Recent Updates

“We are concerned that there is a sort of perfect storm approaching us in terms of flying retention,” acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning told Foreign Policy magazine in a recent interview. “If Im looking at my jet parked on the ramp instead of flying it, and I can get a job somewhere […]

Kenneth Schechter, who died earlier this month in Fairfield, Calif., at age 83, had been just 22 years old when he survived an unusual blind landing in Korea. Schechter was flying an A-1 Skyraider above the Korean coastline on his 27th combat mission, in 1952, when an enemy shell blew the canopy off his airplane […]

Textron expects to gain $65 million to $85 million annually with the “synergy” of combining Cessna and Beechcraft into its new airplane company but it’s not yet saying exactly where those savings might be realized. As we reported Thursday, Textron is buying Beech for $1.4 billion. In a conference call with analysts on Friday (recording […]

Embraer flew its Legacy 450 mid-light business jet for the first time on Saturday and all went well, according to the company. The flight was a success, said test pilot Eduardo Camelier. The full fly-by-wire system, with side stick flight controls, made the flight very smooth. With the advanced avionics suite, the aircraft operation was […]

Textron, the parent company of Cessna and Bell Helicopter, has confirmed it willpurchase Beechcraft Corp. for approximately $1.4 billion in cash, in a press release issued late on Thursday. “The acquisition of Beechcraft is a tremendous opportunity to extend our general aviation business,” said Textron CEO Scott Donnelly. “From our customers’ perspective, this creates a […]

An Alaska pilot who was convicted of bootlegging will get to keep his Cessna 206, a judge ruled this week. Air taxi operator Ken Jouppi was convicted in August for letting a passenger load alcohol onto an airplane in April 2012 to fly into the remote village of Beaver, home to fewer than 100 people, […]

Despite the risk of thousands in fines by the FAA, some realtors are using drones to take photos and create marketing videos of high-end houses and condos.The New York Times is reportingthat after gathering no offers on a $6.1 million-dollar Connecticut estate, realtor Halstead Properties had its director of web marketing and drone operator, Matthew […]

Historic LAX restaurant, the Proud Bird, will remain open after the owner was able to get a new lease from Los Angles World Airports, according to the L.A. Times. With stunning views of aircraft operations at LAX, surrounded by mockups of famous aircraft, crammed with aviation photos and memorabilia and long a hangout for aviators […]

Honda Aircraft Company announced that it had received Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) for the HondaJet and that its customer service facility had achieved FAA Part 145 certification as a repair station. TIA means that the FAA has evaluated technical data from the manufacturer and finds that it appears the aircraft will meet the regulations for […]

Sikorsky and Aurora Flight Sciences have been awarded the first two development contracts in an effort by the Air Force’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to create a hybrid aircraft that can hover but also reach a top speed of up to 400 knots. The VTOL X-Plane project gave Sikorsky $14.4 million and Aurora […]