Bombardier and Grob Aerospace have announced that Grob – with its wide experience in the use of composites – will play a significant role in developing Bombardier’s new all-composite Learjet 85 mid-size business aircraft. Grob Aerospace has been producing composite primary training aircraft for decades and pioneered the industry’s first all-composite light business jet, the spn. The Learjet 85’s design team ...

In 2007, Cessna delivered a total of 1,274 aircraft, including first deliveries of four models: the newly acquired Cessna 350 and 400 (previously Columbia Aircraft) single-engine pistons, the Citation Mustang entry level jet and the upgraded Citation Encore+ business jet. The year’s total included 387 business jets, 80 turboprops and 807 piston aircraft, compared to 2006 deliveries of 307 business jets, ...

Robinson Helicopters produced 823 new helicopters in 2007 – a new industry record for the most helicopters produced in a single year by one company (the previous record of 806 helicopters was set by Robinson in 2005). This total also broke another record – for the most helicopters of a single model to be produced in one year – with 664 ...

Long-standing Auckland International Airport resident Air Center One is developing a new FBO/Corporate Jet Terminal. The new facility is located at the eastern end of the airport by the Puhinui inlet, immediately north of the threshold of Runway 23. The 386 m2 two-level building will have a passenger lounge area capable of handling up to 55 passengers, with floor to ceiling ...

Bombardier’s Learjet 45XR - Flight Test Report by Graeme Mollison A comprehensive report by Pacific Wings’ Business Aviation and Airline correspondent Graeme Mollison on Bombardier’s Learjet 45XR, which he flew recently when it visited New Zealand. NZ’s Outstanding Airman - FAI Recognises Richard Hayes In six of the years since it was established in 1985, the FAI’s Outstanding Airmanship Award was not awarded ...

In the late 1950s, US entrepreneur William (Bill) Lear formed the Swiss American Aviation Corporation (SAAC) with the intention of designing a small private jet capable of operating into and out of small airports around the globe. Lear and his group of Swiss aircraft design engineers based their design on a Swiss strike fighter, which, in fact, never entered production, transforming ...

Boeing has announced that first flight of its 787 has been postponed from the end of the first quarter of 2008 to around the end of the second quarter, in order to provide additional time to complete assembly of the first aeroplane. Deliveries are now expected to begin in early 2009, rather than late 2008. According to Scott Carson, President and ...