Recent Updates

New aircraft shipments continued to slip this year as declining sales were reported for the third quarter, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association said Thursday. For the year to date, airplane shipments worldwide are down 3.5 percent compared to a year ago, with 1,504 units shipped from January through September- down from 1,558 in 2015, according […]

Now that he has won the presidential election, Donald Trump’s home in midtown Manhattan is within a Temporary Flight Restriction. The VIP TFR, effective Wednesday, closes open flights through the popular Hudson River area for sightseeing the city skyline. The FAA Notam is effective immediately through Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. The TFR has […]

Two Marine Corps pilots are safe after their F/A-18 Hornet fighters collided off the coast near San Diego Wednesday. One pilot landed at Naval Air Station North Island, while the other ejected, The Associated Press reported. The jets, from theThird Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego,were on a training […]

Winter is coming to the Northeast, and once again scores of sea turtles are stranding on the beaches from New Jersey to Cape Cod, and in need of transport to warmer climes. For several years, Leslie Weinstein, of Idaho, has been working to organize volunteer aviation efforts to help these creatures, and this year he […]

At last week’s NBAA show in Orlando, I was having a little argument with myself in one of the press conferences. A staple of these things is what we used to call in the newspaper business “grip and grins.” The assembled people of import grip the certificate/plaque/award/trophy, face the camera and beam. Click. Two cols […]

The FAA has approved Disney’s use of drones to create an aerial spectacle over one of its Orlando theme parks. Disney had already patented technology to use drones to carry and create displays in the skies above its resorts. On Tuesday, the FAA gave the nod for the company to exploit that technology in what […]

In advance of this week’s election, AOPA sent a questionnaire to the two major party candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump, seeking their positions on issues of interest to general aviation pilots. Trump’s campaign did not respond, AOPA says, despite six weeks of “multiple attempts via many communication channels.” Clinton’s campaign, however, sent detailed […]

A3, the Airbus advanced-projects group based in Silicon Valley, has contracted with two local companies who are tasked with developing a flying prototype of an autonomous electric taxi aircraft by the end of next year. Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI) will lead the flight-test effort, and Soar Oregon will provide test-range support and other services. […]

Anyone who wants to fly the Icon LSA now can take instruction in Tampa, Florida, the company announced last week. The new flight center is open at the Peter O. Knight Airport, a general aviation field. The training program is offered not just to A5 position holders but to anyone who wants to sign up. […]

GE has test run a developmental version of its Advanced Turboprop (ATP) engine that contains 35 percent 3D printed parts. The ATP will be used in Cessna’s new Denali single and is a big part of the sales pitch for the aircraft. GE says 3D printing saves weight and is more precise than traditional construction […]