Aviation News

At Aero in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in April, one full exhibition hall was loaded with electric airplanes and related technology. In this week’s AVweb video, Paul Bertorelli takes a look at some of the new stuff on display. 

The Air Force is planning to churn out better new pilots faster using virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) in a simulator-intensive program that also prepares them for a new readiness posture. An extensive analysis in military.com says commanders want to get away from the traditional classroom, trainer and operational training progression in favor […]

This week, AVweb’s news roundup uncovered reports on a new investment in Southern Airways, an operational expansion for Airstream Jets, the launch of a flight training academy and a successful aviation safety event in the U.K. Southern Airways Corporation has announced a strategic minority investment by SkyWest. According to Southern, the investment will boost the […]

Test pilots on the Boeing 737 MAX weren’t provided key details on how the MCAS stability system functioned and apparently weren’t aware of its aggressive trim capability. The Wall Street Journal reports that MAX flight test pilots were also unaware that MCAS relied on data from a single angle-of-attack sensor. The report follows a revelation […]

Bombardier has announced that it will consolidate its aerospace assets into a single business unit under the heading Bombardier Aviation. As part of the consolidation, Bombardier will be looking to sell its Belfast and Morocco aerostructures businesses. The company says the move will allow it to better focus on its Global, Challenger, Learjet and CRJ […]

When Boeing finally digs itself out of the self-inflicted PR disaster of the 737 MAX story—if it ever does—I wonder how it will be graded on handling the crisis. I wonder, but I’m kinda disposed to think it will become a textbook case of how not to behave in the searing glare of catastrophic bad […]

Southwest Airlines, Boeing’s biggest customer for the troubled 737 MAX, said this week that the airplane maker’s documentation incorrectly claimed that its aircraft had operable angle-of-attack disagree warning lights. But Boeing informed Southwest that the AoA function was actually inoperative only after the Lion Air crash in Indonesia last October. Even as Boeing finishes software […]

Addressing shareholders in Chicago Monday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke to reporters about the 737 MAX’s troubled MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System). “The MCAS system as originally designed met our design and safety analysis criteria,” he said. When asked if the MCAS was the cause of both Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents, Muilenburg sidestepped […]

Airbus has been flying the ACJ (Airbus Corporate Jets) 319neo for only a couple of days, but has already set an endurance record. Thanks to additional fuel tanks compared to the airline version of the A319, the ACJ-neo was able to make a 16-hour, 10-minute test flight. As previously reported, the 319neo completed a short […]

Boeing is preparing its St. Louis F-15 factory for an order of 80 of the almost-50-year-old-design jets from the U.S. Air Force. The order is tucked into the Defense Department’s most recent appropriations request and Boeing says it wants to be ready if the Air Force needs the big twin fighters sooner rather than later. […]