50 Years On, The Largest Bizjet Fleet in the Business Maintains Pole Position

Textron Aviation announced the delivery of its 8,000th Cessna Citation bizjet after 50 years on the market. The completed aircraft went to Scotts Miracle-Gro, a household name in lawn care, as the 5th Citation in their company fleet. The Citation series has grown to be a leading brand in the business jet category since introduction in 1972, eventually expanding in number to become the largest bizjet fleet in the world. The Cessna's namesake, Citation, was a champion American thoroughbred that broke racing history by winning the American Triple Crown. The milestone would make the horse proud to be such a widespread household name half a century after his passing

Gene Conrad Brings Decades of Sport Aviation, Lakeland Airport Management Experience to Aerospace Center for Excellence

Last December, John 'Lites' Leenhouts, soon-to-be former president and CEO of The Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo and its governing organization, the Aerospace Center for Excellence, told Aero-News the search was on for his eventual replacement. Running the ACE is a demanding job, requiring equal measures of business experience, management ability, leadership talent, - and most importantly - passion for all things aviation. The search is over, with the incoming head, Gene Conrad, set to take the wheel on April 11, 2022. As the industry digested the early bird news, we've had a chance to dig a little deeper and see where the future capt

Also: Joby Over SF Bay?, Drone Airspace Ownership, SB56 Game Day Ban, Jaunt Adds Another

The FAA issued its 1,000,000th airspace authorization for drone pilots use of airspace, a hallmark of the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) program. The effort came about to help protect airspace utility across the aeronautical spectrum, as well as provide early interventions to a nascent UAS industry. The program automates the process for drone pilots to rapidly obtain authorization and provides notice to ATC prior to drone operation. Those in the know have undoubtedly seen the covert arms race in lightweight, consumer grade drones. Th

5-Day Orbital Mission Will Advance EVA Systems, Laser Connections, and Health Research

Following up on the announcement of the Polaris Dawn mission itself, the tech CEO bankrolling the affair has released his goals for the venture while beginning to promote the fundraising causes that will benefit from the journey. Like the Inspiration4 mission, the all-civilian Polaris Dawn mission will raise money for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Polaris Dawn will aim to spend 5 days in orbit, flying further from the Earth than any other SpaceX Dragon mission before it, while breaking ground as the first all-commercial, non-governmental crew of astronauts.

"The Government Shut the Door on Private Aviation Tourism" 

Caribbean Flying Adventures founder Jim Parker told interested aviators that recent developments in the Cayman Islands have been surprisingly unfriendly to continued operation of private aviation in the region. His outfit leads continuous voyages of multiple privately owned and operated aircraft to locations throughout the Caribbean, from the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Antigua, and even Cuba. Operations all over the region have been subjected to a series of pandemic-inspired changes and fees, bringing tremendous headache and hassle to the ordinary pilot. 

Airline Buys 30 More After A Year In Service Citing High Customer Satisfaction

JetBlue Airways has joined in the aircraft buying bonanza in 2022, jumping in with an order for 30 more A220-300 from industry partner Airbus. Overall, their total commitment to the brand stands at 100 aircraft on order, making up a significant fraction of the total A220 book of 740 aircraft. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said their current batch of A220s have been such solid performers they couldn't wait to acquire more of them. “We’re already seeing benefits from the eight A220s we’ve added to the fleet, and we’re very happy to have more on the way. We’ve seen double-digits increases in customer satisfaction scores, and these fuel-eff

From 2015 (YouTube Version): Oshkosh Reveals Many Treasures... Including Old Warbirds Full Of History

While at EAA AirVenture 2015, ANN News Editor, Tom Patton, ventured out to visit the warbirds and was attracted to a large four engine aircraft that is a variation of the World War II Consolidated B-24. It turns out to be the world’s only flyable PB4Y-2, Privateer, which is a U.S. Navy version of the B-24. To get the full scoop about the airplane, Tom talked with Boyd Gallaher, who is the pilot of the aircraft. Gallaher first became acquainted with this airplane in the late 1970s when it was being operated as a fire suppression aircraft. He descr

Also: Joby Over SF Bay?, Drone Airspace Ownership, SB56 Game Day Ban, Jaunt Adds Another

The FAA issued its 1,000,000th airspace authorization for drone pilots use of airspace, a hallmark of the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) program. The effort came about to help protect airspace utility across the aeronautical spectrum, as well as provide early interventions to a nascent UAS industry. The program automates the process for drone pilots to rapidly obtain authorization and provides notice to ATC prior to drone operation. Those in the know have undoubtedly seen the covert arms race in lightweight, consumer grade drones. Th

Controller Queried About The Airplane’S Incorrect Altitude And Direction Of Flight

On January 8, 2022, about 1919 central standard time, a Beech B58, N585CK, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Defiance, Missouri. The two commercial pilots sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. At 1910, the airplane departed Spirit of St. Louis (SUS), St Louis, Missouri, on an instrument flight plan to Centennial Airport (APA), Denver, Colorado. After climbing to 8,000 ft mean sea level (msl) on a west heading, the airplane made a gradual left turn toward a southeast heading and subsequently descended.

AD 2022-03-18 Requires Replacing The Push Rod Assembly With A Modified Push Rod Assembly

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain British Aerospace (Operations) Limited and  British Aerospace Regional Aircraft Model Jetstream Series 200, Jetstream Model 3101, and Jetstream Model 3201 airplanes. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI identifies the unsafe condition as a bent control rod within the gust lock system, which may enable both power levers to be pushed into the flight range with the gust lock lever fully engaged. This AD requires replacing the

Aero Linx: Mercy Flight Southeast, Inc. Mercy Flight Southeast, Inc. is a non-profit volunteer pilot organization involved in “public benefit flying.” We provide a variety of services to the community, but mostly we arrange free air transportation by private aircraft to distant medical facilities when commercial service is not available, impractical or simply not affordable.

Outer Fix Arc A semicircle, usually about a 50-70 mile radius from a meter fix, usually in high altitude, which is used by CTAS/ERAM to calculate outer fix times and determine appropriate sector meter list assignments for aircraft on an established arrival route that will traverse the arc.

"The new mandated fees will bring total costs for a small, single engine piston aircraft with four people on board, staying for three nights, to US$748 vs US$196 in the Bahamas. Flying to Cayman Brac? US$923 vs US$196 in the Bahamas. The Cayman Islands has now become the most expensive airport for small private planes in the entire Caribbean."  Source: From a narrative in which Caribbean Flying Adventures founder Jim Parker tells interested aviators that recent developments in the Cayman Islands have been surprisingly unfriendly to continued operation of private aviation in the region.