Aviation News

SkyPan International, the drone operator that was fined $1.9 million this month by the FAA for aerial photography flights, maintains it has always operated legally and safely. In a response to the FAA’s charges that it conducted unauthorized flights in New York and Chicago between March 2012 and December 2014, SkyPan says it “operates only […]

When it comes to drones—talking about them, writing about them, filming them or considering them in almost any context—I think hysteria is still the standard condition. Even we reported last month that a million of the damn things could be given as Christmas gifts. The source of this was Rich Swayze, who told an Airlines […]

Conflicts involving amateur-operated drones made the news again this week, one involving an irritated neighbor who disabled one with a gun. In Louisiana, Aaron Hernandez lost his $1,200 quadcopter Monday night while flying it around his father’s house outside Baton Rouge. Hernandez told WBRZ 2 the neighbors had expressed objections to his drone flying before, […]

AVweb’s search of what’s new in aviation found a few STC milestones reported byPlane Dynamix,Power Flow and Hartzell Propeller, and an announcement from Sonex Aircraft ofscholarships established in memory of Jeremy Monnett and Mike Clark.Plane Dynamixannounced its acquisition of Art Mattson’s line of FAA-approved airframe and engine STCs for Piper PA-28 series aircraft. Many of […]

The FAA, behind schedule in finalizing regulations for commercial use of unmanned aerial systems, will be ready by June 17, 2016, according to congressional testimony Wednesday by the agency’s deputy administrator. Michael Whitaker told a House aviation subcommittee, when pressed for specifics, that June of next year would be a realistic time frame for the […]

When Andy Weir’s novel, The Martian, appeared in 2011, the concept was already going against the flow. In an age when smartphones and tablets have reduced the average attention span to 10 seconds or less, here was a story in which science—real, serious and plausible, if not entirely always accurate science—was the star vehicle to […]

The drone industry and other GA groups made another public push this week for the FAA to move ahead with commercial regulations for unmanned aerial systems. Wednesday was the date set by Congress in 2012 to complete the rulemaking process, but in recent months it has been apparent that the FAA wouldn’t be ready. Twenty-nine […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found a new drone industry awards program, a first Girls In Aviation Day, a training pipeline for American Airlines jobs, and leadership changes at King Schools. The drone industry announced the launch of the Unmanned Air Systems Technology & Innovation Awards. The awards are open to all […]

Doc’s Friends launched this week a 30-day Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise money for completing the restoration of the B-29 Superfortress “Doc.” The aircraft, which is nearing certification and began its engine testing earlier this month, is awaiting an FAA airworthiness certificate. Doc’s Friends hope to have the B-29 take a first flight by the […]

In my lofty role as editorial director here at AVweb, I am also self-appointed Chief of Word Police. We all have our little foibles and sacred cows, no? I actually have only two. I sweep the copy for two things; one is a word, the other a phrase. The word is “upbeat,” the phrase is […]