The Marine Corps flew its first XQ-58A Valkyrie combat drone earlier this week and it flew “as expected,” according to a spokesman. The “highly autonomous” Valkyrie is controlled by artificial intelligence and needs little input from humans. It’s also relatively inexpensive ($6.5 million), making it “attritable” or expendable on the battlefield. “This low-maintenance, reusable vehicle […]
It’s not clear how the Israeli Air Force’s readiness in the face of Saturday’s attack by Hamas was affected by a months-long boycott of flying by some of its most experienced pilots. It’s also not clear if any of the more than 400 reserve pilots, including 300 fighter pilots, are still refusing to fly in […]
A Dallas-based “public charter” has appealed to its tens of thousands of customers to protest proposed regulations that it says will put it out of business, and they have responded in droves. So far JSX’s appeal has generated almost 40,000 comments on the docket for the new regs, and about 100,000 have clicked on a […]
The future of Lock Haven’s William T. Piper Memorial Airport, former home of Piper Aircraft Corporation, is up in the air as the city grapples with selling the facility. Despite an economic impact of more than $13 million, the City of Lock Haven says the airport is not making the city enough money to justify […]
On Oct. 6, the FAA proposed a new airworthiness directive requiring operators of thousands of aircraft to update Garmin autopilot software to address a flaw causing the autopilot to make unintended flight-control inputs. According to the agency, the AD was issued in response to an incident involving an F33A Bonanza experiencing “an un-commanded automatic pitch […]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed earlier suspicions that a mechanical failure was likely the cause of a seaplane crash near Whidbey Island in Washington State last year that killed all 10 onboard. According to the agency’s report, the 2022 crash of a DHC-3 Otter floatplane resulted from the disconnection of the actuator—a component […]
Textron Aviation announced yesterday (Oct. 4) that a cabin mock-up of its developmental Cessna Citation Ascend will make its North American show debut at the National Business Aviation Association business aviation convention and exhibition (NBAA-BACE) later this month in Las Vegas. The mock-up will include a full interior, hard-shell exterior with a custom paint scheme […]
Though it might still be several months in the future, Ural Airlines has indicated it is proceeding with plans to fly its stranded A320 out of a remote field where it made an emergency landing on Sept. 12. According to reports, the airline has conducted tests on the aircraft’s turbofan engines and determined they do […]
Former FAA Associate Administrator Michael Whitaker appears likely to become the next to hold the top job at the agency. Yesterday (Oct. 4) at confirmation hearings in Congress, Whitaker faced lawmakers’ questions on complicated issues involving shortages of pilots, air traffic controllers, aviation technicians and more. If he is confirmed to a five-year term as […]
John Roncz, the master aerodynamicist who worked on Burt Rutan’s Voyager and Scaled Composites’ Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer projects, died Sept. 28 at age 75. An honors graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Roncz contributed to the aerodynamic designs of more than 50 aircraft, overall. The Voyager, the first aircraft to circumnavigate the globe nonstop […]
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