Interesting Airplanes

Rolls-Royce has flown its all-electric Spirit of Innovation aircraft and says it will embark on an intense testing program to validate its engineering projections. The sleek prototype took off from the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s Boscombe Down test facility on Sept. 15. for a 15-minute hop. The flight was uneventful. The aircraft differs from most […]

All four people and a dog aboard a Cirrus SF50 VisionJet walked away from what might be the first hull loss in an accident for the type at Capital Regional International Airport in Lansing, Michigan, on Aug. 24. The single-engine jet went through a fence at the end of a runway during a takeoff attempt […]

A California company is testing a hybridized version of a Cessna 337 Skymaster on a short-haul route between Wick on Scotland’s mainland and the Orkney Islands town of Kirkwall. Ampaire’s push-pull twin has an electric motor in the front and the piston in the rear and the two powerplants share duties during different phases of […]

Embraer announced on Friday it’s pondering developing the first clean sheet turboprop airliner conceived in decades and it’s got some major differences from existing aircraft. The new plane, if it gets built, will have tail-mounted engines and the rest will look like a regional jet. In fact, the fuselage will be the same as its […]

Following some interest from airlines in electric aircraft, cargo carrier DHL has announced it has ordered 12 Eviation Alice electric cargo aircraft. It’s the first order for the cargo version of the aircraft and DHL has big plans. “We firmly believe in a future with zero-emission logistics,” John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, said in a news […]

Pratt & Whitney Canada will partner with De Havilland Canada to develop a hybrid-electric propulsion system for regional airliners. The government of Canada has invested about $130 million USD in the project, which will involve De Havilland modifying a legacy Dash-8-100 turboprop regional airliner for the hybrid system. A turbine engine will be mounted in […]

The Air Force has granted airworthiness approval for KittyHawk’s Heaviside eVTOL, meaning the aircraft can now be put in revenue service. The pusher-configured, forward-swept wing aircraft, which can fly 100 miles at 180 MPH, can now be used for Air Force contracts. It’s actually the fourth design approved by the Air Force. Beta Technologies Alia, Joby […]

The Israeli air force has successfully tested an airborne laser system that quickly dispatched drones in flight. The system, built by the air force with Elbit Systems, is mounted on a Cessna Caravan and easily blasted all the drones it encountered on the test. Israel tweeted it is “among the first countries in the world […]

Yamaha is dipping a tentative toe into the aviation engine market in a partnership with a Japanese manufacturer. The recreational and industrial vehicle giant will modify one of its existing small engine designs to fit a RANS S-6 to be adapted by ShinMaywa Industries. “Under this agreement, Yamaha Motor will explore avenues for adapting its […]

The biggest Baby Boeing ever built took off from Renton Municipal Airport on Friday. The 230-seat 737 MAX 10 took off on a 2.5-hour first flight Friday morning with little fanfare. Boeing normally invites hundreds of media and aviation dignitaries to such occasions and issues elaborate press releases but there was little to mark this […]