It was the year of the jets at last month’s National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention. Not just any jets, either. The big interest was in VLJs, the Very Light Jets just now starting deliveries to customers. Oh, there were other airplanes at the convention and a lot of buzz surrounded them, but nothing to […]
Columbia Aircraft surpasses 2005 deliveries in third quarter of this year
One of the companies experiencing boom times is Columbia Aircraft, which surpassed its 2005 deliveries in the third quarter of this year. The Bend, Ore.-based company, which manufactures the Columbia 350 and 400, delivered 130 airplanes in the first nine months of the year, 16 more than the company delivered in all of 2005. “We’ve […]
Corporate Angel Network sets record
Corporate Angel Network, which provides free air transportation for cancer patients by using empty seats on corporate and fractional aircraft, arranged a record-breaking 257 patient flights in October. The previous monthly record of 253 flights was set in 2005. Since its founding 25 years ago, CAN has arranged nearly 25,000 flights. For more information:
Grant speeds up construction at Planes of Fame
A $68,000 grant from the Ahmanson Foundation is helping speed up construction of a hands-on education center at The Air Museum Planes of Fame at the Chino Airport (CNO) in Chino, Calif. The center will feature interactive displays and state-of-the-art technology to teach history, math and science principles as they apply to aviation. Museum officials […]
WANTED: Wiley Post memories
A group dedicated to relocating and rebuilding the Curtiss-Wright Wiley Post Hangar at Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City is on the hunt for memorabilia. The hangar was built in 1929 by the Curtiss-Wright Corp., in keeping with its plan of developing model airports in cities that were deemed “progressive and air-minded.” It served as […]
Superior’s Vantage engine earns European certification
Superior Air Parts received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification for its 180 hp Vantage engine early this month. The engine, already certified by the FAA, earned Canadian certification in June. Mike Caban, Superior’s director of sales and marketing, pointed out that both current versions of the Vantage, the O-360 and fuel-injected IO-360, are […]
Maverick developing another light jet
Maverick Jets of Jackson, Wyoming, revealed early this month that it is working on a “next-generation Maverick” to be called the SmartJet, a certified version of the company’s current, custom (51% owner-built) Leader. According to Jim McCotter, Maverick Jets’ president and owner, the SmartJet will be a five-seat twin turbofan of all-composite construction. It will […]
An ECi cylinder alert
The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin concerning fatigue cracks showing up in some ECi cylinders on Continental engines. The bulletin recommends inspecting ECi cylinder assemblies that have logged more than 500 hours on Continental 520 and 550 series engines. It suggests inspecting them every 50 hours, looking for cylinder wall fatigue cracks […]
Garmin’s GNS 400W/500W Series receives WAAS certification
Garmin’s GNS 400/500 series has earned TSO C146a Gamma-3 certification, which enables pilots to fly Lateral-Precision with Vertical (LPV) guidance approaches and receive GPS navigation via the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The FAA also granted AML (approved model list) STC approval allowing the 400W/500W equipment to be installed on more than 980 makes and […]