It would appear an engine swap is next for Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity suborbital spacecraft after an aborted test flight from its new spaceport near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. “The ignition sequence for the rocket motor did not complete,” the company tweeted after the early-morning flight. “Vehicle and crew are in great shape. We […]
Embraer has partnered with the Brazilian arm of Portuguese energy company EDP to build a pure electric version of the EMB-2013 Ipanema aerial application aircraft. The first test flight is scheduled for early 2021. “Through EDP’s Smart division, the multinational of Portuguese origin announced a financial contribution for the acquisition of an energy storage and […]
Stratolaunch has started construction on its hypersonic testbed aircraft, the Talon-A, as it looks toward test flights as early as 2022. The company recently tweeted pictures of the Mach 6 aircraft’s first fuselage layups. It’s expected the first flights will be part of a military test program as the competition between superpowers for hypersonic weapons […]
The Mahindra Group has stopped manufacturing the GippsAero GA8 and development of the GA10 Airvan utility aircraft but it has pledged to continue servicing the existing fleet. “We have shutdown GippsAero. It is up for sale if someone wants to buy it,” Mahindra spokesman Anish Shah told reporters in a recent earnings call. “We have […]
Electric propulsion is getting into all facets of aviation and now an Austrian skydiver has flown an electrically boosted wingsuit. Peter Salzmann teamed up with BMW to create a chest-mounted thruster unit with two ducted fans that allowed him to climb briskly on a flight over the Alps. The boost from the combined 15 kW […]
The Klein Air Car, whose name is a pretty accurate description, took its first meaningful test flight last week and now theoretically heads into the uncharted territory of marketability. The vehicle, which has a pusher prop, folding wings and extendable twin tailbooms, seems to look and behave like both of the modes of transportation its […]
A British businessman has entered into an agreement with OneAviation to pick up the assets of Eclipse Aerospace for $5.25 million. The deal was presented to a bankruptcy court on Oct. 20 and the intent seems to be to revive the company. “Whilst it is not yet clear what the future prospects for the Eclipse […]
Airbus continues to test wing extensions that “flap” in response to rough air and mimic the way an albatross essentially lets its wings go with the flow to remain airborne almost effortlessly. The bird can unlock its shoulders to do that but Airbus’ adaptation is necessarily more complex. In the airplane an extended section of […]
A British company envisions a day when a first responder will swoop down out of the sky to render emergency aid and it re-enacted what that might look like recently. Gravity Industries shot a video showing a man in its “jet suit” launching on the mission and landing next to the person in make-believe distress. […]
The last A380 has rolled off the assembly line in Toulouse, France, ending the production run at just 242 aircraft. When production began in 2006, Airbus estimated demand at 1200 aircraft but the Super Jumbo was quickly eclipsed by long-range twins that could carry almost as many passengers at much lower cost. The current collapse […]
Get the latest stories & special offers delivered directly to your inbox
SUBSCRIBE
