The transonic speed spat between Cessna’s Citation Ten and Gulfstream’s G650 is likely to hit of the stops at Mach 0.95 when it encounters not “the sound barrier” but required safety margins. With the Ten’s top speed now pegged at Mach 0.935, Gulfstream’s G650 could thus leapfrog the Ten only slightly, if the Savannah-based aircraft manufacturer even chooses to do so.
Regulations and Government » Government
News about governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace.
September 4, 2012 - 3:30pm
New data published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) appears to confirm the widespread view among executive charter operators that few people are prosecuted for illegally flying for hire in Britain. Between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012, the CAA pursued 16 prosecutions for various breaches of UK aviation rules, only one of which was for illegally conducting a public-transport flight without holding an air operator certificate (AOC).
September 4, 2012 - 3:25pm
Thomas Hendricks started his first day as the new president and CEO of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) today. In July, the veteran pilot was selected to succeed James Coyne, who announced earlier this year that at the end of December he would be stepping down from the post he has held since 1994.
September 4, 2012 - 3:15pm
The AOPA Foundation’s Air Safety Institute (ASI) released a new interactive online course focused on unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace System. Topics include what unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are and how they operate; their effect on general aviation; how manned and unmanned aircraft can safely share the airspace; and how UASs are operating in the NAS. It was developed in collaboration with the Department of Defense.
August 30, 2012 - 4:25pm
The FAA awarded Harris a contract on Tuesday potentially worth $291 million to replace legacy voice switches at ATC facilities with an Internet Protocol-based network under the National Airspace System Voice System (NVS) program, considered foundational to the NextGen ATC modernization effort. Current voice switches, some dating to the early 1980s, operate independently at individual ATC facilities.
August 30, 2012 - 3:48pm
The FAA announced today a $10 million grant for a rehabilitation project for Runway 2/20 at Danville (Va.) Regional Airport. The refurbishment will include new runway markings and signage for better pilot awareness, grooves in the runway to give aircraft greater traction in wet conditions, new runway edge lighting and improvements to the runway safety area. During construction, which is expected to start next month and be completed in November next year, aircraft will have to use Runway 13/31.
August 28, 2012 - 4:15pm
A bankruptcy court judge on Friday denied a request from Hawker Beechcraft to give eight of the Wichita OEM’s “senior leadership team” as much as $5.3 million in bonuses. HBC had filed the request with the U.S. bankruptcy court on August 15, describing the bonuses as based on the achievement of certain incentive goals.
August 27, 2012 - 10:15am
The U.S. government should focus on more efficient aviation security during times of fiscal austerity, according to a new study by the nonprofit Rand research organization. The “Efficient Aviation Security” report, released on August 21, focuses on the costs and the benefits of aviation security in the U.S. in the post 9/11 era. “To make rational security decisions, the benefits of a measure (or group of measures) must be compared with its varied costs to determine whether those benefits exceed the cost,” the authors conclude.
August 23, 2012 - 1:45pm
The NBAA Convention, to be held in late October in Orlando, Fla., will offer what the association bills as an “unprecedented chance” for attendees to have face-to-face discussions with people influential in aviation policies throughout Asia. As part of the show, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and U.S. Department of Transportation will sponsor a “reverse trade mission,” bringing regulators and policymakers from several Asian countries to Orlando for NBAA 2012 and then Washington, D.C., a few days after the convention.
August 23, 2012 - 1:20pm
NBAA has set up a web page dedicated to airspace and airport restrictions for the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Charlotte, N.C.(September 3 to 6), and Tampa, Fla. (August 26 to 30), respectively.
