News

Will Socata survive the arrival of Very Light Jets? “That’s a question we get a lot,” said Stephane Mayer, president of the French aircraft manufacturer, on opening day of Sun ‘n Fun. “But as the order book for the TBM 850 grows, less people are asking that.” While the buzz in the industry is about […]

Does your aircraft have personality? “They all do,” insists Danny Groggins, an official with Legend Aircraft Co., as he taxied the Texas company’s latest plane, a Cub Special named “Baloo,” to a display area at Sun ‘n Fun. “We named this one Baloo because it’s blue and because of the cartoon character. Baloo was the […]

Bruce Bohannon’s Flyin’ Tiger has completed its mission for ExxonMobil Corp. A highly customized RV-4, the Flyin’ Tiger set 30 records in the past seven years under Exxon sponsorship. “The primary purpose of the sponsorship was to increase awareness of Exxon Elite in the general aviation marketplace and demonstrate the quality and reliability of Exxon […]

GA manufacturers recorded the highest first quarter billings in history, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Billings for the industry totaled $4 billion, an increase of 39.7%, compared to $2.9 billion for the first quarter of 2005. Shipments for the first three months of 2006 totaled 845, a 34.1% increase over the 630 […]

“There are a lot of exciting things happening at Piper,” said CEO Jim Bass at this year’s Sun ‘n Fun. “We’re a company in transition and a company which we think has an incredible amount of potential.” The question on a lot of minds is whether The New Piper Aircraft Co. will build a jet. […]

The Iowa state legislature has created a dedicated state aviation fund. Revenues from aircraft registration and aviation fuel taxes will begin to flow into the fund beginning in July 2007, and will be subject to annual appropriations by the legislature. In FY2008, 50% of the registration and fuel tax revenues will flow into the fund […]

Jay Carter’s FutureFlight-I vehicle looks more like a flying motorcycle than a flying car, but it demonstrated the concept impressively during an April flight from Georgia Tech in Atlanta to Sun ‘n Fun. The three-day flight included stops at two motels and several restaurants, where parking lots served as airports; a Harley-Davidson dealership; the University […]

Eclipse Aviation has rolled out a fifth jet for flight-testing in pursuit of certification. According to the Albuquerque-based company, certification of the Eclipse 500 is expected by the end of June. Customer deliveries could begin as soon as July.

SportairUSA will distribute the Parrot and SportCruiser certified Special Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) via its North American dealer network. Manufactured in the Czech Republic by Czech Aircraft Works (CZAW), the SportCruiser and Parrot recently attained S-LSA certification.