Aviation News

Airbus introduced the first 3D printed airplane at the recent International Aerospace Exhibition in Germany, demonstrating what the company calls the future of aerospace manufacturing. The 13-foot-long unmanned airplane, somewhat resembling a full-scale Airbus jet but with propellers, is named Thor, short for “Test of Hi-tech Objectives in Reality,” according to a report from phys.org. […]

AVweb‘s search of aviation news worldwide found announcements from the Farnborough International Airshow, the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, Nextant Aerospace/Constant Aviation and AOPA. Nearly 45 years since his flight to the Moon, and more than half a century since graduating from the U.K.’s esteemed Empire Test Pilot School, the Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot, Al Worden, […]

Flying cars are a staple for futuristic magazine covers—mostly Popular Mechanics—because even though the idea is unlikely to ever work, writing about lost causes just has an irresistible entertainment value. Now, as the exciting world of electric airplanes emerges, we have a new opportunity: just change the definition of flying cars. That’s what seems to […]

EHang, a Chinese company developing a passenger-carrying drone, plans to conduct flight tests in Nevada in hopes of certifying its 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle. EHang, which has set up branch offices in Asia, Europe and the U.S., won the attention of Nevada officials in January with its test drone at the Consumer Electronics Show in […]

With a $20 million X Prize in play, 16 private companies are vying to be the first to launch a mission to the Moon, and now one of the contenders, Moon Express, may be just weeks away from being the first to gain government approval for its plan. “Until now, only governments have undertaken space […]

Blue Origin LLC is ramping up its spaceflight programs, breaking ground for a rocket factory as it begins a new three-year launch contract under NASA. The Texas-based company is prepping for construction of an eight-story, 475,000-square-foot facility at Exploration Park, the industrial site at Kennedy Space Center, according to a Florida Today report this week. […]

AVweb‘s weekly review of aviation news found announcements from Embraer, the Aviators Model Code of Conduct Initiative, the Coast Guard Foundation and EAA. Embraer Executive Jets began the production of its Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 in Melbourne, Florida, and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its recently expanded facility, where the Phenom 100 and Phenom […]

An 18.8 million-cubic-foot super-pressure balloon flown remotely by NASA has successfully completed a midlatitude circumnavigation of the Earth, NASA said today. The balloon, carrying a Compton spectrometer and imager payload, achieved the milestone 14 days, 13 hours, and 17 minutes after launching from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, on Tuesday, May 17. At the moment the […]

As soon as the weather window looks favorable, Solar Impulse pilot Andre Borschberg plans to depart from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and fly about 100 miles to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, according to the support team. The flight path will provide several opportunities along the way for New Yorkers to catch a glimpse of […]

Last week, when AVweb Editor-in-Chief Russ Niles phoned me about Icon’s breaking announcement of its retrenchment, he happened to mention he had been reading Walter Isaacson’s bio of Steve Jobs and … “Stop right there,” I said, “I know where you’re going and I already have that blog written.” And so I did, displaced by […]