Aviation News

Flight simulator manufacturer Redbird ended operations at its Redbird Skyport FBO last Saturday. The facility, located at Texas’ San Marcos Regional Airport (HYI), opened its doors in 2011. In addition to the FBO, the Skyport featured a special events center and flight training operation, which also acted as an early test laboratory for the company’s […]

Airbus expects the worldwide passenger and freighter aircraft fleet to more than double in the next twenty years, the company said in its Global Market Forecast (GMF) for 2019-2038. The 2019 annual report, titled “Cities, Airports & Aircraft,” forecasts a need for 39,210 new aircraft—25,000 to support a projected annual air traffic growth of 4.3 […]

The U.S. Air Force’s new T-X trainer has officially been named the T-7A Red Hawk in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen “Red Tails,” the first black aviators to serve in the U.S. military. The announcement was made at the 2019 Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Monday. Col. […]

Textron Aviation is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the inaugural flight of the Cessna Citation 500 business jet this week. The Citation 500, then called the Fanjet 500, was launched in October 1968. The prototype flew for the first time on September 15, 1969, at Cessna’s facility in Wichita, Kansas, and the aircraft received its […]

Boeing and Safran have announced that they will be making a joint investment in energy solutions company Electric Power Systems (EPS). Boeing says the investment is intended to go toward the development of “a highly automated industrial base capable of producing aviation-grade energy storage systems” along with supporting technological advancements aimed at reducing the cost […]

Piper Aircraft’s apprentice program, first announced in 2018, is underway. Nine apprentices have begun to “shadow skilled aircraft assembly workers and learn all aspects of fabrication and assembly of aircraft,” according to Piper. The manufacturer announced the news today, though the apprentices have been working since August. “The Piper apprentices are part of a high-tech […]

The U.S. Air Force has “indefinitely barred” the Boeing 767-based KC-46 from carrying cargo or passengers. This move follows a recent incident where cargo locks came unsecured during flight, posing a threat from wayward equipment to the crewmen aboard. The KC-46 tanker has been a controversial program for some time, suffering implementation delays in 2018 […]

Former NASCAR Modifieds champ Mike Stefanik was killed on Sunday when his Aerolite 103 ultralight crashed in eastern Connecticut. Stefanik was returning to land at the private Riconn airport on the Connecticut/Rhode Island border when he crashed into trees adjacent to the airport. According to reports, Stefanik was found around 2 p.m. Sunday and taken […]

Billed as the “most badass bushplane,” Mike Patey’s modified Wilga called DRACO suffered a devastating and, unfortunately, tremendously public accident today trying to leave Reno, Nevada, after the air races. “It was definitely my fault,” he says in a confessional video published today. “So silly, so dumb … I hope you guys learn from this,” […]

Germany-based aircraft manufacturer Stemme AG announced the appointment of Bart Slager as the company’s new CEO last Friday. Slager is replacing Paul Masschelein, who announced last August that he would be stepping down after six and a half years in the position. Slager officially assumed the role on Aug. 28. “Mr. Slager brings with him […]