Aviation News

Construction on the hangar that will become B-29 Doc’s permanent home is on time and under budget, director of Doc’s Friends Josh Wells announced at AirVenture 2018 on Thursday. Doc is one of only two B-29s still flying. The B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center, located in Wichita, Kansas, is expected to be completed this […]

Noise cancelling headsets are a cockpit standard, but even the least expensive ones aren’t exactly cheap. So why not use a consumer grade ANR? Well, no microphone. And that’s the dilemma a company called NFlight Technology wants to address with a gadget intended to add an aviation-quality microphone to consumer headsets like the Sony MDR. […]

Mission Aviation Fellowship delivers humanitarian aid to remote locations throughout the world, and that takes a special combination of talent and utility. The organization has found a perfect marriage in the short-body Cessna Caravan attached to a pair of Wipaire 8750 amphibious floats. The 100th shipset of the 8750 floats will soon be winging its […]

While Slovenia-based Pipistrel has aggressively expanded into electric aircraft and has dozens in the field, it acknowledges that lack of battery capacity still makes electrics less than fully functional airplanes. One possible fix: rapid charging systems that use water cooling to potentially halve the amount necessary to top off the batteries. At AirVenture 2018, Pipistrel’s […]

The concept of home-to-office personal flight is sweeping the nation, and it seems multirotor ideas are cropping up each week. The Silicon Valley startup VTOL BlackFly is showing particular promise, and recently demonstrated flying prototypes under the ultralight category. It arrived at aviation’s Mecca this week. Marketed by Opener Inc., the carbon-fiber BlackFly is equipped […]

For this week’s AirVenture coverage, we’ve been running daily AirVenture look backs reprising what we reported on in previous shows. When I was writing the 20-year installment—1998—I was struck by how many products and ideas were floated at AirVenture that just never potentiated. I left out a few because it was getting depressing and I […]

Opener Inc. brought version three of its BlackFly ultralight aircraft to AirVenture 2018. In this video, Alan Eustace explains the history of the aircraft and some of its features. view on YouTube

While Slovenia-based Pipistrel has aggressively expanded into electric aircraft and has dozens in the field, it acknowledges that lack of battery capacity still makes electrics less than fully functional airplanes. One possible fix: rapid charging systems that use water cooling to potentially halve the amount necessary to top off the batteries. In this exclusive AVweb […]

The Switchblade flying sports car is expected to fly by the end of the year and the Oregon company continues to amass a substantial order book. Company President Sam Bousfield said in a podcast interview he had hoped first flight would have occurred before AirVenture 2018 but the tail needed some modifications to improve flight […]