Interesting Airplanes

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. […]

A New Zealand company flew back-to-back flights in a rocket-powered drone it hopes will be the vanguard of routine access to space. Dawn Aerospace’s Mk-II Aurora flew two sorties to 63,000 feet and Mach .95 on Sept. 27 to demonstrate the quick turnaround of the aircraft. “Rapid reusability has been termed the ‘holy grail’ for rocket-powered […]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is buying two new C-130J hurricane hunter aircraft to replace the modified P-3s it’s been plowing through the worst weather on the planet for the past 50 years. The shiny new Hercs are being funded in part through a special appropriation in 2023 and they are, of course, much […]

Swedish startup Heart Aerospace has rolled out the full-scale demonstrator of its future 30-seat hybrid electric airliner. The prototype of the ES-30 looks like a cross between a De Havilland Dash-7 and an ATR 42. It has a glider-like 100-foot wingspan and has four wing-mounted electric motors. “It is a testament to the ingenuity and […]

The Coast Guard has approved crewed testing of the wing-in-ground-effect Regent Viceroy seaglider, and the company is anticipating a speedy trip to certification. Although the Viceroy is technically planned to fly, albeit at less than 30 feet ASL, it’s considered a boat and therefore under the Coast Guard’s jurisdiction rather than the FAA’s. The FAA […]

California company Airhart Aeronautics says it is developing a semi-autonomous flight system for light aircraft that its founder says sharply increases flight safety. Autoweek is reporting that Nikita Ermoshkin, a former SpaceX engineer, hopes to roll out a modified Sling TSi in which electronics look after keeping the airplane in the flight envelope. The pilot […]

Two priceless vintage aircraft are up for sale and their asking price is correspondingly lofty. A rare CF-104 Starfighter in flying condition is being offered by a nonprofit for $4.25 million, and one of a handful of flying Nakajima A6M-2 Zero fighters is on the block for $5 million. The Zero, offered by Platinum Fighter […]

One of the enduring mysteries of the summer aviation news cycle was just how the world’s largest flying boat was going to get to one of the country’s most land-locked museums, but that may have been solved. The folks who keep the A-26K “Special Kay” flying posted on Facebook Sunday that the massive Philippine Mars, […]

Electric aircraft propulsion company magniX has acquired the use of a rare four-engine turboprop airliner as part of the next phase of NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration program. Eventually the De Havilland Dash-7 will have two of its four engines replaced with magniX electric motors and that will cut fuel consumption and emissions by 40%. […]