Aircraft
News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.
Aircraft
Faulty Cabin Lighting Wiring Alleged in Falcon 50s
A proposed AD calls for inspections to detect improperly installed wiring for optional cabin lighting that could cause fires in Falcon 50s.
Aircraft
Amended RVSM STC Will Include More Learjet 35/36s
West Star Aviation in Grand Junction, Colo., is working with the FAA to amend its Learjet 35/36 RVSM STC to include models with the FC-530 autopilot, FC-20
Aircraft
Embraer boosts range of 190 and 195
At the request of launch customer JetBlue, Embraer has introduced longer-range versions of its 190 and 195 E-Jets.
Aircraft
Hawker Horizon earns provisional FAA approval
While the Raytheon Hawker Horizon was one of the first to blaze the super-midsize business jet trail when it was launched at the 1996 NBAA Convention in Or
Aircraft
Eclipse 500 makes first flight with P&W engines
Keeping its promise, Albuquerque, N.M.-based Eclipse Aviation flew the first Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F-powered Eclipse 500 certification flight-test ai
Aircraft
End of the line for Boeing 717
Bombardier Aerospace’s case for the C Series may just have grown sounder last month as Boeing announced it would pull the plug on the 110- to 115-seat 717,
Aircraft
Gulfstream G150 rolls out
The G150, which Gulfstream touts as the first wide-cabin, long-range, midsize business jet, rolled out January 18 in Tel Aviv in front of hundreds of Israe
Aircraft
China Type-certifies Learjet 45
Bombardier reported that it has received type approval for the Learjet 45 from the civil aviation agency of China (CAAC).
Aircraft
Bombardier enters airline market with single-aisle C Series
Bombardier’s newly constituted board of directors last month gave approval to the company’s commercial airplane division to offer the C Series line of sing
Engines
PW307A on target for Falcon 7X, says P&WC
Pratt & Whitney Canada is striving to keep fuel burn on target for its PW307A engine, which will power the Dassault Falcon 7X.
Aircraft
Citation Mustang emerges from its stable
The first Citation Mustang test aircraft was towed from Cessna’s Pawnee facility in Wichita late last month for initial engine runs.
Aircraft
Canada signs off on Hawker 800 winglets
Aviation Partners said last month it received Transport Canada certification of its Hawker 800 blended winglet modification.
Aircraft
Hawker 800XP Winglets FAA Certified
Three months after receiving certification for its winglets on the Hawker 800, Aviation Partners has received FAA approval for installing winglets on the H
Aircraft
Embraer Legacy soon to be cleared to FL410
Embraer this spring expects to complete certification that will increase the service ceiling of the Legacy business jet from FL370 to FL410.
Aircraft
In The Works: Adam Aircraft A500/700
Englewood, Colo.-based Adam Aircraft expects FAA certification of its centerline-thrust A500 piston twin in the first quarter of this year and first delive
Aircraft
In The Works: Maverick Jets Leader
At the Dubai Air Show last month, Tbilisi Aerospace Manufacturing (TAM) of Tbilisi, Georgia (the former Soviet Republic, not the Peachtree State), featured
Aircraft
In The Works: Safire Aircraft Safire Jet
Safire Aircraft of Opa-Locka, Fla., announced last month that wind-tunnel testing at the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory’s subsonic Kirsti
Aircraft
One pilot, one jet engine, one load of fuel
After a few weather-related postponements, Steve Fossett took off in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer at 6:47 p.m.
Aircraft
Saras spreads its wings at Indian airshow
On display at Aero India 2005 earlier this year (see facing page) was the Saras, a low-wing aircraft with an mtow of 13,450 pounds and powered by two 850-s
Aircraft
FlightSafety Teterboro fields Falcon 900EX EASy simulator
In late 1995, around the time of the highly publicized crash of an American Airlines Boeing 757 on approach to Cali, Colombia, Dassault launched a research
Aircraft
2006: The year of the very light jet
Call them what you want–very light jets (VLJs), compact jets, minijets, microjets, personal jets or even Barbie jets–they’re no longer “paper” airplanes.
Aircraft
Avionics confusion had hand in Crossair Saab 340 accident
Nearly four years after the accident, the Swiss Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (BFU) published its final report on the Jan.
Aircraft
In The Works: Cessna Citation Mustang
As the Eclipse 500 was being rolled out last month, the Citation Mustang very light jet was fast taking form at Cessna’s Pawnee facility in Wichita.
Aircraft
In The Works: Utilicraft FF-1080-300
American Utilicraft last month said it will spin off Utilicraft Aerospace Industries, a newly formed Nevada corporation, as part of an agreement with The N
Aircraft
In The Works: Aviation Technology Group Javelin
According to Aviation Technology Group, the assembly of its Javelin demonstrator prototype is progressing rapidly at Soloy’s facilities in Olympia, Wash.
Aircraft
Dassault engineers reach fly-by-wire milestone
Dassault reports that its engineers in France have completed bench testing and software loads of the fly-by-wire flight control system in the Falcon 7X.
Aircraft
Despite New Orders, Bombardier makes more cuts
Bombardier announced plans to cut this year’s CRJ200 production by another 20 percent just days after Standard & Poor’s lowered the company’s credit rating
Aircraft
Biggest Embraer takes flight
The largest member of Embraer’s 170/190 family of single-aisle commercial jets–the 108-seat Embraer 195–took to the air for the first time on December 7 fr
Aircraft
Last Avro RJ to the Finnish line
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft has delivered the final Avro RJ to Finnish carrier Blue 1, bringing to an end 22 years of BAe 146/Avro RJ production.
