50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

United States aviation news

Facebook's solar-powered internet drone takes flight

Facebook Inc  said on Thursday it had completed a successful test flight of a solar-powered drone that it hopes will help it extend internet connectivity to every corner of the planet. Aquila, Facebook's lightweight, high-altitude aircraft, flew at a few thousand feet for 96 minutes in Yuma, Arizona, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his Facebook page. The company ulti...

Garmin® introduces new subscriptions for cost-effective datalink weather, text and voice

Garmin International Inc. announced expanded Connext weather and data service packages that provide new, cost-effective pricing tiers that offer all-inclusive rate plans designed to suit pilots’ flying needs for global weather and connectivity. Based on annual aircraft utilization, two new rate plans are available, each combining continuous weather updates, voice calling and unlimited t...

Dallas Airmotive's Test Center is Ready for Rotorcraft Engines

Dallas Airmotive, a BBA Aviation Global Engine Services company, announced today that its new test facility at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has been correlated for Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW200 series engines and Rolls-Royce M250 and RR300 engine lines. It is certified and has begun to test rotorcraft engines. “This is a great milestone for our new test center at...

Bell Helicopter and TRU Simulation + Training announce official name of Valencia facility

Bell Helicopter and TRU Simulation + Training Inc., both Textron Inc.  companies, announced the official name of their training center in Valencia, Spain: “Bell Helicopter Training Academy (BTA) – Valencia, Powered by TRU Simulation + Training.” BTA – Valencia is designed to serve the training needs of European customers, beginning with pilot training on the Bell 42...

Garmin® announces new enhancements to the G500/G600 glass flight displays

Garmin International Inc. announced an expanded feature set for the G500/G600 glass flight displays. The new GTX 345 all-in-one Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transponder now interfaces with the G500/G600 to display the benefits of ADS-B In traffic and weather. Additionally, database synchronization streamlines database updating when two G500/G600 systems are paired t...

Biojet Fuels Will Account for 56% of Emission Cuts if Aviation Industry Is to Hit Targets

Biojet fuels will be key to achieving the aviation industry’s pledge to cut CO2 emissions to 0.2 billion tons (GT) in 2050 — half the 2005 figure — as opposed to the staggering 2.1 GT projected by current growth rates, according to Lux Research. Biojet fuel innovations, led globally by Honeywell UOP and Boeing, will account for 56% of the targeted CO2 emissions reduc...

Garmin Pilot™ app adds support to display Jeppesen terminal charts

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. announced the integration of geo-referenced Jeppesen terminal charts within the Garmin Pilot app on Apple mobile devices1. Jeppesen charts can be viewed within Garmin Pilot from the charts page and in split-screen mode alongside the moving map. The global integration of this new, popular chart option alongside superior flight planning, filing a...

Bell 505 Jet Ranger X signed for operation in Bolivia

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Mr. Rodrigo Gutíerrez for a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X. The aircraft will be used for personal corporate transport. The agreement was signed in Bolivia by Mr. Gutíerrez who owns and operates two large cattle ranches, five sugar cane farms and a sugar mill. This aircraft will...

Textron Aviation’s Expansive Lineup at EAA AirVenture 2016 to Include Debut of New SETP Cabin Mockup

Textron Aviation Inc., will publicly debut a cabin mockup and announce additional product details of its new single engine turboprop (SETP) aircraft at this year’s Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture, July 25-31. Joining the SETP will be an extensive static display of aircraft featuring nearly a dozen of the company’s commercial jet, turboprop and piston products. &ld...

Cirrus Aircraft Unveils New Special Mission Platform

Cirrus Aircraft announced it has received FAA certification for Cirrus Perception®, an adaptable, cost-effective special mission platform tailored specifically for both the Cirrus SR22 and SR22T aircraft models. This new multi-mission, adaptive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft expands Cirrus Aircraft’s global portfolio by offering unique performance capabiliti...

AeroVision International announces the sale of a second fully refurbished ERJ-145EP aircraft

AeroVision International (Muskegon, Michigan) announces the sale of a second fully refurbished ERJ- 145EP aircraft to Groupe Transair, an African carrier based in Dakar, Senegal. The 50 seat aircraft refurbishment was managed to Groupe Transair’s specifications by AeroVision staff members and was painted with a newly designed livery. Both aircraft will operate on routes within Wester...

Boeing and Microsoft Reach Agreement to Advance Commercial Aviation Analytics Solutions in the Cloud

Boeing  and Microsoft today announced an agreement to build a cloud-based platform for Boeing's industry-leading portfolio of commercial aviation analytics tools. The two companies intend to work together to transition many of Boeing's commercial aviation applications into the Microsoft Azure cloud. Boeing – and its subsidiaries AerData and Jeppesen – offer a wi...