Recent Updates

A Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter crew made a dramatic rescue of a crane operator trapped by a major fire on the new student housing complex he was helping to build in downtown Kingston, Ontario, Tuesday. Witnesses heard a series of explosions before flames engulfed the building, which had a large construction crane installed in […]

Textron AirLand flew its Scorpion light tactical jet last week and by all accounts it went well. AVweb’s Russ Niles spoke with Dale Tutt, chief engineer on the project, a day after the flight about the airplane and its potential market. Duration: File Size: download here

The FCC’s proposal to scrap its ban on cellphone use in aircraft has prompted the Department of Transportation to consider a ban of its own. It’s now the FCC that technically keeps us all from using a cell phone while in an aircraft of any type but the focus of the current action is for […]

Prison officials in Quebec say they have to beef up air defenses around their facilities after a remotely piloted aircraft dropped a package that likely contained drugs into the Hull Prison near Ottawa, Ontario. “We have to adjust,” Stephane Lemaire, president of the union representing prison guards, told the Ottawa Citizen. If they are able […]

Textron AirLand says response from military and paramilitary organizations to the first flight of its Scorpion tactical jet has been overwhelmingly positive and the twin jet may appear at airshows this coming season. Dale Tutt, the chief engineer on the project, told AVweb in a podcast interview the Scorpion, which will cost “somewhere south of […]

Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), testified before a House subcommittee Thursday to promote industry growth through cooperation. Bunce told the subcommittee that the FAA should partner with the industry to streamline the certification process, cutting costs for both the government and manufacturers while increasing safety. Actions should prioritize […]

Textron AirLand has announced the first flight of its Scorpion Intelligence, Surveillance Reconnaissance/Strike aircraft took place at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita early Thursday. The twinjet took off just after 9 a.m. and landed 1.4 hours later and “met all expectations” according to Textron CEO Scott Donnelly. When the design phase began less than […]

Bell Helicopter has announced it will build its new Short Light Single helicopter at Lafayette Regional Airport in Louisiana. The SLS is a restart of the iconic JetRanger line, an updated five-seat turbine single that will include modern technology standard on bigger airframes. It’s aimed at the utility, law enforcement and flight training sector and […]

As air travelers brace for the annual holiday ordeal that awaits many of them, Canadian budget carrier WestJet had a holiday miracle in store for passengers on two of its flights earlier this week. The airline began by creating present-shaped check-in kiosks at Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario airports for two flights bound for its hub […]

User fees will likely form the foundation of a bipartisan budget deal aimed at avoiding another government shutdown and that has at least one aviation group calling its members to action. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his Senate counterpart Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., are negotiating a spending plan that would avoid […]