Aviation News

United Airlines announced yesterday (Oct. 3) it is posting its second giant order for new-generation aircraft. Last December, the airline ordered 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners as it continues replacing aging aircraft types and places more focus on international flying. The new order splits allegiance between Boeing and Airbus. United expects to receive 50 more Boeing […]

Northrop Grumman announced today (Oct. 4) the U.S. Navy has awarded a development contract for the company’s new self-guided 57-mm high explosive artillery ammunition—an artillery shell that can fine-tune its trajectory after it has been fired. Northrop Grumman will test and “mature” the ordnance for acceptance by the Navy. Using the latest generation of Northrop […]

On Aug. 19, quick thinking by a flight instructor working for Mercer County Community College (MCCC) in New Jersey might have saved the lives of two sailors off the Jersey Shore. The Trentonian newspaper reported last week that Ryan Sarria was conducting a final course progress check with college student pilot Owen Cunningham. The two […]

The FAA has extended the comment period on the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (aka MOSAIC) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) another 90 days. Originally scheduled to close on Oct. 23, comments may now be submitted up to Jan. 22, 2024, according to a statement from the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) posted today (Oct. 4). […]

Gulfstream Aerospace, builders of a full line of business jets currently topped by the intercontinental G650/G650ER, is taking a pass on exhibiting at this year’s National Business Aviation Association NBAA-BACE (Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition.) The annual event, which launches later this month in Las Vegas, Nevada, is the world’s busiest business-aviation trade show, and […]

Joby Aviation announced today it has flown its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) preproduction prototype with pilots manipulating the controls. Before the “pilot-on-board” sorties, all other test flights have taken place under remote control from the ground. Four pilots took part in the recent round of flights, which involved a range of maneuvers, including […]

Delta Air Lines is the latest North American carrier to find bogus parts in aircraft engines. The company announced this week that as many as 21 engines in its fleet have fraudulently certified parts supplied by AOG Technics, a British firm that forged certification paperwork for components it supplied to CFM Internationals for engines used […]

MIT says it’s developing an artificial intelligence-driven copilot robot it calls a “guardian” that will monitor the human pilot’s performance and intervene at even the smallest deviation from what the AI considers the proper action by the human. Air-Guardian uses eye tracking to determine where the human is focusing and if it doesn’t match the […]

Rolls-Royce says it has run a modified version of a standard jet engine at takeoff power using hydrogen for fuel. The company said it’s a key accomplishment in developing future carbon-free designs that can power future aircraft. “This involved overcoming significant engineering challenges as hydrogen burns far hotter and more rapidly than kerosene,” Rolls-Royce said. […]

A British company says its proposed cargo drones can carry up to 80 standard lightweight 20-foot shipping containers using “hybrid turbofan” engines that can use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrogen. Droneliner is proposing two models of its massive aircraft, the DL 200 that can carry 200 tons and the DL 350 that can pack […]