CARLSBERG don’t make business jets, but if they did, they’d have to go some way to better Gulfstream’s new ‘ultraultra’ G650 execujet.To coincide with its 50th anniversary, last month the company officially announced its biggest, fastest ever plane. The Mach 0.925 7000-mile range G650 should be the most expensive and highly specified private jet yet made.With a best cruising speed of Mach 0.9 and a ceiling of 51,000ft, it’s the ... more

GOVERNMENT permission to double the number of weekend flights at Farnborough could be the first step in the site’s long-running battle to increase its capacity.Operators TAG Farnborough is keen to expand the cap of 28,000 movements per year. While doubling weekend movements from 2500 to 5000 will not add to the annual overall figure, it’s an encouraging sign. The site is already forced to turn away flights during the week from private a ... more

Icarus’ grand idea finally hits the skies – with a little helpTHE maiden flight of a new UAV-type microlight Last month saw the first idea for human flight put to the test: a feathered plane.The Dutch Roboswift microlight is modeled on a swift, and features feathered and morphing wings which change shape mid-flight. At just 80gm and with a 50cm wingspan, its ‘natural’ birdlike silhouette should make it ideal for studying birds witho ... more

IT’S not hard to ‘give something back’ if you’ve got the will – and a crashed aircraft! Ringwood and Fordingbridge Air Cadets received an unexpected gift last month. A crashlanded Grumman Tiger was donated to them by Citation Centre boss Simon Adams.The Bournemouth Airport firm was left with the damaged Tiger after a crash landing due to engine problems. Rather than scrap it, Adams called in local help to turn it into a superb lea ... more

NEW ZEALAND plane fans got a eyeful last month with the 20th mammoth Wanaka War Birds show, the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.Nearly 100,000 feasted on 100 years of aviation history at the event, which saw more than 70 vintage and modern icons put through their paces, RNZAF crews re-enacting combat drills and displays. ... more

Expectant buyers have pleasant surpriseGOOD news for those lucky enough to order Diamond’s D-Jet VLJ due next year. The firm has specced a new engine for the plane with an additional 21% power, at no extra cost for existing buyers! With the Cessna Mustang making it to market before any of the other major players in the ‘jets for PPLs’ class, we can expect a raft of VLJs in the next two years. The German D-Jet will be Europe’s top offe ... more

PILOTS, enthusiasts, and the aviation industry were rocked last month by the loss of two of its most popular figures, Mike Chapman and Mike Roberts.The pair were flying the Cessna Citation business jet which crashed shortly after takeoff from Biggin Hill last month on a flight to France, and died alongside the jet’s three passengers. Both were lauded for their heroism in the crash and hailed as consumately professional business jet pilots â ... more

DON’T shut the door on your dreams of owning your own supersonic jet just yet: the men behind the ATG Javelin seem to be nearer another round of funding to keep the project alive.The military-spec Javelin VLJ looked to be a dodo a few months ago after the firm said it had failed to secure the $200m or so it needed to put it into production, a victim of the global credit crunch. It had been the most eye-catching of the new breed of VLJs se ... more

ROLLS-ROYCE has delivered its first production RR300 turbine engine to Robinson Helicopters for the Californian manufacturer’s new fiveseat R66. A prototype RR300 engine has been flying on a Robinson helicopter since mid-2007.But it’s not a Britishbuilt engine. The RR300 is coming off a newlycommissioned small engine assembly line at Rolls-Royce’s facility in Indianapolis, USA. Ken Roberts, acting president of the Rolls-Royce Helicopt ... more