Recent Updates

Australia has softened restrictions on the operation of aircraft flying with Jabiru engines in its final rulingon measures to deal with what it considers to be a high rate of engine failures. As we reported in November, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority proposed banning passengers and solo students from flying behind the engines while it […]

The Washington Post is reporting the FAA has fired a lobbyist it hired to help companies speed up approvals for drone operations as its own inspectors raised concerns about drone integration. The Post says the lobbyist was released Thursday after the newspaper raised questions about the arrangement and the agency agreed that it was a […]

Three gang members who were plucked from a Canadian high-security prison earlier this year by a helicopter in a briefly successful escape have had an extra year added to their sentences for the breathtaking caper. Yves Denis, Denis Lefebre and Serge Pomerlau had such a laundry list of serious crime convictions that the judge in […]

Sporty’s has come up with a different twist on the affordable training aircraft by looking to the most popular training aircraft of all time. The company, which operates a large flight school near Cincinnati, is buying good used Cessna 172s and, in most cases, taking out a lot of the bells and whistles that their […]

I was at Lycoming for three days last week, shooting a video on how the company has invested in new CNC equipment to improve its competitive edge on parts and engines. While I was waiting in the security office to have my visitor badge arranged, I did a quick scan of my e-mail. Coincidentally, there […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world turned up new corporate appointments at Airbus Group, European certification for Embraer’s Legacy 500, an award to Norwegian Air from Rockford, Illinois, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame 2015 inductees. The Board of Directors of Airbus Group announced four appointments effective Jan. 1, 2015: Tom Williams, […]

NASA and contractor SpaceX announced Thursday this week’s launch of an unmanned supply capsule to the International Space Station will be postponed until January to conduct further testing. NASA said issues during a test of the Falcon rocket engines at Cape Canaveral this week will require investigation. A possible launch date on the morning of […]

Dassault Aviation on Wednesday unveiled the Falcon 8X, touting the new model as its “ultra long range” flagship business jet. The 8X, announced in May, builds on the popular 7X long-range trijet and will offer arange of 6,450 nm and a cabin 3.5 feet longer than the 7X. It also has a more efficient wing […]

Following House approval earlier this month, the Senate on Tuesday passed a tax package that includes the revival of bonus depreciation on capital investments, including aircraft. The measure allows businesses to write off up to 50 percent of the value of equipment purchased in and put into service in 2014. Industry groups applauded Congress’ approval […]

Fractional service AirShares Elite closed Dec. 1 and is now selling off its large fleet of Cirrus aircraft. AirShares pioneered the fractional model for high-performance GA aircraft and was in operation for almost 15 years before it quit the business with no explanation.The company had aircraft in more than 15 cities and was planning to […]