Recent Updates

George Neal, an award-winning test pilot who earned his Canadian private certificate 80 years ago, died this week at 97. He was recognized last June at age 96 by Guinness World Records as the oldest active pilot after flying his DHC-1 Chipmunk from Brampton Airport to Toronto’s Pearson International. Neal began his flying career as […]

I think if you explained to someone outside of aviation that, by the time we’re all done, it will have taken 10 years to develop a new, unleaded, high-octane aviation gasoline, they’d believe you to be making it all up. And that doesn’t count 30 years of half-serious research on the topic hardly worthy of […]

Alexander Zosel, managing director of e-Volo, took the Volocopter on its first manned, untethered free flight last Wednesday, launching from an open field in Southern Germany, the company announced today. Video shows the aircraft’s stability and maneuverability, as Zosel flies it with a joystick. “The flight was totally awesome,” Zosel said after landing. “The machine […]

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the biggest story here at Sun ‘n Fun this week was one we didn’t even expect: EAA’s announcement that it has partnered with Dynon Avionics to bring less expensive, non-certified avionics to the cockpits of certified aircraft. The first AML-STC list is modest: Cessna 172s and Piper’s PA-28 and […]

The FAA’s rules currently forbid any operator to fly a drone above people, but the FAA now is reviewing that decision, based on a report (PDF) and recommendations from an aviation rulemaking committee. The ARC’s consensus report, submitted last Friday, recommends establishing four small UAS categories, with the risk level to people defined primarily by […]

The Commemorative Air Force is at Sun ‘n Fun with one of airplanes it’s been flying the longest. The B-17Texas Raidersis a must for warbird buffs who want to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of a true-to-life war machine. view on YouTube

Alaska Air, based in Seattle, has agreed to acquire San Francisco-based Virgin America for $2.6 billion, the companies announced this week. “With Alaska Airlines’ strong foundation in the Pacific Northwest, and Virgin America’s California hubs … [the combined airline will offer] more than 1,200 daily departures to destinations across North and Central America,” Alaska Airlines […]

General aviation manufacturers have been talking for years about revising Part 23, the rule that regulates certification of small aircraft, and a draft new rule was recently released by the FAA. This far-ranging rule will affect almost everyone involved in general aviation, especially aircraft buyers and aircraft manufacturers. Tom Peghiny, president of Flight Design USA, […]

Two people are dead after a Jeep Grand Cherokee collided with an F/A-18E Super Hornet in California. The female passenger in the Jeep died at the scene and the male driver died later in the hospital after the SUV ran into the horizontal stabilizer of the fighter on the ramp at Lemore Naval Air Station […]

Lockheed Martin’s hybrid airship, expected to be FAA-certified in 2018, will be used to carry cargo for energy company operations around the world under a $480 million deal with British company Straightline Aviation Ltd. According to a Wall Street Journal report this week, Straightline plans to buy 12 of the 20-ton airships and market them […]