Interesting Airplanes

The government of Mexico is considering raffling off the presidential 787 Boeing Business Jet, with tickets selling at 500 pesos ($27) each. The aircraft, purchased by the previous government of Enrique Pena Nieto for $218 million, has an 80-seat executive configuration, including a presidential suite with bedroom and bathroom. It hasn’t left the ground on […]

After a challenging prototyping period, Hybrid Air Vehicles says it’s redesigned its inflatable airfoil called the Airlander 1 and has 10 prospective buyers as it moves toward certification and production. The prototype, a resurrection of a canceled U.S. military project, crashed on one of its early test flights and was the butt of jokes in […]

Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate that would authorize $850 million for NASA over the next five years to promote development of technologies to reduce noise and emissions from airliners. The Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act would fund “ongoing work to develop and demonstrate new technologies, including systems architecture, components, or integration of […]

As the ball gets ready to drop on the ADS-B mandate, five owners of a stock 1946 Luscombe are asking for an exemption that would allow them to turn off the ADS-B when they’re outside mandated airspace. The plane is based at busy El Paso Airport and must be able to operate in Class C […]

Rolls-Royce has introduced the plane it hopes will set a new record for the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft, announcing plans to try for the top spot in late Spring 2020. According to the company, its target speed for the aircraft is 300 mph (480 kph/260 kts) or greater. The previous record of 210 mph (338 […]

Although it seems like every second story in aviation publications is about some variant of a flying car there is actually only one flying car in the world and it will be up for auction, with no reserve, in January. The 1954 Taylor Aerocar will go on the block at Barrett Jackson’s Scottsdale auction Jan. […]

The prototype of what may be the world’s first fully electric airliner, a modified 60-year-old De Havilland Beaver, is tentatively scheduled for its first flight on Dec. 11. Harbour Air, which operates one of the world’s largest seaplane airlines on the west coast of British Columbia, is tentatively planning to fly the aircraft off the […]

NASA’s Orion spacecraft was transported from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center to Mansfield Lahm Airport (MFD) in Ohio onboard the agency’s Super Guppy aircraft on Sunday. The aircraft arrived at MFD at approximately 4:35 p.m. EST where it was greeted by a crowd of almost 1,500 people. NASA acquired the Super Guppy, which is the last […]

A British company, with funding from the U.K. government, says an electric-powered airliner could be in revenue service as early as 2023. Cranfield Aerospace Solutions says it will convert a Britten-Norman Islander to hybrid electric power for short hop service between Scotland and the Orkney Islands. Scottish carrier Loganair will be the launch customer. Pure […]

Pilot and author Robert DeLaurentis departed from California’s Gillespie Field (SEE) last Saturday on a six-month venture to fly from the South Pole to the North Pole in a modified 1983 Turbo Commander 900 (690D). The route is expected to cover approximately 26,000 NM with stops in more than 20 countries before returning to San […]