Recent Updates

I bet the Maalox was gurgling away at 800 Independence Ave. on Monday when the news broke that the Secret Service found an errant drone on the White House grounds. Fortunately, the impending blizzard that’s going to kill everyone in the northeast pushed the story below the fold, but I’m sure the FAA phones were […]

Fourteen GA groups told the FAA on Friday the agency must straighten out issues with the ADS-B Out compliance rules if aircraft owners are to meet the 2020 deadline for the new equipment requirements. In a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta (PDF), they highlighted concerns including compliance for experimental aircraft, which don’t have type […]

Advocates of third-class medical reform hope their campaign will forge ahead with help from new leadership announced this week in the Congressional GA caucuses. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., will co-chair the Senate caucus. In the House, Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Marc Veasey, D-Texas, will serve as co-chairs. Boozman and Graves […]

Avgas prices have dropped enough to garner attention, prompting aircraft owners to ask FBOs if they’ll keep going down like prices at their local car-gas stations. Hoping for $2 avgas is unrealistic, but FBOs around the country told AVweb their posted prices have ticked down in recent months. While they aren’t seeing noticeably higher traffic […]

A drone pilot who fought a $10,000 government fine for filming video with an unmanned aircraft in 2011 has settled his case for $1,100 without admitting guilt, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Raphael Pirker, a Swiss citizen, flew a drone over the University of Virginia in 2011 to make a promotional video. In court, he challenged the […]

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for want of a horse, the rider was lost… So starts the proverb, which instructs us about the importance of details. This little poem, which ends with the loss of the kingdom no less, goes back centuries […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news worldwide turned up Africa’s first Boeing 787 full flight simulator, a business startup program tied to EAA’s AirVenture, a new research project on improving aircraft aerodynamics, and a business expansion for Jetcraft.Ethiopian Airlines, the largest and most profitable airline in Africa, continued its pursuit of aviation technology leadership with the […]

Diamond Aircraft’s single-engine turbine prototype made its maiden flight this week in Austria. The DA50-JP7, first announced in 2013, is designed for seven passengers and touts higher fuel efficiency with a Ukrainian-built 465-horsepower, AI-450S engine. Diamond CEO Christian Dries flew as test pilot, accompanied by Ingmar Mayerbuch, head of flight testing.Diamond plans to make two […]

Terrafugia’s requestto the FAA for an exemption from the LSA rules to allow extra weight and a higher stall speed in its Transition roadable aircraft has won support from the industry.In comments posted to the FAA docket, GAMA and EAA both said the request should be approved. “We believe it is in the public interest […]

Drones carrying illegal drugs and contraband have been among the creative ideas used by smugglers, and crashes do happen from loss of control or perhaps weight-and-balance problems. An unmanned aerial vehicle with more than six pounds of methamphetamine taped to it crashed near the San Ysidro, California, border crossing to Mexico, The Associated Press reported […]