We are losing an average of two airports a month in the United States, according to the most believable numbers, while substantial growth of general aviation is being predicted for the next 10 years. General Aviation News wants you to get involved in stopping — indeed, reversing — that disturbing loss rate. We should be […]
Commander Aircraft back in business after owners group buys assets
Commander Aircraft is back in business, but with a new name and a new location. A group of Commander owners acquired the assets of the bankrupt company June 29. The new company, dubbed Commander Premier Aircraft Corp. (CPAC), paid $1.7 million for the FAA type certificates for the line of four-place, high performance, single engine […]
James Stockdale, Vietnam War hero, dies at 81
James Stockdale was a Naval aviator, a prisoner of war who earned the Medal of Honor for his heroism, a teacher, and a reluctant vice presidential candidate. He died July 5 at the age of 81, after an unsuccessful battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Vice Admiral Stockdale was a captain, commanding Carrier Air Group 16 aboard […]
Must-see TV
When Discovery Wings went off the air earlier this year, many pilots went into mourning. Well, that can end now, because the Outdoor Channel just debuted a new show called “Wings to Adventure” that’s perfect programming for pilots. The show is the brainchild of Tom Gresham, a pilot, writer, producer and television personality who has […]
The race for sapce — in a Learjet?
What do you do with an old Learjet? If you’re George French and David Urie, you send it into orbit. French, who is president and CEO of Rocketplane Ltd., Inc. and Urie, the company’s vice president and program manager, are modifying Learjet 25 airframes as platforms for re-usable spacecraft, capable – they say – of […]
CarterCopter sets elusive record, but later crashes
During a flight test on June 17, the innovative CarterCopter unofficially broke the Mu-1 barrier — a goal that eluded rotary wing builders until that day. Mu is the ratio of the aircraft’s forward speed to its rotor tip speed. As forward speed increases, the effective airspeed over the retreating blade decreases. At Mu-1, the […]
German company unveils its light jet
Germany’s Grob Aerospace has added yet another bird to the burgeoning flock of light jets on the market. Long a builder of notably innovative airplanes, Grob caught the aviation world by surprise at the Paris Air Show in June when it sprung the brand new light twin jet on its competitors. It doesn’t have a […]
Old but good: The classics are worth considering
There are new Light Sport Aircraft and then there are classic Light Sport Aircraft. The classics aren’t truly Light Sport Aircraft, but they qualify to be flown under the companion Sport Pilot rules, while remaining certified. Once a Marine, always a Marine; once certified, always certified. (The word is, in fact, certified, not certificated, which […]
To infinity and beyond!
AERA Corp., which is developing the Altairis Rocket for civilian space travel, has started selling tickets for its maiden flight, expected to lift off from Cape Canaveral in December 2006. Altairis is designed to launch six passenger astronauts and one mission commander into space and bring them safely back to Earth. But there aren’t any […]