Discovery Wings Channel, a favorite among aviation enthusiasts since its debut in July 1998, has signed up for active duty. The cable channel becomes the Military Channel Jan. 10. The revamped channel will feature “”a dramatically broadened programming mission,”” according to channel executives. New programming is designed to take viewers “”behind the lines”” to tell […]
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Ring one up for the ‘Liberty Belle’
The restored B-17G Flying Fortress “Liberty Belle” made her first flight in more than 14 years Dec. 8. Owner Don Brooks and the restoration crew at Tom Reilly’s Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Museum in Kissimmee, Fla., had hoped to make the flight Dec. 7 — Pearl Harbor Day — but electrical problems prevented that. The […]
Want to own a piece of the Concorde?
Just a year ago, a Hungarian businessman paid £320,000 for a Concorde nosecone at a Bonhams Auction. Now the only remaining “”spare”” flown nosecone is up for sale on eBay with a reserve of just £24,500 pounds — less than 10% of last year’s winning price. The eBay nosecone is believed to be the last […]
Navajo Nation teams with Utilicraft to bring new aircraft to market
The Navajo Nation has partnered with Utilicraft Aerospace Industries Inc., to produce a newly-designed, specialized feeder freight aircraft called the FF-1080-300. The arrangement calls for establishing three aircraft sub-assembly plants on the Navajo Nation that will create hundreds of jobs and provide millions of dollars to the Navajo economy, according to Joe Shirley Jr., Navajo […]
FAA grounds entire T-34 fleet
The FAA grounded the entire T-34 fleet after it discovered that cracks on the wing spar led to the crash of a Texas Air Aces T-34 earlier this month. An Emergency AD, issued Dec. 10, grounds about 320 Beech A-34 and T-34 aircraft. The AD allows aircraft to be flown back to home base or […]
Raytheon offers King Air RVSM solution
WICHITA, Kan. — Raytheon Aircraft Co. has teamed with Aeromech, Inc. to develop an RVSM solution for most of the Beechcraft King Air fleet. STCs have been approved by the FAA for King Air 200, 300, and 350 (B300) equipped with an APS-65 or APS-80 autopilot and ADC-80 air data computer configuration. This solution will […]
Cessna opens world’s largest GA maintenance facility
Cessna must be feeling optimistic about the future. The company just opened the world’s largest GA maintenance facility, the Wichita Citation Service Center. The center, which took three years to build, has more than 443,000 square feet and can service more than 100 Citations simultaneously. The 1,600-foot-long building is equivalent to 2-1/2 city blocks or […]
In-flight TV systems for bizjets unveiled
ATLANTA — Flight Display Systems (FDS) has unveiled Ellipse Direct, an airborne DIRECTV product. Priced at $99,650, Ellipse Direct can be installed on virtually any business aircraft. The system is undergoing FAA flight testing on a Challenger CL600. Certification is anticipated soon, with product shipments to follow immediately. STCs for other aircraft are in the […]
Four new FAA rules take effect soon
Compliance with at least four important FAA mandates falls due during the first four months of 2005. One of them is particularly important to pilots flying over water or wilderness. After Jan. 1, all airplanes on long over-water flights or flying over designated – mostly wilderness – land areas will have to be equipped with […]