Aviation News

AVweb‘s search of aviation news found announcements from Sonex Aircraft,the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Rectrix Aviation and Gliderbooks.Sonex Aircraft will host the FAA’s National Kit Evaluation Team this week, as they audit the new Sonex and Waiex B-Model kits, and the new Xenos Motorglider Quick Build Kit. NKET evaluation is used to establish a kit’s […]

Diamond has flown its DART trainer prototype for the first time. The turboprop tandem-seat aircraft took off Tuesday for its maiden flight and it was good enough for company President Christian Dries to commit to production. “Company Chief Test Pilot Ingmar Mayerbuch and Flight Test Engineer Thomas Wimmer have been so excited about the first […]

The FAA said today it has completed tests of new drone-detection technology at John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York. The tests, which began May 2, studied the effectiveness of a detection system developed by the FBI. Five different rotorcraft and fixed-wing UAS participated in the evaluations, and about 40 separate tests took place, […]

Puttering slowly across the tarmac, with only two of its four big engines slowly turning, might not seem like much of a feat for a B-29, but for Wichita’s “Doc,” it was a milestone — the low-speed taxi test was the first time in 60 years the airplane moved under its own power. The test […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found announcements from Vector Aerospace, McKinney Air Center,LifeStyle Aviation and Flightglobal. Vector Aerospace Corporation, a global independent provider of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, announced the grand opening of a new engine test cell at its Summerside facility in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It joins […]

The Airbus Perlan Mission II team, which aims to fly a pressurized glider to a record of 90,000 feet, is continuing its flight-test program in Minden, Nevada. Airbus CEO Tom Enders visited the site last weekend, and went for a flight in the glider with the project’s chief pilot, Jim Payne. “Experiencing the Perlan 2 […]

The FAA has certified Robinson’s two-place R44 Cadet helicopter, the company announced this week. The Cadet’s airframe, rotor system and Lycoming O-540-F1B5 powerplant are the same as the company’s R44 Raven I. However, in the Cadet, the rear seats have been removed to provide extra cargo space, the maximum gross weight has been reduced to […]

Chinese officials plan to invest $11.9 billion by the end of this year to expand aviation infrastructure, according to a recent report from Xinhua, the country’s official press agency. Most of the investment will go to airport construction, with 11 key new projects planned and 52 upgrades to existing facilities. “The general aviation sector, especially […]

New technologies that could detect and perhaps also take control of drones that fly too close to airports are now being studied by the FAA, the agency said in a news release this week. The FAA signed agreements with three private companies — Gryphon Sensors, Liteye Systems and Sensofusion — that have developed technology and […]

Two companies, Tailwind and Cape Air, are working to secure FAA approval to fly seaplanes out of Boston Harbor, providing service to Manhattan, the Boston Globe reported today. Both companies plan to fly nine-passenger Cessna Caravans on floats. Both also promise 90-minute service, direct from downtown to downtown, substantially beating the current options — train, […]