Aviation News

Russia has announced it’s in the race to develop an electric airliner and it’s claiming it’s ahead of other countries in the pursuit. Andrei Dutov, head of the Zhukovsky Institute National Research Center, told Russian state media that his institution is making great strides toward pure electric flight. “A 500 kW electrical engine has been […]

MIT engineers have developed an aircraft propulsion system with no moving parts. A team led by Steven Barrett, an MIT professor of aerospace engineering, flew a five-pound model the width of a gymnasium using “ionic wind” to maintain flight after an initial push using bungee cords. The first flight occurred almost a year ago. After […]

In its third-quarter shipment report, GAMA has found the overall delivery of airplanes and rotorcraft increased in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2017. “This is one of those few times since the great recession that we have seen all segments up in shipment numbers,” said GAMA President […]

The massive runway at the Kennedy Space Center that was the primary landing site for the Space Shuttle could again be used for privately operated space missions. The FAA has released a “Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision” on the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Cape. The facility encompasses 4,432 […]

A well-known Texas pilot who gave numerous rides to veterans in his P-51 “Pecos Bill” was killed along with a passenger when the warbird crashed into an apartment building parking lot in Fredericksburg, Texas, on Saturday. Cowden Ward Jr. and the unidentified passenger, believed to be a Second World War B-17 pilot, were taking part […]

This week,AVweb‘s news roundup found stories about new simulators for Central Washington University, the launch of a program for aspiring pilots, a training management system agreement for Jet2.com and flight data analysis software for Aeromexico. Central Washington University (CWU) hasawarded Seattle-based one-G simulation a contractfor five Foundation Advanced Aviation Training Devices (AATD) and a Piper […]

Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences revealed a new solar-powered, autonomous high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) concept on Wednesday. As seen in the video below, the Odysseus is designed to be an ultra-long-endurance platform capable of performing research, communication, connectivity and intelligence missions. The company says the aircraft will have a payload capacity of 55 pounds and be capable […]

The Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence and Innovation (LSUASC) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) announced that it has signed an agreement with Texas’ Nueces County to provide drone support in the event of natural disasters. During disaster situations, LSUASC says its unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) will be used for tasks such […]

Boeing kept airlines and pilots in the dark about an automated background trim system on the 737 MAX that may be implicated in the first crash of the new model in Indonesia last month. The trim system, which is meant to improve pitch characteristics and stall protection, wasn’t even described in any of the documentation […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General has announced that it will be conducting an audit of the FAA’s role in authorizing Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS/drone) flights within the National Airspace System. The audit will focus on the impact of the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) system, which provides near […]