Recent Updates

Standards organization ASTM has approved two new standards for general aviation aircraft on the thorny issues of icing behaviorand icing protection. ASTM says its new standards thread the needle between practicality and performance, establishing handling characteristics and icing protection for airplanes ranging in size from two-place singles to 19-seat business jets. Instead of one standard […]

A couple of months ago, aviation journalists were getting calls from a Japanese survey company with some questions about the aircraft engine market. Over the course of an hour, they asked about market demand, certification requirements and what buyers might expect of a new aircraft engine. The marketeers described themselves as working for a company […]

The National Air Transportation Association’s President and CEO, Thomas L. Hendricks, announced Friday he will resign on Aug. 31. Hendricks, who by then will have served about four years at NATA’s helm, joined the organization in 2012 from Airlines for America, where he was senior vice president of safety, security and operations. During his tenure […]

According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don’t own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends. Few […]

AVweb’s search of news in aviation found award announcements from Angel Flight and AOPA, and scholarship announcements from the Ninety-Nines/EAA and Whirly-Girls International. Angel Flight South Central announced that Board Chairperson Dianna Stanger has been awarded the coveted Endeavor Award for leadership and service in Public Benefit Flying. As a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight […]

Boeing’s first 727 jet to be produced took a final flight Wednesday after 25 years of sitting at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The airliner had been donated to Seattle’s Museum of Flight in 1991, but it was dismantled before undergoing a long, volunteer-driven restoration at Paine. Wednesday’s flawless 10-minute flight to Seattle marked the […]

Seeker Aircraft of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will manufacture its light observation aircraft in the U.S. to accommodate growing demand, the company announced Wednesday.Seeker‘sSB7L-360A and SB7L-360A2 aircraft have only been manufactured in Australia, where Seabird Aviation Australia operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Seeker Aircraft.Erickson Inc. of Portland, Oregon, will be the North American manufacturer. […]

Only one person on Earth can claim the title “The Last Man on the Moon,” and a new documentary film by that name takes a look at how Gene Cernan has been affected by his spaceflight experience. Cernan, 81, worked with independent filmmakers Mark Craig and Mark Stewart, from the UK. Craig “deftly creates a […]

Lockheed Martin will create a preliminary design for a low-sonic-boom supersonic X-Plane, NASA officials announced on Monday in Washington, D.C. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden noted it’s almost 70 years since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1. “Now we’re continuing that supersonic X-plane legacy with this preliminary design award for a quieter […]

Heli-Expo, the annual event hosted by Helicopter Association International, opened in Louisville, Kentucky, this week, with about 700 exhibitors and 60 helicopters on display. Two aircraft being shown for the first time are Bell’s flight-test vehicles for the 525 Relentless and the 505 Jet Ranger X programs. Bell officials said they have nearly 80 letters […]