A BRITISH Apache helicopter has been landed on an Invincible-class aircraft carrier for the first time. The aircraft, from 667 Squadron Army Air Corps, landed on Ark Royal as she lay alongside at Portsmouth Naval Base for ship-air integration trials. The carrier has just had a £20-million refit, which included a conversion to operate the Apache. Commander Keith Muir said, "Having the Apache on board was another milestone in Ark's retu ... more

A UK flooring firm has developed the instant helipad. The new helitile system, called the Mark II PRIMA Helipad has already been supplied to the Sudan. Jonathan Vaughan, chairman and managing director of Vaughans of Leicester, has pioneered the design and development of the plastic, interlocking flooring/roadway system over several years. "The PRIMA Helipad system is a further development of PRIMA Terra-Tech, the instant, heavy duty ro ... more

FARNBOROUGH Aircraft's new F1 Kestrel turboprop was shown off to London bankers and national press last month at a special reception held at Biggin Hill.Farnborough Aircraft's Chairman, John Caine, told guests, "We have set out to bring the world of business aviation a class-leading aircraft which delivers excellent performance and safety, lean cost of operation and exceptional standards of comfort and utility". The British-design ... more

BIGGIN Hill Helicopters has added a Eurocopter AS355 to its fleet. The addition of G-HOOT, soon to be registered as G-TBHH, will allow BHH to broaden its horizons.BHH's commercial Sales Manager, Steve Angel-Jones said, "The AS355 Twin Squirrel will be the first of many twin aircraft in the Biggin Hill Fleet. "We are moving forward and see the VIP market as a logical step upwards for the company. G-TBHH will be a regular sight in t ... more

BRITISH diabetic pilot Douglas Cairns has had his world speed record for flying across the USA confirmed by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).Doug set the record on 12 June this year, flying his Beechcraft Baron 58 from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego, California, stopping only to refuel once in Texas. The record is for his average speed of 311.88km/h (168.4kt). That's 10 hours 45 minutes 35 seconds of flying  - mo ... more

A NEW unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that takes off vertically like a helicopter and then flips over to fly forward like a conventional plane is being developed by Australian researchers. Dr Hugh Stone of the University of Sydney and his team has been carrying out test flights on the 'T-Wing'. "It can take off and land like a helicopter," says Stone. So far the team has successfully tested a 30kg prototype with a 2.4-metre wingspan. ... more

RECORD-breaking helicopter pilots Jennifer Murray, 66, and Colin Bodill, 55, are re-attempting to set a new world record for flying around the world via the South and North Poles.As we went to press, the pair were due to take-off in their Bell 407 helicopter from Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Dallas, USA, on Tuesday 5 December. They will travel for 169 days, visit 34 countries and cover 36,206 nautical miles and hope to complete the record by ... more

AMERICAN pilot Kirby Chambliss won the 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series on 7 November after opting for a 'safe' third place in the final event of the season in Perth, Australia.The race was won by Hungarian Peter Besenyei with Britain's Paul Bonhomme in second. Chambliss only need to finish in the top six to clinch the championship.Second in the title chase for the third year running, Besenyei admitted there was little chance of b ... more

FLY! The London Air Show is to move to Silverstone motor racing circuit and airfield for 2007. The show's date has also been moved to 13-15 July, the week following the British F1 Grand Prix.Silverstone is no longer used as a regular fixed-wing airfield - although it was built as such during WWII - but still has a hard runway with full markings. This will be in use during the show allowing exhibitor and public aircraft to be flown in - a ma ... more

TWO years ago the Civil Aviation Authority was engaged in a near civil war with the General Aviation industry and pilots it was supposed to regulate. The CAA had given in to pressure from the airlines to increase fees and charges to GA, a move which brought to a head many simmering resentments over the way the Authority operates. Something had to be done. The Chairman of the CAA, Sir Roy McNulty, instigated two Reviews of the way the CAA wo ... more

This is the latest photo of Cessna's New Generation Piston aircraft, released by the company last month. It's a Proof-of-Concept aircraft and definitely not a prototype, said Cessna boss Jack Pelton at the annual AOPA Expo held at Palm Springs, California in November (to see full report click here).The decision on whether to go ahead with a new range of high-performance single-enginepiston aircraft based on the NGP (as it's called) will be ... more