Business & Military

The Trouble With Trainers Interesting, Paul’s correlation of lack of trainer sales to the alleged “pilot shortage”. The lack of interest by producers (or former) of trainers just another indication to me how overblown the “pilot shortage” is. As far as Cessna building piston powered planes, I agree that I think they want to eventually […]

The failure of a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle on Oct. 11 was caused by abnormal separation of one of the rocket’s boosters, according to Russian space agency Roscosmos. The committee investigating the incident says the malfunctioning booster hit the vehicle’s core stage in the fuel tank area, resulting in its decompression and a loss of attitude […]

A law firm has filed a second class-action suit against the FAA based on the agency’s air traffic controller hiring practices in 2014. The lawsuit alleges that the biographical assessment added to the initial air traffic controller application process in late 2013 was used to “intentionally disadvantage [Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, and other] applicants based on […]

The Catalina Island Conservancy has announced that it will be partnering with the U.S. Marine Corps to repair the runway at Catalina Airport (AVX), also called the “Airport in the Sky.” AVX is the only airport on California’s Santa Catalina Island, which is home to approximately 4,100 people and sees over 1 million visitors annually. […]

Six aviation associations released a document detailing a series of communications best practices for FBOs on Wednesday. “Know Before You Go” (PDF) calls on FBOs to provide clear, complete and easily accessible online descriptions of available services, along with all associated prices and fees. The organizations, which include the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), […]

Thrush Aircraft announced that its 510G Switchback was granted full FAA certification last week. The GE H80-powered Switchback is a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) aircraft that can be changed quickly from an agricultural spray setup to a firefighting configuration. Thrush says the switch can be made in “a matter of minutes” thanks to a […]

A Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed into the Java Sea just after taking off from Jakarta, in Indonesia, early Monday, and rescuers have begun to retrieve bodies from the site. No survivors have been found. The aircraft, with 189 people on board, departed at 6:21 a.m. en route toPangkal Pinang island, about 400 […]

The Government Accountability Office has bitten on AOPA’s two-year-long campaign to end what it says is gouging by FBOs at some airports. At the request of House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster and aviation subcommittee chairman Frank LoBiondo the GAO is specifically looking at whether the FAA is doing its job ensuring airports that receive federal […]

When Carli McConaughy pulled on the big control column in the middle of the helicopter she was flying in over Honolulu last week, she had no idea what she was doing but she likely saved her own life and those of her fianc and the unconscious pilot beside her. McConaughy, 35, and her newly betrothed […]