Aviation News

You’ve probably heard the term “silo’d” as management consultant-speak for an organization that operates with multiple independent entities that don’t talk to each other. At AVweb, we don’t quite fit that definition but we have a certain intentional insularity. Thus, over the weekend, when I saw early Saturday morning the story of yet another airline […]

A new vehicle revealed on Monday by Kitty Hawk Corp., the aircraft company led by CEO Sebastian Thrun, takes off and lands on water and qualifies for sale as an ultralight, the company said. “Your flying dreams will never be the same,” says the company website. “The Kitty Hawk Flyer is a new, all-electric aircraft. […]

Lilium Aviation, of Munich, says it has flown a prototype of its all-electric VTOL tilt-engine aircraft that the company says will fly 160 knots in horizontal thrust configuration with a range of 180 miles. A video provided by the company of the first flight shows the aircraft, with what looks like a spacious automotive-style cabin, […]

At the Sustainable Aviation Symposium, AVweb spoke with Pipistrel’s modest Director of Research and Development, Tine Tomažič. Dr. Tomažič received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ljubljana and has been with Pipistrel for 16 years as an intern, test pilot and engineer. We spoke with Tine about what electric aircraft can (and […]

In the last few editions of Wind Tunnel, we looked at how changes to the surface of an airplane’s skin can affect the aerodynamic performance of the airplane. We have seen that judicious use of tape to seal and smooth the skin can significantly reduce drag, and that ice, even in relatively small amounts, can […]

The CAFE Foundation, which has held annual symposia in California since 2007 to explore new technologies for aviation, this year will host its event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the group announced this week. The Electric Aircraft Symposium will be held at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, July 22 and 23, the weekend before AirVenture. The group […]

Metro Skyways said on Monday they plan to develop a four-passenger, hydrogen-powered, autonomous VTOL flying car, the CityHawk. The vehicle will initially use jet fuel, but eventually will be converted to liquid hydrogen and then to compressed hydrogen, the company said. Development is expected to take about five years. The company plans to use a […]

What a difference a year makes. A year ago, almost to the day, we were excoriating Icon for its lopsided buyer contract that made draconian sound like an upgrade. In the midst of a beat down by the press, Icon circled the wagons at Sun ‘n Fun, conducted tight-lipped interviews, if any at all, and […]

While military aircraft boneyards are nothing new, the YouTube display of the hulks of some ex-Navy fighters in an undeveloped area of Temple, Texas, may be causing some concerns at the Pentagon. A video has emerged of the scattered remains of two F-14 Tomcats and an F-4 Phantom. The aircraft have been stripped of just […]

After first demoing the concept in 2015, Innovation Solutions and Support (IS&S) announced they’re one step closer to bringing an autothrottle to the single-engine turbine PC-12. IS&S says the FAA has granted the Supplemental Type Certificate for their integrated PC-12 flight deck and that new avionics package includes compatibility with the IS&S autothrottle system. The […]