Recent Updates

The FAA has approved flight testing of what Boeing hopes will be a permanent fix for the lithium ion batteries on its 787 airliners. Two test aircraft have been cleared for flight to test a three-part solution to the issue that has grounded the fleet since the middle of January. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said […]

The Sam LS, a new kit airplane with a retro look, flew for the first time on February 26, near Montreal, Canada, the company announced last week. “Liftoff was perfect, in about 300 feet,” said Thierry Zibi, president of Sam Aircraft. The all-metal airplane features tandem seating and a narrow fuselage with a choice of […]

As AOPA President Craig Fuller announces his departure, a survey of AVweb readers reveals that about half — 53 percent — think AOPA has done a good to exceptional job of promoting and protecting general aviation. But almost one in five — 17 percent — say just the opposite; AOPA has done a poor to […]

A report by the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation highlights numerous shortcomings with the F-35, combat concerns raised by pilots, and the jet’s general lack of readiness for training exercises. The report was prepared last month and made public last week. It notes that “due to design, the pilot-vehicle interface causes increased workload” […]

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, terrorists stabbed individuals while hijacking a jet that would later crash into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, and on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, the TSA announced certain knives banned after 2001 would again be permitted on airliners. TSA Administrator John Pistole said the new rules would be put in […]

A decision on whether or not the city of Grand Forks, N.D., will provide Cirrus Aircraft with a $950,000 loan will be delayed for at least a few days until the company answers questions about its financial standing, the Grand Forks Herald reported Tuesday. Cirrus wants to use the loan to expand its Grand Forks […]

Aviation biofuel experiments took another step forward this weekend when a crew from the New Jersey-based Paramus Flying Club flew their Cessna 182 with an SMA diesel engine from Smithfield, R.I., to Kitty Hawk, N.C., on a blend of 50 percent biofuel and 50 percent Jet A. The biofuel, made by SkyNRG in the Netherlands, […]

The first flight of a production Cessna Corvalis TTx — the plane Cessna bills as “the world’s fastest fixed-gear, single-engine piston aircraft in production” — took place on Saturday, March 2, at Independence, Kan., the company announced Wednesday. The Cessna turbocharged TTx evolved from the Corvalis (previously Columbia) line. Cessna says the plane is the […]

As all sectors of government scrambled this week to figure out how to operate under the new rules imposed by sequestration, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said on Tuesday the FAA intends to send furlough notices to all of its employees. “This means that beginning in a month, there will be fewer air traffic […]

A small hovering drone was reported by an Alitalia pilot near New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport about 1 p.m. on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. “The FAA is investigating a report … [the pilot] saw a small, unmanned or remote-controlled aircraft while on final approach to Runway 31 Right,” FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told […]