News

Among the first to test those new regs, no doubt, will be the SpaceShipOne Team, winners of the Ansari X-Prize. Headed by Burt Rutan, the team just added another accolade, winning the Robert J. Collier Trophy earlier this month. The trophy is awarded every year by the National Aeronautic Association “for the greatest achievement in […]

Another recent award winner is the Civil Air Patrol, which received national recognition for its volunteer work following hurricanes Charley, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne last year. The 60,000-member all-volunteer CAP won a 2005 Award of Excellence from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). During last year’s hurricane season, CAP members responded to many requests […]

A South Carolina pilot is the proud owner of a newly restored 1965 Piper Twin Comanche. Roy Wilbanks of Greenwood, S.C., is the grand prize winner in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s 2004 Win-A-Twin Sweepstakes. Wilbanks, who is co-owner of a Piper J-3 Cub, also won initial multi-engine training from American Flyers and type-specific […]

Launch date of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer’s world-record attempt has been pushed up again. Weather conditions don’t look favorable until after Feb. 21 for Steve Fossett’s attempt at the first solo, non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight attempt.

Aircraft kit builder Aerocomp, not content to build an innovative single-engine jet, is introducing an equally innovative – and equally big – single engine turboprop. The Comp Air Jet completed more than 30 hours of flight testing at Titusville, Florida, during the winter, returning to the firm’s Merritt Island base in January. The jet was […]

Eclipse Aviation’s next two FAA conforming Eclipse 500 very light jets, N502EA and N504EA, have completed wing-mate and are standing on their own gear as they approach their first flight tests later this quarter. The two will join N503EA, which has been running flight tests since Dec. 31, to complete the Eclipse 500 FAA certification […]

Cessna employees mated the wing to the fuselage of the Citation Mustang prototype earlier this month. The entire process took less than 20 minutes. The wing-mate is the latest in a long list of program milestones for the company’s newest jet. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the outstanding progress of the Citation Mustang certification […]

The Seaplane Pilots Association is disputing the findings of an environmental assessment that led to a proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a manatee refuge in Lee County, Florida. The proposed refuge, which surrounds Pine Island and includes Estero Bay, is to take the place of a virtually identical state refuge eliminated […]

Meanwhile, another Englewood, Colo.-based company in the personal jet business, Aviation Technology Group, is working with the FAA to hammer out details for the first flight of the Javelin Executive Jet. In the last two months, engineers and mechanics have reached many milestones in building the Javelin. The fuel tank, ejection seats and landing gear […]