Aircraft
News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.
Engines
Williams-powered Citation Conversion Gets STC
Citation modification specialist Sierra Industries last week received an STC for its Stallion conversion, a Citation 500/501 powered by Williams FJ44-2A tu
Aircraft
Hawker 4000 Exemptions Granted with Conditions
The FAA has granted, with conditions, Raytheon Aircraft’s request that the Hawker 4000 be temporarily exempted from having to meet certain Part 25 fuel tan
Aircraft
Initial Hawker 4000 Customers Might Face Retrofits
Operators that take delivery of Hawker 4000s during the exemption period face a mandatory retrofit if any design changes are necessary.
Aircraft
Sino Slips on SJ30 Production Ramp-up
On Friday, Taiwanese-backed Sino Swearingen furloughed 100 production-line workers at its San Antonio final assembly plant for the SJ30 light jet, as well
Aircraft
Eclipse 500, Citation Mustang in Tight Race
It's going to be a photo finish between the Eclipse 500 and Cessna Citation Mustang in the race for full FAA type certification (TC).
Aircraft
Industry Perspective: Dassault
The industry’s fortunes have changed dramatically in the last three years, swinging wildly from the lowest of lows to almost unimaginable heights.
Aircraft
Citation Mustang in the Homestretch
Cessna is halfway through the 150-hour function and reliability (F&R) flight-testing on the Citation Mustang very light jet, the last step before gaining P
Aircraft
Overrun Arresting System Saves Falcon 900
A Falcon 900 (N699BG) owned and operated by Erg Aviation II overran Runway 1 during landing at Greenville Downtown Airport, S.C., on July 17, but was stopp
Aircraft
Honda Sets Up Aircraft Subsidiary
Honda Motor revealed today that it has established Honda Aircraft, a wholly owned subsidiary, to handle development, sales and production of the HondaJet.
Aircraft
Pre-owned Aircraft Report: Prices for used jets are falling, but bargains are still few and far between
This year quickly established itself as one of “rebalancing” of used business jet of inventory and aircraft pricing.
Aircraft
Aerion expects partners on SSBJ by NBAA 2007
Would-be supersonic business jet (SSBJ) maker Aerion (Booth No.
Aircraft
Last of the Challenger 604s
The last Bombardier Challenger 604, S/N 5665, rolled off the assembly line at the Canadian OEM’s Montreal plant on October 3.
Aircraft
VLJ Backers Take Their Case to Capitol Hill
Three of the major players in the very light jet (VLJ) arena appeared before the Senate aviation subcommittee to address concerns that the new breed of air
Charter & Fractional
Avanti Deliveries Can’t Keep Up with Demand
Piaggio shipped only three Avantis in the first nine months of this year, hardly enough to keep up with demand, particularly from one of the OEM’s largest
Aircraft
Cessna testing the waters with a follow-on to Sovereign, Citation X
Cessna is offering NBAA attendees a sneak peek of what its next Citation might look like.
Aircraft
Despite Airbus upheaval, ACJ family is thriving
Troubles in the executive suites at Airbus and in the now-delayed A380’s 300 miles of wiring have seized the headlines, but Richard Gaona, the company’s vi
Aircraft
Island Air Grounds Q400
Excess capacity created by Mesa Air Group’s Go! unit has forced Hawaii’s largest turboprop island hopper, Island Air, to ground its Bombardier Q400 only fi
Aircraft
The PiperJet begins a new era for 70-year-old maker
Piper Aircraft president and CEO Jim Bass yesterday unveiled the company’s next generation aircraft–the single-engine, six-seat PiperJet, an airplane price
Aircraft
Honda sets a price and reveals specs for its VLJ
Honda Aircraft revealed a number of intriguing details about the HondaJet program yesterday, including the airplane’s price, performance figures and the fi
Aircraft
Embraer sells 20 Phenoms
The VLJ juggernaut showed no sign of slowing as Embraer landed another firm order for its line of very light jets, this time from Clearwater, Fla.-based Av
Aircraft
Spectrum cabin mockup reflects ‘utility and quality’ of S-33 VLJ
Spectrum Aeronautical (Booth No.
Aircraft
First Customer SJ30 To Be Delivered
Mark Fairchild, v-p of sales and marketing for Sino Swearingen Aircraft, announced two firsts at the company’s press conference on Monday, both involving t
Aircraft
Honeywell’s TFE731-50 to power Hawker 900XP
Honeywell’s turbine engine folks are poised for show and tell about something new from something old–the time-tested TFE731 turbofan family–and something a
Aircraft
Second Grob SPn prototype takes to skies over Germany
Less than a year from its planned service entry next September, the all-composite Grob SPn light jet is preparing to make a serious push on the North Ameri
Aircraft
Orders for Phenoms build
One year after Embraer announced that it was jumping into the VLJ and light jet markets with a capital commitment of more than $200 million, the company ha
Aircraft
Spectrum launches S-33 follow-on
Start-up manufacturer Spectrum Aeronautical announced last month that it has selected the GE/Honda HF120 turbofan engine to power a new $6.2 million (2006
Aircraft
Ready or not, VLJs are here
There are 12 very light jets currently in development, in flight-test or recently certified.
Aircraft
Pilot Report: Sino Swearingen
A sage old pilot once neatly captured the purpose of business aviation: “People buy airplanes because they want to go places…fast.”
