Recent Updates

AVweb’s search of aviation news worldwide found announcements from Avidyne, Jeppesen, Beechcraft and the National Air Transportation Association. Avidyne Corporationannounced that they are offering a new lower-priced IFD440 FMS/GPS/NAV/COM, starting at $12,399, including mounting tray and installation kit.The new entry-level pricing option allows customers to add wireless (Wi-Fi & Bluetooth) for $1,300 and Forward Looking […]

Two congressmen in favor of privatizing the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization introduced their proposal Wednesday, just after receiving written opposition from others in the House and Senate. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, H.R. 4441 (PDF), […]

Better batteries for electric aircraft are in the works, but it may be five years before we see significant improvements in energy density, according to a leading battery researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Jeff Chamberlain, who heads the lab’s Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Research Science, told AVweb in an exclusive interview […]

Paul Bertorelli recently sat down with Jeff Chamberlain from the Argonne National Laboratory as part of his research for an in-depth comparison of battery technologies for our sister publicationAviation Consumer. Chamberlain had a lot to say about the future of battery technology and its impact on the push toward electric airplanes. Read more here. Duration: […]

The House Appropriations Committee has added its opposition to the nascent debate over privatizing the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO). Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., and other senior members of the committee wrote a letter (PDF) to the House leadership Monday saying air traffic management should remain a government function. “The annual oversight and funding role […]

EasyJet is developing a hybrid hydrogen fuel-cell system that could power taxi operations with zero emissions, the company said in a news release today. “Each aircraft would have motors in their main wheels, and electronics and system controllers would give pilots total control of the aircraft’s speed, direction, and braking during taxi operations,” the company […]

A Cessna Citation 525 twin-engine jet broke up in flight while maneuvering near Cedar Fork, Utah, the NTSB says in a preliminary report now posted online. The pilot and passenger both were killed. The CJ3 took off from Salt Lake City International Airport about 9:50 in the morning on Jan. 18, headed for Tucson International […]

Remember that IBM commercial back around 1998 that had two executives sitting in the corner office? One is reading The Wall Street Journal and says to the other, “It says here we have to be on the Web.” His companion asks why. “It doesn’t say,” says the WSJ reader. The spot perfectly captured the confusion […]

GA pilots will have affordable Wi-Fi in their airplanes within about three years and much greater access to space-based services thanks to a $3 billion investment by a Virginia company. Starting in April, Iridium will launch the first of 72 new communications satellites that will, among other things, increase the speed of its Internet signals […]

A Delta Air Lines flight from LAX to MSP last week diverted to Salt Lake City after what is reported to have been a fistfight — involving at least two flight attendants. The Aviation Herald is reporting the captain of Flight 2598 headed the Boeing 757 for Salt Lake Jan. 22 after two flight attendants […]