Business & Military

Bell Helicopter’s new assembly plant for its upcoming Short Light Single rotorcraft is open in Lafayette, Louisiana, the company announced Thursday. Based at Lafayette’s regional airport, the 82,300-square-foot leased hangar will house assembly of Bell’s 505 Jet Ranger X. Bell chose the site in 2013 and broke ground a year ago with plans to hire […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found a fuel-price app for jet operators and flight departments, the annual big gathering of the Civil Air Patrol, Zenith Aircraft’s upcoming Open Hangar Day, and a final call for nominees for public benefit flying awards. JetFuelX, led by tech innovator and pilot Jason Talley, has announced […]

I don’t know if you bothered to click on the video linkfor yesterday’s coverage of NASA’s crash work on ELT performance. It’s worth watching. But the part I’m most interested in occurs at 1:47. I’ve taken the liberty of re-editing the video and placing it in a viewer here. Note how ineffective the single shoulder […]

The last project standing in what was once a crowded field of proposed single-engine personal jets hit a milestone Tuesday that could lead to certification by the end of the year. The FAA granted type inspection authorization (TIA) to Cirrus’s Vision SF50 single-engine jet. TIA is the approval for FAA inspectors to start flying the […]

The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Transportation Department has released three reports that are critical of how the FAA has managed pilot records and the costs and technology for air traffic control, and said it also plans to examine the FAA’s procedures with regard to drones. The OIG found the FAA has made […]

Five-year-old Hudson Hughes was the classic kid at the airport fence in July when a Southwest Airlines captain made his effort worthwhile. The young airplane nut was with his grandfather in the ramp viewing area at Albuquerque’s Sunport International Airport and waving enthusiastically at every passing plane. Southwest Capt. Mike Hickey noticed the flurry of […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news found a new owner for Twin Commander Aircraft, new headquarters underway at Hillsboro Aviation, a mountain flying anniversary event, and new award recipients for the Ninety-Nines. H-D Advanced Manufacturing Company, which specializes in high-precision severe-duty components, has acquired Twin Commander Aircraft LLC parent company Firstmark Corporation. The acquisition was effective […]

The U.S. Navy’s research lab recently released a new video showing progress on its “Flimmer” unmanned aerial vehicle, which has the capability to fly through the air, then dive into the ocean and propel itself underwater. “The Navy’s looking for unique solutions for emplacing sensors, for getting data in hard-to-reach locations,” said Dan Edwards, the […]

A Canadian soldier may have picked the wrong subject for target practice when he allegedly painted a Toronto police helicopter with the laser sight on a pellet pistol. And while the incident serves as a reminder to all those who haven’t gotten the message about shining their cheap little lasers at passing aircraft, it’s also […]

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry went to Cuba to raise the flag above the U.S. Embassy for the first time in 54 years — does this mean general aviation pilots will soon be able to fly their private planes there? No, it doesn’t, says Craig Spence, AOPA’s vice president for international affairs. […]