Eclipse 500 Certification Program Enters New Phase As FAA Authorizes On-Board Testing

Eclipse Aviation has JUST announced that it has received its first Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) from the FAA on the Eclipse 500 very light jet. 

Also, Fatality In Indian Sea Harrier Accident

The pilot of a Marine AV-8B Harrier is safe after ejecting from his disabled aircraft off the coast of St. Augustine, FL Tuesday morning, and being plucked from the water by a Coast Guard vessel about four hours later.

ANN Note: The attached memo, repeated in in its entirety, was circulated today among FAA staffers. It outlines an aggressive restructuring of the FAA's ATO... a move rumored for many months. Having verified the authenticity of this memo, we expect the next few months are going to be busy, albeit challenging, times for Chew's organization. 

Have YOU Contacted Congress?

NBAA continues to work, aggressively, to see that harmful Governmental effects on aviation matters are kept in check. The association has made available an online background paper that explains the basics of "The Tax Relief Act of 2005" (S. 2020), which contains two provisions that are harmful to business aviation.

Pratt & Whitney's F135 team has completed the engine that will power the first flight of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The milestone, marked with the turning of a ceremonial last bolt Monday, was celebrated at Pratt & Whitney's Engine Center in Middletown, Conn.

Veteran International Space Station commander, spacewalker and three-time Space Shuttle flier Leroy Chiao has retired from NASA.

NOTAM: 5/1207 Issued: 12/06/2005 14:30 Effective: 12/08/2005 12:30 - 12/08/2005 13:20 State: GA Facility: ZJX - JACKSONVILLE (ARTCC),FL. Type: VIP Description: ALBANY, GEORGIA, DECEMBER 8-9, 2005 LOCAL.

Hits 10-Story Building, All Aboard Dead

An aging C-130 belonging to the Iranian military (file photo of type, below) went down Tuesday morning shortly after takeoff, impacting a 10-story building in Tehran's Yaftabad district. All 94 onboard the aircraft are dead, as are at least 25 people in the building, according to state radio reports.

Aero-News Learns More About ACAP

As Aero-News reported Monday, there soon will be a new force in the world of competitive airshows: the highly anticipated Association of Competition Airshow Pilots, or ACAP, founded by airshow organizer Rick Rushing. "The demographics of air shows are phenomenal, and we wanted to create something that could ... really bring some excitement and consistency to it," Rushing tells ANN Editor-In Chief Jim Campbell in today's ANN Special Report.

One Step Up, Two Steps Back?

Just when it appeared things were maybe getting better between the European Union and the United States over the issue of unfair government subsidies of its aircraft manufacturers, comes word out of Brussels that no agreement can be reached with the US until the questions surrounding foreign ownership of US airlines is clarified.

Scientists Want Reusable Space Vehicle, Better Satellites

As NASA hopes to remove itself from a financial burden that overpromised and never fully delivered -- the space shuttle -- to focus on expendable space vehicles for the next generation of astronauts, the agency's counterparts in the European Space Agency are hoping they can learn from lessons the shuttle taught America in developing their own "space plane."

Helps Pilot Who Lost Electrical System Land

It's the one word all pilots hope they never have to use: "Mayday." When it is made for real, it can make a pilot’s mouth go dry and his stomach cramp. That is the feeling pilot Naim Fazlija said he when he had to make the distress call to German radar controllers when his Piper Chieftain twin lost its electrical system on a flight from the Netherlands to Geneva last month. The charter plane was flying at 11,000 feet over a hazy Germany.

NOTAM: 5/1197 Issued: 12/06/2005 01:40 Effective: 12/06/2005 17:00 - 12/06/2005 22:00 State: WA Facility: ZSE - SEATTLE (ARTCC),AUBURN,WA. Type: HAZARDS Description: BELLINGHAM.

AD NUMBER: 2005-25-02 MANUFACTURER: Aerospatiale SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-25-02 SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to all Aerospatiale Model ATR42-200, ATR42-300, and ATR42-320 airplanes.

Man Sets Out To Right The (Biased?) Record

One man's determined research into a 38-year-old midair collision may overturn the NTSB's finding that a private pilot's deviation from course was to blame for the tragedy that claimed 82 lives in the skies over Henderson, NC.

Guv Says BRAC Plan Might Leave Two Air Units Without An Air Field

Representatives of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell and the Pennsylvania National Guard briefed local officials in Horsham, PA Monday about ideas for the future use of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.

First Course Scheduled for This Weekend, Another In January

Mike Huffman, owner of Sport Aviation Specialties, has announced FAA acceptance of the company's new 16-hour training course for owners of experimental light-sport aircraft (E-LSAs) to prepare for an FAA repairman certificate.

Architect Helped Camouflage Boeing Plant During WWII

John Stewart Detlie didn't design or build aircraft, but he did ensure others could at a time when America needed those planes the most. The architect who designed the effective camouflage used to disguise the Boeing aircraft factory during WWII, passed away last week after battling lung cancer, just a few weeks shy of his 97th birthday.

'I Suggest You Don't Pursue This Any Further'

Ontario residents would like to know just what, exactly, a DHC-6 Twin Otter owned by a company suspected of being a CIA front was doing there this fall. The October visit of the mysterious aircraft, registry N6161Q, is causing concern, curiosity, and raised eyebrows among those in Sault Ste. Marie. According to the FAA N-Number registry, the aircraft is registered to Washington, DC-based Aviation Specialties Inc. -- one of seven companies identified by the New York Times as CIA proprietaries.

Grandpa Gets Yanked From Family Flight For "Bomb" Joke

When you think about it, who would answer "yes" to the inane questions they ask when you're checking in at an airline? ("Did you pack your own luggage, Mr Abu el-Boom-Boom Emir?") So far, these questions have netted a 100% haul of people who made ill-timed "bomb" jokes, ranging from former presidential candidate Mike Dukakis to the latest, Australian granddad Barry Williams.

Program Will End With Transition To Forward Flight

Aero-News has learned the second X-50A Dragonfly -- Boeing's second canard rotor/wing (CRW) technology demonstrator –- has successfully completed a four-minute hover flight at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in southwest Arizona. The aircraft reached an altitude of about 20 feet above ground.

"The NTSB has done a lot of good work that has tremendously improved the safety of air travel... and in fairness to the NTSB, I must point out that this accident was its first big investigation. I know their procedures have improved in the years since. But in fairness to the people who died in this accident and their families, I must also make the point that the NTSB should admit if mistakes were made. It's the right thing to do." Source: Paul Houle, whose initial curiosity into a 1967 midair collision involving a Piedmont Airlines 727 and a Cessna 310 evolved into an exhaustive research effort into the initial NTSB ruling on the accident that the Cessna pilot was to blame for the loss of 82 lives -- which was perhaps compromised by the fact the

AD NUMBER: 2005-24-13 MANUFACTURER: Learjet SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-24-13 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Learjet Model 45 airplanes.

AD NUMBER: 2005-25-01 MANUFACTURER: Empresa SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-25-01 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all EMBRAER Model EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC, and -120RT airplanes.