Aviation News

NASA and Boeing have announced that the next launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has been pushed back to next year while the company works to correct an oxidizer isolation valve issue on the vehicle’s service module propulsion system. The problem was discovered last August when unexpected valve position indications caused the cancellation of an uncrewed […]

Urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter completed the first public test flight of its VoloDrone all-electric, heavy-lift utility drone in Hamburg, Germany, last week. The flight lasted three minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of 22 meters (72 feet) with the aircraft carrying a Euro-pallet-sized load. The test was conducted in partnership with international logistics company […]

Safran Helicopter Engines has opened an assembly line for the Arriel 2E engine at its facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. Previously produced only in France, the engine powers the Airbus H145 and UH-72B Lakota helicopters. The Arriel 2E variant was certified in December 2012 and entered service in August 2014. “Assembling this variant in Texas […]

A McDonnell Douglas MD-87 carrying 18 passengers and three crew members crashed during takeoff from Texas’ Houston Executive Airport (TME) at approximately 10:08 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Everyone onboard was safely evacuated from the aircraft, which was subsequently destroyed by a post-crash fire. Two individuals were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. […]

Rolls-Royce has successfully completed a test flight of its Trent 1000 engine using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The flight, which used the company’s 747 flying test bed aircraft, lasted three hours and 54 minutes. According to Rolls-Royce, initial results from the test “confirm there were no engineering issues.” “We believe in air travel […]

The FAA has announced that it will open registration for its annual Airport Design Challenge on Nov. 1, 2021. The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-focused competition allows K-12 students to design virtual airports using the popular game Minecraft. The challenge includes five weeks of organized lesson plans covering topics such as airport layout, pavement, […]

Bell’s Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) recently reached a new milestone, demonstrating its ability to airdrop supplies. With an eye toward military resupply missions, the APT is capable of hauling two standard tactical packs and can carry a maximum payload of 100 pounds. According to Bell, the packs can be dropped at separate locations and are […]

A pristine example of one of the hottest rides of the Cold War is up for sale for what seems to be a bargain price and the bonus is that there’s room for two. An Arizona company is selling an airworthy Lockheed CF-104D fighter/interceptor for $850,000, about the same price as an SR22, and it […]

Boeing has told authorities that some of the small titanium parts that hold the Boeing 787 together were not manufactured properly. It has also stressed that the issue presents no immediate flight safety issues. The parts were made by an Italian company and sold to Boeing by Leonardo, a major supplier to Boeing. Leonardo no […]

The FAA will start implementing five safety initiatives next year aimed at curbing the high accident rate in Alaska aviation. The agency launched its Alaska Safety Initiative a year ago and held meetings with stakeholders and government groups to come up with a game plan. It identified five measures and will start implementing them next […]