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 […]
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Diamond chooses G1000 for D-Jet
Diamond Aircraft has chosen the Garmin G1000 for its new D-JET. The D-JET’s flight deck will be a three-panel system with two 10-inch primary flight displays (PFDs), a centrally located 15-inch multifunction display (MFD), FMS controller, glareshield mounted Autopilot Controller, and dual AHRS/GPS/Magnetometer sensor system. Diamond already offers the G1000 on its DA40-180 Diamond Star […]
FAA’s certification office faces cutbacks
It may take a little – or a lot – longer to get new aviation products certified if a 3% budget cut is sustained at the FAA Aviation Safety Office – formerly known as Regulation and Certification. The office is expected to lose 302 jobs through attrition in the current fiscal year, due to a […]
Seawind passes 2,000 hours
The proof of concept Seawind has logged 2,000 hours, most of them between the company’s Pennsylvania headquarters and manufacturing facility in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Dick Silva, Seawind’s president, has flown all but 60 of the 2,000 hours. Those 60 hours were flown by a test pilot during early test flights. The company is now preparing flight […]
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 […]
Sino Swearingen completes wet tests for SJ30-2
Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp. has completed testing of its new SJ30-2 twinjet aircraft for drenched and flooded runway conditions for both rain and slush. The twin engine business jet completed the tests without modifications to the aircraft design, company officials noted. The jet is expected to be certified later this year.
NASCAR sets sights on land next to Bremerton, Wash., airport
Bremerton International Airport (PWT) in Bremerton, Wash., may soon have a new neighbor: a NASCAR speedway. International Speedway Corp. has secured an option to buy land near the airport for a track. The land is private property and covered with woods and brush. PWT, a non-towered airport, is a few miles west of Seattle in […]
EAA chapter plans Corporate Aviation Museum in Iowa
When you think of corporate aviation, you probably don’t think of Newton, Iowa, as its birthplace. You should, says Drew Schumann, an amateur historian and president of EAA Chapter 456, which is based there. “Newton was the home of the first business aircraft, a 1929 TravelAir 6000 B built by Walter Beech for Henry Ogg, […]
The birth of Sport Pilot
If you are one of the hundreds of people who have been waiting years for Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft to become reality, this could be the year you get your hands on a ready-to-fly Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). In April the first ready-to-fly models, which are European imports, were certified by the FAA and made […]