Aviation News

Legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday would establish a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Called the Sustainable Skies Act, the bill would provide between $1.50 and $2.00 per each gallon of SAF used as long as the fuel “achieves at least a 50 percent lifecycle greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions […]

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) announced that the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates (MOSAIC) rulemaking initiative remains on track following meetings of ASTM International Committee F37 on Light-Sport Aircraft last week. According to EAA, the committee has been “tasked with updating industry consensus standards for light-sport aircraft to prepare for and accommodate anticipated changes to […]

The first quarter (Q1) of 2021 saw an increase in turbine helicopter and propeller airplane deliveries while business jet and piston helicopter shipments were flat compared to the same time period last year. According to the recently released General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) general aviation aircraft shipments and billings report (PDF), piston airplane deliveries rose […]

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the first two images taken by its Zhurong Martian rover on Wednesday. The rover touched down on Utopia Planitia in the planet’s northern hemisphere on May 15, making China the second nation ever to successfully land on Mars. The Tianwen-1 mission, of which the rover is part along […]

Pilot Margrit Waltz successfully completed her 900th ferry flight last week, taking a TBM 940 turboprop from Daher’s production site in Tarbes, France, to Delaware County Airport (KMIE) near Muncie, Indiana. The trip took three days, 15 hours and 38 minutes of which were in the air, with stopovers in Wick, Scotland; Keflavik, Iceland; Canada’s […]

F-16s intercepted a Grumman Tiger that violated last weekend’s Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) involving President Biden’s visit to his home in Wilmington, Delaware. According to a Secret Service statement, “On May 16, at approximately 1:09 p.m., a small aircraft violated the restricted airspace in Wilmington, DE. Per standard protocol, U.S. military aircraft responded, the aircraft was […]

The NTSB’s final report this week on the June 30, 2019, fatal crash of a Beech King Air 350 at Addison Airport in Texas concludes that the pilot likely depressed the wrong rudder pedal in his attempt to maintain control after loss of thrust in one engine. After noting that evidence indicated the King Air’s […]

The aviation community—and much of the rest of the population—continues to buzz over last week’s miraculously no-injury midair collision at Centennial Airport in Denver. But meanwhile, a second midair, this one involving a pair of Navy jet trainers, took place on Monday in Texas, and on Saturday, in Wisconsin’s heavily wooded Kettle Moraine forest region, […]

Urban air mobility aircraft (UAM) company Volocopter unveiled the design for its newest electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) at EBACE Connect on Monday. The four-seat, retractable gear VoloConnect is expected to have a range of 100 km (54 NM) and a top cruise speed of 250 km/h (135 knots). Volocopter is also developing […]

Delta Air Lines announced last week that it has established a company-wide policy on the COVID-19 vaccine for employees. Delta is the first airline to go public with its position on the controversial issue. Delta CEO Ed Bastion said during a CNN interview last Friday, “Any person joining Delta in the future, we will mandate to get […]