The first of four Eclipse 500 flight certification aircraft made its maiden flight Dec. 31, “as we promised,” CEO Vern Raburn said. It made two flights on that first day of operations with production Pratt & Whitney Canada 610F turbofan engines. The flight of N503EA initiated a 15-month program that ultimately will involve seven airframes, […]
Sport Pilot PTS available online
Sport Pilot Practical Test Standards are now available online at AFS600.FAA.gov. The first Sport Pilot Designated Pilot Examiner initial qualification course will be held Jan. 17-22 in Sebring, Fla. Just eight participants will take the course. The next course is set for Feb. 28-March 5, also in Sebring.
GAO criticizes FAA over pop-up TFRs
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has taken the FAA to task for pop-up TFRs. In a new report, the GAO criticized the FAA for not developing a “standardized, documented way to review and revalidate security-related TFRs.” The report notes that the number of TFR violations is up since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as […]
Hawker Horizon granted PTC
The same day Raytheon’s newest bizjet, the Hawker Horizon, was granted a provisional type certificate, the first Horizon was delivered to Wichita real estate developer Jack DeBoer. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW308A turbofan engines, the Hawker Horizon can fly six passengers and two crew 3,100 nautical miles.
Mooney delivers G1000 equipped Ovation2 GX
Mooney delivered its first G1000-equipped Ovation2 GX last month to Daryle Scott, president and CEO of Venus Swimwear of Jacksonville, Fla. Scott took delivery Dec. 15, less than a month after the glass cockpit was certified for the Ovation2 and Bravo. This is Scott’s third Mooney Ovation.
4,000 Van’s RVs flying
Van’s Aircraft Co. enters 2005 with a new milestone: 4,000 RV aircraft have taken to the skies. The Aurora, Ore.-based company has been producing kit planes for 31 years. For those of you who like to do the math, that’s an average of one new airplane in the air every 2.8 days.
PAMA to hold regional maintenance Olympics as Great Lakes Aviation Conference
The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association will hold its regional Aviation Maintenance Olympics at the Great Lakes Aviation Conference, Jan. 20-22, in Lansing, Mich. Winners will compete in a national event in Las Vegas in March.
NAHF enshrines John Alison
The National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, will enshrine World War II tactician and fighter ace John R. Alison, record-setting aviatrix and aerobatic champion Betty Skelton Frankman, pioneering military aviatrix Nancy Harkness Love, and Skunk Works engineer and aerospace industry leader Benjamin (Ben) R. Rich this summer.
Pioneer flying traffic reporter dies
Walt Starling, one of the first flying traffic reporters, died of cancer Jan. 4 at his home in Maryland. He was 52 years old. Starling’s career started as a class project at the University of Maryland, where he was studying radio and television in 1973. His assignment was to create a job for himself. He […]