anticipating that Congress will consider changes to how the FAA functions and gets its funding in the upcoming session, 15 general-aviation advocacy groups signed on to a letter today asking the leaders of transportation policy in the U.S. House to hear their “real and long-standing concerns” about the expected proposals. “Some big airlines have pushed […]

GE Aviation will build a new facility in the Czech Republic to produce engines for Textron Aviation’s new single-engine turboprop, the company announced this week. The all-new ATP (advanced turboprop) engine will achieve 20 percent better fuel burn and 10 percent higher cruise power compared to competitors in the same class, GE says. The GE […]

The Sam LSA, an all-metal low-wing tandem airplane that first flew in 2013, has been acquired by brothers Sebastien and Matt Heintz, owners of Zenith Aircraft (U.S.) and Zenair (Canada). In a news release issued Monday, the brothers said they are considering several different options for the airplane, including an LSA version, a kit, a […]

Airbus has partnered up with Uber to make it possible for travelers to book a helicopter using the Uber app, CEO Thomas Enders said at an industry conference on Sunday. The app will be the first step in a project that aims to “connect air transport to ground transport in an integrated way,” he said. […]

SpaceX came close to recovering a rocket booster on a barge Sunday but the rocket fell over after a good landing. “At least the pieces are bigger this time,” tweeted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk after the exhilarating if ultimately unsuccessful attempt. Although the rocket hit the bull’s-eye on the barge and seas appeared to be […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found a new name for the expanding Nashua Flight Simulator, a new international seller for Seeker aircraft, and 2016 award applications announced by GAMA and NATA. Nashua Flight Simulator has gone national – to National Flight Simulator (NFS). The corporate name change reflects client and revenue growth, […]

Sierra Nevada Corp., which has developed a reusable, runway-landing space vehicle, will join SpaceX and Orbital ATK in the next cycle of NASA missions to the International Space Station. NASA on Thursday announced it has picked the three companies to conduct the spaceflights between 2019 and 2024. Each will operate a minimum of six missions, […]

Boeing and Airbus reported upbeat year-end results recently, with both companies saying they delivered the most airliners ever in 2015 — a total of 762 for Boeing, and 635 for Airbus. “Global passenger traffic in most key regions is increasing,” said Randy Tinseth, a Boeing VP for marketing. “Our customers continue to perform well in […]

Veterans of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, now in their 80s and 90s, are widely honored in the aviation world, but now they are taking up a new fight for equality — seeking the right to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. A bill introduced in Congress this week aims to secure that option for […]

I’ve been reading a book called Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free. Beyond its amusing title, it’s but an extended essay on the notion that the U.S. is the ideal place to breed and encourage cranks because the entire country was founded on imaginative ideas that challenged the […]