Aviation News

Bell Textron has announced that its Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) flew successfully with a payload of 110 pounds, completing an 8-mile route over the company’s testing site near Fort Worth, Texas, last week. According to Bell, it plans to begin demonstrating a series of military and commercial applications for the aircraft in 2021. The company […]

Russia-based United Aircraft Corporation subsidiary Ilyushin flew its IL-114-300 twin-engine regional turboprop for the first time on Wednesday. According to the company, the flight involved checking powerplant operation modes, aircraft stability and controllability, and systems operation. The IL-114-300 is an upgraded version of Ilyushin’s IL-114, which first flew in 1990. “The first flight of the […]

As some show venues are canceling or postponing events, Aero Friedrichshafen announced this week that it will go forward with the 2021 show April 21 to 24. Like most other shows, Aero canceled the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising infection rates in Germany. In addition, another Aero event in South Africa […]

Garmin has added another cockpit automation—this time it’s programming to help conventional-twin pilots when an engine quits. Called Smart Rudder Bias, the programming added to the GFC 600 autopilot, for “select” twins, helps provide proactive rudder input in the event of a power loss while indicators on the primary instrument tell the pilot which engine […]

Some 257 four-cylinder Superior and Lycoming engines are now subject to a new airworthiness directive requiring crankshaft replacement within 25 hours. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in February but the new AD goes into effect on Jan. 15, 2021. The engines include Superior’s own IO-360 and O-360s as well as certain Lycoming 360-series […]

The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) has pushed back the date for its annual convention due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Originally scheduled for March 15-18, the 64th annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show will now take place June 22-25, 2021. The event will be held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. “The health […]

The FAA formally approved the Piper Pilot 100 trainer aircraft, clearing the way for the first of eight aircraft destined for American Flyers by the end of the year. Based on the evergreen Archer, the Pilot 100, introduced at Sun ’n Fun 2019, is intended for fleet training use. While the Pilot 100i was displayed […]

Epic Aircraft and Frasca have announced that they will partner on the development of a simulator for Epic’s E1000 GX flight training program. According to Frasca, the simulator will be built around an “authentic” Epic aircraft cockpit and offer a three‐channel visual system with a 220- by 58‐degree spherical enclosure, custom visual databases and instructor […]

Introduced in February, Bell Textron’s development of electric motors to replace the conventional anti-torque tail rotor continues with a showcase of the technology at Aéro-Montreal’s 2020 Innovation Forum today. “Each of the rotors contains four blades which are powered by four separate motors with the electrical energy provided through generators driven by turbine engines, effectively […]

Cargo carriers all over the world are loading up aircraft with up to five times as much of a hazardous substance than they would normally be allowed to carry in the name of delivering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. With the recent approvals granted by various governments for use of the vaccine, the race is now […]