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 […]
Two people were taken to a hospital and a third was able to walk away from the crash landing of a B-25 in Stockton, California, on Saturday. Local authorities said the aircraft, which is known as Old Glory, experienced some kind of mechanical failure and the pilot was attempting a forced landing when the mishap […]
The Air Force is toying with the idea of giving the president a supersonic ride to his or her international appointments. According to military.com the Air Force’s Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate has awarded a $1 million small business innovation research contract to aerospace startup Exosonic to nail down the basics of a low-boom supersonic […]
A Japanese company has completed what it says is the first manned test of a single-seat octocopter in the country. SkyDrive did a four-minute hop with the SD-03 electric VTOL vehicle at the Toyota Test Field on Aug. 28. The pilot was at the controls but computers helped him maintain stability. There were also backup […]
A California company is taking a novel approach to autonomous aviation by making human pilots an integral part of its development. While many of the more advanced drone hopefuls have created elaborate clean-sheet designs, San Francisco startup Xwing is heaping new technology into a proven design with room for a human to act as pilot […]
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