Interesting Airplanes

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 test aircraft made a splash with its first supersonic flight two weeks ago, but it didn’t make a boom and that, after all, was the point. The startup’s XB-1 prototype exceeded Mach 1 three times on the Jan.28 flight but those in the flight path wouldn’t have been able to tell. “Specialized […]

Thanks to some forecast weather, the Philippine Mars headed straight to Arizona today from San Francisco rather than flying to San Diego for some public appearances and media flights. The aircraft landed on Lake Pleasant, near Phoenix, about 3 p.m. It will be hauled up on shore and partly disassembled before being trucked to the […]

After four engine changes, the Philippine Mars made the 800-mile flight from Vancouver Island to San Francisco on the first leg of its journey to a museum in Arizona on Sunday. Coulson Flying Tanker head Wayne Coulson told Nanaimo News Now that after months of maintenance and the engine swaps he was waiting for weather […]

An Oklahoma City-based company says it’s on the cusp of developing a solar-powered drone that will effectively never have to land. “We are developing what we believe is the world’s first operationally viable perpetual flight platform,” said Barry Matsumori, COO of Skydweller Aero. The airliner-sized platform, with a wingspan greater than that of a 747, […]

China has certified a four-place electric aircraft under Part 23 regulations, making it the first to qualify for commercial operations beyond flight training. The Liaoning General Aviation Academy (LGAA)’s RX4E, which first flew in 2019, will be marketed globally with a focus on short-haul flights in areas without good roads. The manufacturer says the plane, […]

Skyryse says it’s a major step closer to certification for its “universal operating system for flight” with “the world’s first fully automated hover at the swipe of a finger in a fully-conforming production aircraft.” The company’s Skyryse One achieved a stable hover Dec. 19 with the single command on a touchscreen, although it had previously […]

The first free flight of Vertiia, an eVTOL that will be powered by hydrogen took place in Australia earlier this week. The Vertiia used battery power to do 50 vertical takeoffs and landings at AMSL Aero’s Bankstown, New South Wales facility. It had been doing the same thing with a tether since last February. Future […]

Boom Supersonic is getting closer to living up to its name and went higher and faster on its seventh test flight on Nov. 5. The prototype got to Mach .82 (499 knots) and 23,000 feet and company officials are talking about going supersonic in the next few flights. “XB-1, Boom’s supersonic demonstrator aircraft, continues to […]

Aviation buffs in San Francisco and San Diego will get to see the rarest of the rare possibly next week as the last flying example of the world’s largest flying boat makes its last flight. The Philippine Mars, a Martin JRM Mars, is currently undergoing taxi tests in Port Alberni, British Columbia, in preparation for […]

A San Diego startup says it will build the world’s first blended wing body airliner as soon as it rounds up investors with the billions of dollars needed to mount such an effort. Natilus announced the Horizon, a 200-seat BWB design it says will use 30% less fuel than a conventional aircraft of similar capacity. […]