BOEING'S 'Little Bird' manned/unmanned  light turbine helicopter made its first flight last month."The A/MH-6X is the first true hybrid manned/unmanned aircraft, " said Dino Cerchie, the Little Bird program manager. The first flight as a piloted aircraft lasted 14 minutes before landing safely. Boeing test pilot Todd Brown said, "The aircraft flew great. It is very responsive and delivers outstanding performance."Fu ... more

Big jump in London helicopter traffic 'misery'INCREASING use of helicopters in London has come under fire in a report by the London Assembly, an elected body which monitors the work of the London Mayor, Ken Livingstone.The report says there has been a 20% increase in helicopter traffic over the past four years and recommends introducing charges for using London airspace."Londoners already have to contend with endless noise from planes ... more

FULL support has been given by the local authority for an airpark on the Costa Calida in Spain, not far from Alicante.Airpark Spain has taken pilot and developer Michael Rönn ten years to achieve. Rönn, a German, has lived nearby in Spain and operated a small airfield. Now he has completed the Airpark's runway is now complete and started building the houses and infrastructure - which will include a flying club and FBO supplying fuel and a ... more

AIRCRAFT Grouping Ltd has started operating several aircraft in the north-west on a 'no equity' basis. Rather than buying a share, users pay a monthly standing charge and operate the aircraft at cost price per hour.Four aircraft are currently operated: a Cessna 152, a PA28 Archer III and two Cessna 172s, one of which has a Garmin 1000 glass cockpit. W: www.aircraftgrouping.co.uk ... more

THE British Microlight Aircraft Association has a new Chief Executive. Geoff Weighell, who currently runs Pegasus Flight Training at Enstone, will bring over 20 years and 9000 hours of microlighting experience to the post. Geoff also has unrivalled knowledge of licensing through his time as Chairman of the Panel of Examiners and as BMAA representative on the NPPL Steering Committee.Geoff will be stepping back from his business interests in ... more

ARE helicopters supposed to do this? They are when they're flown by the Red Bull sponsored Flying Bulls display team. The Flying Bulls operates two Bolkow Bo-105 which have special aerobatic dispensation and maintenance regime. W: www.flyingbulls.com ... more

"IT'S a real predator in the sky," said the test pilot for Czech manufacturer Evektor after he flew the first flight of the SuperCobra, the 315hp version of Evektor's new 4/5 seat touring aeroplane. The all-metal SuperCobra made two 30-minute flights on 24 October from Evektor's base at Kunovice Airport. The SuperCobra is said to have a top cruise speed 175kt, a range of 1000nm and a useful load of 1260lb. EASA certification is pl ... more

TBM owners park up in style for annual bashMORE than 70 Socata TBM aircraft flew from all over the world to the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA for the annual TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA) convention. The furthest travellers were a crew of the French Army Aviation transport squadron, whose journey from Rennes Air Force base in France to Idaho took 24 flight hours. During the four-day event, participants attended various technical con ... more

THE PFA has announced that its annual Rally - more recently known as Flying for Fun - will not take place in 2007.The Rally, once a major event in the GA calendar, has been in serious decline over the past few years. This is partly due to the arrival of new exhibitions such as Aero Expo and FLY!, bad luck with the weather, rising ticket prices and a lack of clarity from the PFA on what the Rally is actually about. Instead of the Rally, the ... more

BRIT Paul Bonhomme was unable to repeat his win in the UK round of the 2006 Red Bull Air Race at the penultimate round, held in San Francisco on 7 October. Bonhomme finished third behind race winner Kirby Chambliss and Hungarian ace Peter Besenyei.Chambliss is now the odds-on favourite to become this year's world champion, with just one round left - in Perth, Australia on 19 November. Besenyei was less than a second behind Chambliss on co ... more

A SPECIAL version of the Diamond DA40 developed for the US market will be available in Europe next year. Diamond Aircraft UK's Henrik Burkal told LOOP: "The DA40XL is in its early stage at the moment, but will be introduced later when all the components are certified by EASA."  The DA40 XL is powered by the 180hp avgas Lycoming engine fitted with a new MT composite 'Scimitar' 3-blade propeller. Diamond claims it delivers bett ... more

BUSINESS Aviation is going through the roof! The annual meeting of the US National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), held in Orlando, Florida last month, was the biggest ever.The three-day event had a record attendance of 33,088 - substantially higher than the previous record set in Las Vegas eight years ago.A total of 1140 exhibitors filled both halls of the convention centre, just a few miles from Disneyworld, and 117 aircraft on st ... more