Aviation News

Manned fighter aircraft will be supplanted by autonomous air vehicles and reusable space vehicles, said SpaceX and Tesla leader Elon Musk at the U.S. Air Force’s Air Warfare Symposium over the weekend. Musk was interviewed on the topic of innovation by Lt. General John Thompson. Musk is convinced that artificial intelligence and development of unmanned […]

Noting that Jeppesen will be decommissioning the underlying map structure, AOPA announced today that its desktop flight planner will go offline at the end of April this year. “We are working diligently to provide replacement options for those who wish to utilize a desktop Flight Planning application and will communicate all details as they become […]

Researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) are looking for instrument-rated private pilots and airline pilots who also fly general aviation aircraft to complete a survey on the amount and type of non-revenue flying each group engages in. The study’s purpose is to determine how safely airline pilots operate light aircraft under Part 91. Instrument-rated private […]

Canadian authorities will conduct their own test flights of the Boeing 737 MAX before allowing it to fly in Canada and may also write their own supplement to the type’s flight manual. Top officials of Transport Canada appeared before a parliamentary committee studying Canada’s certification of the aircraft last week and said they will not […]

SpaceX blew up another spacecraft on Friday and the company says it likely won’t be the last. The second prototype for the Starship interplanetary vehicle blew to pieces during a liquid nitrogen pressure test at the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, facilities. Friday’s spectacular failure was the second in six months and CEO Elon Musk has […]

A pilot shortage has suddenly become a surplus in some cases as the spread of COVID-19 prompts flight cancellations and travel bans. On Friday, United Airlines offered its long-haul pilots a month off at two-thirds pay as it chops service to most of Asia. Earlier in the week, United said the travel market to China […]

Charter operators are reporting a major bump in interest thanks to the spread of COVID-19 as those who can afford it avoid the aerial petri dishes of hub and spoke travel. Fortune is reporting that business aircraft operators have seen a major uptick in interest and business in the last couple of weeks as those […]

A deliberately set fire destroyed a 40-year-old Falcon 50 at a Toronto airport on Thursday and whoever did it apparently wanted it known it was intentional. Emergency crews were called to the ramp of Buttonville Airport just before midnight where the groundbreaking tri-jet from the 1970s was burning merrily in the middle of a snowstorm. […]

U.S. Senators James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., introduced a bill on Thursday that would establish a National Center for the Advancement of Aviation (NCAA). The NCAA is intended to focus on supporting the development and distribution of aviation and aerospace science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-based curriculums, workforce development, economic and safety data […]

Northrop Grumman subsidiary SpaceLogistics successfully docked its first mission extension vehicle (MEV-1) with commercial communications satellite Intelsat 901 (IS-901) on Tuesday. The maneuver marks the first time two commercial satellites have docked in orbit. MEV-1 will remain docked with IS-901 for five years, using its own thrusters and fuel supply to extend the satellite’s life. […]