Recent Updates

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry went to Cuba to raise the flag above the U.S. Embassy for the first time in 54 years — does this mean general aviation pilots will soon be able to fly their private planes there? No, it doesn’t, says Craig Spence, AOPA’s vice president for international affairs. […]

On my office wall is a print of a photograph any pilot will—or should—know. Its title is The First Twelve Seconds of the Age of Powered Flight. It’s a riveting photograph snapped by Tom Daniels, a Kill Devil Hills surfman, the moment Orville Wright lifted off from the sands of Kitty Hawk on December 17, […]

In doing news reporting, if you hear certain things enough, you quite naturally begin to believe that accepted truths are, well, true. That’s certainly the case with the economics of airframe manufacturing. It’s accepted wisdom that one reason airplanes are so expensive—not the only reason, but one reason—is low volume. This is a basic tenet […]

Air traffic on the Eastern Seaboard was getting back to normal Saturday evening after a major air traffic control system failure earlier in the day. The travel plans of thousands of people were upset when the flightplan processing computers went down at Washington Center around midday. The FAA had the system back about 4:15 p.m. […]

Solar Flight of California has completed a milestone for its third airplane, the Sunseeker Duo, which flew across the Alps and back this month on a tour to demonstrate the capabilities of the two-seat aircraft. Company founders Eric and Irena Raymond flew the Duo, repeating the 2009 Alps crossing of their second plane, Sunseeker II. […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found an air race win for the Meyers 200, NTSB training for public affairs professionals, a global ATC conference announced in the United Arab Emirates, and an upcoming aerospace career conference in New Mexico.GlobalParts.aero announcedit continues to be encouraged by the response from potential customers and the […]

Pilot reportsof unmanned aerial systems have topped 650 so far this year – well over the 238 reported for all of 2014, the FAA said this week. The agency said there was a big jump in sightings this summer, with 138 pilot reports in June and 137 in July. Meanwhile, there were just 52 reports […]

The Cessna Citation M2 now has been certified to operate to and from airports with elevations up to 14,000 feet, Textron announced on Tuesday at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The new capability means the jet now can operate from La Paz, Bolivia, and Quito, Ecuador. Textron also […]

The first time you start the engine on your airplane, you should be really close to completion. Not 90% done and 90% to-go close, but really, really close. This is because you will be removing the preservative measures that should have been in place all through the construction process, and you will now expose your […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found an award-winning L-139 at AirVenture, an Airbus helicopter going on a stamp, the annual convention of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, and an aviation poetry award for a Maryland writer and sailplane pilot. At the conclusion of the 2015 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Dianna Stanger […]