Business & Commercial Aviation News from February 1966

Jetliners will be admitted to Washington D.C. National Airport beginning April 24. Approved for operation: Boeing 727, Douglas DC-9, BAC 111 and Sud Caravelle. – BCA Staff

We grimace at the Wall Street Journalwriter’s amazement that private pilots in small planes are permitted to fly across the entire country without a flight plan. No one told him that a long flight in a small plane is a series of little ones and that our freedom of the skies policy has reaped far more good than bad for aviation in the U.S. – BCA Staff

Modified turboprop Beech 18 is now undergoing flight tests at San Antonio, Texas. In addition to PT6 engines, plane includes number of novel modifications by Dee Howard, president of company bearing his name. Among the refinements is a 600-gal. tank, which does not need center section tank or head tank behind engine. 

Circular runway has been found to have great benefits for larger airports according to naval weapons evaluation facility. Patented circular design is aid to make unlimited runway available for takeoffs and landings, require minimum taxi distance and permit optimum control from centrally located tower.

​

Gulfstream II reaches mockup stage: Grumman has completed mockup of the new corporate fanjet, which it obviously hopes will take up where the turboprop GI left off. Mockup was completed on schedule and company says there is no holdup in the plans to fly the airplane early in 1966, and to have first deliveries and FAA certification in May of 1967.

Although no Autogyro is still in active production in this country, one Canadian firm is moving toward FAA certification of its two-seat, three-rotor gyroplane to conform to the former CAR Part 6 requirements. Powerplant of the Avian ship is a 200-hp Lycoming IO-360. Price would be around $17,500.