Business Aviation

Elbit Systems, based in Haifa, Israel, has completed the acquisition of Universal Avionics Systems Corp., of Tucson, Arizona, for a price of about $120 million, the companies announced on Wednesday. Universal develops and manufactures commercial avionics for a wide range of aircraft, including flight management systems, displays, communication systems and complete cockpit solutions. These products […]

A developer in Miami has added a skyport to his high-rise luxury apartment building, anticipating a demand for VTOL flying taxis, according to The Miami Herald. Dan Kodsi, who is building the 60-story, 530-unit Paramount Miami Worldcenter, is designing the rooftop to accommodate a 5,000-square-foot skyport. Kodsi said he got the idea after hearing about […]

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo,VSS Unity, has completed its first supersonic, rocket-powered flight, the company announced last week. The aircraft was carried to a launch altitude of about 46,500 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains by the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, then released. After a few seconds of glide, Unity’srocket motor was engaged, and the pilots placed the spaceship […]

Terrafugia, the Massachusetts-based “flying-car” company, said on Tuesday it has created 75 new jobs in the last year and plans to add 50 more by December. The company was recently acquired by Zhejiang Geely, a Chinese conglomerate, which provided the resources for the company to expand its operations and hire new workers. “The recent jump […]

Boeing’s HorizonX division, which supports new business ventures, is now a partner at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Research Park, ERAU has announced. HorizonX will join the John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex, located next to the Daytona Beach campus, which aims to help new businesses bring new enterprises to market. “We are proud to partner […]

Fresh from showing its M600 turboprop for the first time at Chile’s FIDAE exposition, Piper is touring the airplane throughout South America and seeing signs that the aircraft market is waking up. Piper’s Latin American sales executive, Dan Lewis, told AVweb that the company has tripled its sales forecast for Brazil and demand in the […]

Electric Airplane Lessons Would I take lessons in an electric airplane? I might take initial instruction for a private pilot ticket or instrument rating in an electric airplane. The basics of angle of attack and so on won’t change because of the power plant but I simply cannot see advancing to cross country work in […]

Now that Qantas has airplanes that will safely make the 17-hour hop from Perth to London, the airline has turned its attention to keeping passengers healthy and comfortable on those long-haul legs. Using innovations in lighting and temperature control, lower cabin altitude and meal selection, Qantas aims to reduce one of the biggest complaints of […]

A wet microburst with wind gusts up to 60 mph destroyed a hangar at Houston’s Hobby Airport Tuesday April 3. According to news reports no one was inside the hangar when the microburst occurred and no one was injured. The hangar, owned by Jet Aviation, had four aircraft inside that were damaged. An additional four […]

As airborne drones find ever more applications, Verizon is testing unmanned aircraft to provide cellphone service after a natural disaster. The 200-pound drones are being used in the latest in a series of tests Verizon has been conducting since 2016, according to USA Today. The aircraft, which carry equipment called a femtocell, can be deployed […]