Flight testing of the Gulfstream G150 S/N 201 is “proceeding as planned” at Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI) flight-test center at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. According to an IAI spokesman, at press time the midsize twinjet had logged 30 hours during eight flights, reaching a speed of 330 kcas/Mach 0.87 and 45,000 feet.
Flight test
October 9, 2006 - 1:43pm
Since the maiden flight of the Falcon 7X on May 5, the 5,700-nm-range trijet has been flying almost daily from Dassault’s flight- test center in Istres, France. By the middle of last month, the 7X had logged 45 hours during 15 flights and had reached Mach 0.82 and 41,000 feet.
October 9, 2006 - 1:36pm
Ibis Aerospace said FAA and EASA certification of its Ae270 turboprop single was pending at press time. The Prague, Czech Republic-based company recently completed the flight-test regime as required by the Czech Aviation Authority (CAA), making the final certification test flight on May 10. Additionally, the manufacturer has delivered all of the required reports, which are being reviewed jointly by the CAA and FAA.
October 9, 2006 - 4:30am
Wrapping up a four-year effort, officials from Rockwell Collins, NASA, the FAA and other entities last month conducted the culminating test flight of advanced-vision avionics in an FAA 727.
October 5, 2006 - 6:53am
Marinvent, a small but highly regarded aerospace engineering firm located just outside Montreal, has big aspirations to step out of relative anonymity and into aviation’s limelight.
October 5, 2006 - 5:56am
Eclipse Aviation’s fourth conforming Eclipse 500–and the first of its two beta-test jets–joined the flight-test fleet last month. As the company’s certification program advances, the two beta-test aircraft will be tested under accelerated usage conditions to ensure reliability and functionality before first customer deliveries next spring.
September 25, 2006 - 5:59am
Bombardier’s Challenger 605, announced at the 2005 NBAA Convention, made a nearly 3.5-hour maiden flight on January 22 in Montreal. “The first flight went very well,” pilot Frank Magnusson told AIN. “There were no surprises at all.” The length of the flight was longer than is typical. Said Magnusson, “The airplane performed flawlessly so we just kept going.” The flight ended as sunset approached.
September 19, 2006 - 10:09am
Adam Aircraft president Joe Walker is optimistic that his company will receive FAA certification late this year for its very light jet. According to Walker, the A700 shares 65-percent commonality with Adam’s A500 centerline-thrust piston twin, which obtained “baseline” FAA approval last May.
September 18, 2006 - 1:08pm
Asymmetric-thrust accidents continue to occur in normal operations and in training because of “a huge misunderstanding” about how best to retain control of multi-engine aircraft, said a Dutch former test pilot concerned that flight manuals do not reflect definitions of performance used in certification.
September 15, 2006 - 11:19am
MD Helicopters MD 900, Mesa, Ariz., Sept. 8, 2004–The NTSB attributes the accident during the test flight to the fracture of a tension-torsion strap in the fan because of progressive fiber failure of the composite material from compression and/or transverse shear stresses with repeated manipulation of the antitorque control pedals without the fan operating at full rpm.
