News

When the staff at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Wash., was looking for names for the zoo’s Radiated Tortoises, they wanted something that referenced speed — which tortoises do not possess — as sort of a joke. Since the zoo is close to Seattle, birthplace of the Boeing Co., the zoo crew named the […]

Have you flown “the trip of a lifetime?” Are you planning to fly to Oshkosh or Lakeland for the big fly-ins? How about trips to the regional fly-ins? Or are local fly-ins more your style? How about weekend flights to see the fall foliage in New England, or the azaleas down South in the spring? […]

The FAA has directed operators of Canadair Challenger 600-series business jets to inspect their planes’ wings carefully for ice and frost before takeoff. The directive came in the wake of two recent accidents involving Challengers, where wing ice was a possible cause. The FAA’s action was “prompted by a report that even small amounts of […]

A recently leaked government report indicates that Al Qaeda discussed plans to hijack or charter small airplanes and helicopters for use in terrorist attacks in the United States. The report, based on November 2001 information and allegedly written as an informational tool for security and intelligence personnel, was not supposed to be released to the […]

This year’s Sun ‘n Fun, slated for next month in Lakeland, Fla., will be the location of one of the first Light Sport Aircraft deliveries under the new Sport Pilot rules. That’s when Atlanta-based Hansen AirGroup LLC delivers the first factory certified LSA to Major General Hugh Cox. The retired Air Force officer will take […]

The Kansas State Senate Transportation Committee has tabled a request from the Kansas Department of Transportation to fold the state’s separate Department of Aviation back into the KDOT under the classification of “other.” Aviation advocacy groups came out so strongly against the proposal that the state’s Secretary of Transportation, Debbie Miller, said she intends to […]

The form that Sport Pilot examiners and instructors use when issuing Sport Pilot certificates is now available for download at FAA.gov. Available as a PDF, the form is called “Airman Certification and/or Rating Application-Sport Pilot.” As of the end of February, 104 Sport Pilot knowledge tests had been taken with a pass rate of 92%. […]

With the exception of “airport expansion,” the phrase that draws the non-flying public to city council meetings is “Wal-Mart wants to locate here.” That’s what brought at least 20 citizens in Iowa City, Iowa, to a March 1 City Council meeting to express objections to the location of a Wal-Mart Supercenter store on land purchased […]

Diamond Aircraft’s DA40-180 Diamond Star equipped with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit has received Transport Canada approval. Deliveries to Canadian customers will begin immediately. FAA certification was awarded in June 2004.