Latest from Gordon Gilbert
Airports
New Florida Airport Cleared for Takeoff
A proposed new airport in Panama City, Fla., has cleared a final hurdle.
Airports
Bizav Plan Proposed for Berlin Tempelhof
Hartmut Mehdorn, chairman of German railway group Deutsche Bahn, has proposed that Berlin’s downtown Tempelhof Airport be redeveloped as a dedicated busine
AOPA Questions NTSB GA Focus
The NTSB is focusing its resources for general aviation accident investigation on four “broad GA safety issue areas,” Safety Board chairman Mark Rosenker s
Regulations and Government
FAA Forum To Review Age 60 Rule for Pilots
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey yesterday established a forum of airline, labor and medical experts to recommend whether the U.S.
EASA Further Delays For-hire Single-engine IMC
The saga surrounding European approval for commercial passenger-carrying operations of single-engine aircraft in IMC (SEIMC) continues.
Accidents
Hawker in Midair Had Seat Belt Failure
As the Raytheon Hawker 800XP that on August 28 collided with a sailplane in Nevada prepared to land, one of the jet’s passengers cinched up his seat belt a
Aircraft
Piper To Put Substance, at Last, To Years of Talk
Piper Aircraft will reveal details of its next-generation aircraft, widely believed to be a single-engine very light jet, during the NBAA Convention next m
Charter & Fractional
NetJets Europe To Nest 24 Falcon 7Xs
NetJets Europe has placed a “historic” $1.1 billion order for 24 Dassault Falcon 7Xs scheduled for delivery between the first quarter of 2008 through 2014.
FBOs
Bidding To Reopen for a Third FBO at Hanscom
Boston Hanscom Field may yet get a third FBO to compete against Jet Aviation and Signature Flight Support.
Airports
Chicago Settles with FAA over Meigs Destruction
The City of Chicago settled FAA enforcement action that arose after it bulldozed Meigs Field’s runway on March 30, 2003.
Engines
Falcon 50 Engine Upgrade Expected By Year-end
Premier Aircraft of East Alton, Ill., continues to work with Honeywell on an engine upgrade program for the Falcon 50.
Study: VLJ Market Worth $2.5 Billion through 2011
The market for very light jets (VLJs) will be worth $2.52 billion over the next five years, according to a new
Aircraft
Embraer's Bizjets Selling Phenomenally Well
Embraer today revealed the firm order backlog and production schedule for its business jets–the Phenom 100 and 300, Legacy 600 and Lineage 1000.
Aircraft
SJ30 Light Jet Shows Long Legs
Sino Swearingen's SJ30 (nee SJ30-2) production-conforming test aircraft (S/N 5) with two pilots aboard this weekend established several speed and range rec
Avionics
Verizon Airfone Going Out of Service
Verizon Airfone notified customers on July 7 it has "determined to exit the air-to-ground business" and will shut down Airfone on December 4.
Avionics
Gulfstream First Planemaker To Offer SVS
Gulfstream formally launched a synthetic vision system (SVS) development program yesterday at the Farnborough Air Show with avionics maker Honeywell.
Charter & Fractional
Sixty-minute Manifest Notification Proposed
In a proposed rule issued Friday, the U.S.
Aircraft
Diamond Raises D-Jet's Price
The good news is that the single-engine Diamond D-Jet is getting a parachute recovery system from St.
Executive Shakeup at Jet Aviation
Theo Staub, president and COO of Jet Aviation North America, and Colin Bond, CFO of the Jet Aviation Group, "have decided to leave the company," according
Aircraft
Gulfstream Headed for a Record Year
Gulfstream delivered 54 business jets in the first half of this year versus 41 in the first half of last year, according to figures released yesterday by p
Aircraft
Cessna's Jet Sales and Deliveries Climb
The first half of this year saw considerably improved sales and deliveries of Citations compared with the first half of last year, according to second-quar
ATC
NTSB Has 'Serious Concern' With ATC Alerts
Based on a study of 11 accidents that occurred between December 2002 and February this year involving primarily general aviation aircraft, the NTSB express
Airports
Voters Reject Bi-Coastal Airport Plans
Two non-binding referendums on opposite coasts of the U.S.
Eclipse Wins First Round in Aviace Suit
A federal judge in Albuquerque, N.M., Friday denied Aviace’s plea for preliminary injunction against Eclipse Aviation as part of the Swiss firm’s lawsuit a
ExcelAire and Honeywell Respond to Lawsuits
At press time, two lawsuits had been filed in the aftermath of the September 29 midair collision over the Amazon jungle.
Rotorcraft
Second BA609 Tiltrotor Prototype Now Flying
The second prototype of the Bell/Agusta BA609 tiltrotor (S/N 60002) logged its first flight on November 9 at AgustaWestland’s facility in Cameri, Italy.
Regulations and Government
Thousands Ask FAA To Abolish Age 60 Rule
On November 23 the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will adopt an amendment to increase the age limit for airline pilots to 65, provided an
ATC
Nav Canada Launches ADS-B Program
By 2009, Nav Canada plans to install ADS-B ground stations around Hudson Bay, which straddles high-latitude flight paths between Asia, North America and Eu
