Aviation News

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 […]

Terrafugia hopes to deliver its first production flying car in July of 2019, company officials told a news conference at AirVenture 2018 Tuesday. The company hasn’t been at the big show for several years but received a major cash injection late last year when it was bought by Chinese automaker Geely, which owns Volvo and […]

While some light sport aircraft manufacturers may have misgivings about a higher gross weight for LSAs, Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association President Dan Johnson says it’s a good idea and will be a boost for the entire GA industry. “Anything that puts more people in the air and keeps them in the air is good for […]

While some light sport aircraft manufacturers may have misgivings about a higher gross weight for LSAs, Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association President Dan Johnson says it’s a good idea and will be a boost for the entire GA industry. In this podcast recorded at AirVenture 2018, Dan Johnson outlines the possibilities. Duration: 12:51 File Size: 12.4 […]

Billed as the world’s first flying sports car, the Switchblade roadable aircraft is nearing first flight. Developer Sam Bousfield spoke with AVweb’s Russ Niles about tweaks and changes that he said will make it an even better performer. Duration: 2:40 File Size: download here