Recent Updates

Although the total number of aircraft and hours flown still remains small, business aviation in China continues to grow at a blistering pace, according to Deer Jet, China’s largest provider of charter aviation services. In a podcast interview with AVweb on Monday at the National Business Aviation Association show in Orlando, Deer Jet’s Zhang Peng […]

With major orders from Flexjet and Quatar Airways, Gulfstream said at the NBAA convention in Orlando this week that it sees strong continued growth for aircraft sales and it reports that both revenues and earnings are up substantially over the previous year, increasingly 7.5 and 12 percent respectively. In 2010, the company embarked on a […]

The X-37B unmanned space plane landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Friday. The awkward-looking machine glided to an uneventful landing at 9:34 a.m. local time. “I’m extremely proud of our team for coming together to execute this third safe and successful landing,” said Col. Keith Balts, commander of the 30th Space Wing. The […]

As suddenly as it cancelled the rule, the FAA has reinstated Advisory Circular 91-57, the Model Aircraft Operating Standards that have guided radio control aircraft operators since 1981. As we reportedlast week, the AC was cancelled on Oct. 10. It was back in force by Oct. 14. Cancellation of the AC, which sets out the […]

TSA Administrator John Pistole has announced his intention to retire at the end of the year for a job at Anderson University. Pistole, with a little more than four years in the top TSA job, is the longest-serving administrator. He is credited with implementing a more “risk-based” approach to transportation security, including the popular Trusted […]

Tomorrow, Mitsubishi Aircraft will roll out its entry into the world’s regional jet competition, the MRJ-Japan’s first commercial airliner in more than 50 years. The product of a partnership between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toyota, the 70- to 90-seat regional jet is priced at $42 million. Mitsubishi reports it has 191 firm orders for the […]

The U.S. Marine Corps announced that it is determined to meet its goal of having its first squadron of 10 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters ready for combat in July 2015. In an interview with Reuters, outgoing Marine Corps Commandant General James Amos was asked if the Marines would miss the target date for declaring an […]

AVweb‘s weekly review of what is happening in aviation uncovered news of an invitation to fly in and help out with Bahamas Habitat, a record-setting third quarter for Embraer, a collaboration in the development of the Sun Flyer electric airplane, and an announcement that Hartzell’s developmental activities for its new five-blade prop will be showcased […]

Lockheed Martin is working on a compact fusion reactor that could be small enough to provide a power source for aircraft, and it could be ready to fly in 10 years or less, the company said on Wednesday. “Our compact fusion concept combines several alternative magnetic confinement approaches, taking the best parts of each, and […]

Gulfstream announced on Tuesday it plans to add two all-new wide-cabin business jets to its line: the Gulfstream G500 and G600. The first copy of the G500 is already built, and taxied up to the company’s unveiling event in Savannah, Georgia. The company also displayed a 70-foot-long mockup of the G600. “The G500 and G600 […]