It’s a sometimes painful truth of aviation: If you want something done right you need to go to an expert. That goes for finding the right technician for the type of airplane you own, getting flight instruction in backcountry flying or buying life insurance.  For pilots seeking life insurance the scenario is a familiar one—you finally realize that the odds are overwhelming that you’re mortal. After allowing that concept to sink in for a few days, you talk with the insurance agent who got you the package deal on your house and car and who tells you that getting life insurance will be no big ..read more

I happened to run into Armando during my last visit to the pilot’s lounge at the virtual airport. He’s been around the aviation insurance world for some years, is a CFI and has a common-sense approach to the world. We had some of the lounge’s lousy coffee as we chatted and watched takeoffs and landings through the picture windows. We talked insurance and what happens after a pilot has the misfortune to bend an airplane and make a claim with the insurance company. He commented that he’d observed that most of the aviation insurers try and make the claims process as painless as possible because ..read more

A Dallas television station is the latest mainstream media outletraising the alarm about a common, some say necessary, tool used to register aircraft in the U.S., invoking the specter of criminals and terrorists using non-citizen trusts to hide ownership of aircraft. WFAA conducted an investigation last week and quoted sources like former FAA special agent Joe Gutheinz suggesting the trusts are rife with shady operators. “If you’re a terrorist and you have a way of concealing your secret ownership of a plane in the United States, you’re going to do it,” Gutheinz told the station. In fact, the ..read more

Image: AeroVolga This week, AVweb‘s news roundup uncovered reports on acceptance for a new flying boat, a company’s 10,000th transponder delivery, an anniversary for an online ground school provider and an organization taking applications for an aircraft competition. The roundup also found announcements about an acquisition in the aviation lighting industry, a new aircraft maintenance pickup and delivery service for Eclipse owners, the opening of an aviation insurance agency and the launch of a pilot recruitment firm. Russian aircraft manufacturer AeroVolga has received a letter of acceptance ..read more

Perhaps another sign that it’s a buyer’s market for aircraft insurance, New Jersey-based insurer Global Aerospace is offering policyholders a breakdown assistance program as standard for piston-powered singles and twins. It’s called the Global Aircraft Breakdown Assistance program, partnering with Savvy Aircraft Maintenance. According to Global Aerospace, the program is the same one offered by Sporty’s, which charges $149 to $249 per year for the service. It’s a simple concept that initially works like AAA and other breakdown assistance programs offered by some automotive and motorcycle insur ..read more

So how much would you have to be paid to intentionally ditch a perfectly serviceable airplane in the open ocean? Enough to buy a used SUV? We didn’t think so but Theodore Robert Wright III apparently thought it was worth the gamble and what makes his reckless behavior even more despicable is that he had a passenger aboard. Granted, most ditchings, like his well-publicized event in 2012 off the coast of Texas, don’t have the benefit of a couple of healthy Continentals giving you every option possible to ace the landing, but putting about 5,000 pounds of aluminum arranged at right angles into ev ..read more

In the first documented incident of its kind in Canada, a Skyjet Aviation flight hit a drone while on approach to Jean Lesage Airport in Quebec City on Thursday. The aircraft suffered minor damage and no one was injured. Skyjet flies King Airs and Beech 1900s for charter and medevac. Canada’s Transport Minister Marc Garneau was quick to condemn the incident, which appears to have violated a host of regulations aimed at preventing mishaps like this. He noted that drone violations are a major concern for the government and that to date there have been 1,596 drone incidents reported to Transport ..read more

There are only some 200,000 aircraft in the U.S.—there are more cars than that in a large town—so why any profit-oriented insurer would enter such a restricted market seems to defy logic. Yet, in the last decade, the number of aviation insurance underwriters has gone from the old, hard core of nine to 14, an increase of more than 50 percent. The result is predictable—with a relatively large number of companies competing in a limited market, insurance premiums are low and owners have little trouble getting coverage. What does this mean for owners and pilots seeking insurance in the short run a ..read more

Perhaps another sign that it’s a buyer’s market for aircraft insurance, New Jersey-based insurer Global Aerospace is offering policyholders a breakdown assistance program as standard for piston-powered singles and twins. It’s called the Global Aircraft Breakdown Assistance program, partnering with Savvy Aircraft Maintenance. According to Global Aerospace, the program is the same one offered by Sporty’s, which charges $149 to $249 per year for the service. It’s a simple concept that initially works like AAA and other breakdown assistance programs offered by some automotive and motorcycle insur ..read more

In the first documented incident of its kind in Canada, a Skyjet Aviation flight hit a drone while on approach to Jean Lesage Airport in Quebec City on Thursday. The aircraft suffered minor damage and no one was injured. Skyjet flies King Airs and Beech 1900s for charter and medevac. Canada’s Transport Minister Marc Garneau was quick to condemn the incident, which appears to have violated a host of regulations aimed at preventing mishaps like this. He noted that drone violations are a major concern for the government and that to date there have been 1,596 drone incidents reported to Transport ..read more