Aviation News

Sixfighter planes that were part of a collection of warbirds sold to a dealer in August will be restored and sold by Boschung Global Ltd. of Switzerland, the company said Thursday. The fighters, a version of German Messerschmitts, operated in World War II and were last flown for the making of the 1969 film “Battle […]

AVweb’s weekly search of the news in the world of aviation turned up some updates in the light airplane sector, as well as an award for Airbus’ electric trainer and a first flight for Bell’s new 505 helicopter. Van’s Aircraft and Dynon have worked to create a dual display option for the popular RV-12 LSA. […]

The space probe Philae made a successful landing on a comet, the European Space Agency announced Wednesday, despite a malfunction in the probe’s anchoring system. After a seven-hour descent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, signals indicating that the probe had touched down were relayed via the Rosetta orbiter craft to stations on Earth, including […]

The pilot of SpaceShipTwo, which crashed Oct. 31 in the Mojave Desert, told investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board he was unaware the feather system had been unlocked early by the copilot, theNTSBsaid this week. Peter Siebold, who is recovering from his injuries in the crash, told investigators Friday he was unaware of the […]

If you follow spaceflight much-and probably even if you don’t-you’ll recall the Mars probe that burned up during orbital insertion a few years ago. Actually, it was the Mars Climate Orbiter and that was 16 years ago, believe it or not. The problem was that instead of the newton-seconds specified in the contract, software writers […]

Orbital Sciences said this week it plans to revamp its Antares rocket program and target another launch in 2016. Meanwhile, the company continues to investigate the cause of the Oct. 28 engine failure that led operators to intentionally destroy the unmanned supply rocket seconds after ignition. David Thompson, the company’s president and CEO, told investors […]

Advocates of Santa Monica Municipal Airport said this week they won’t give up their fight to prevent the city from redeveloping the field, despite a failed ballot initiative that would have put the airport’s fate in the hands of voters. The ballot question asked residents if the city should be required to seek approval from […]

Investigators probing the crash of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo are focusing on a potential uncommanded deployment of the vehicle’s unique feathering tail structure designed to create drag and control speed during atmospheric entry. In a press conference Sunday evening, NTSB acting chairman Christopher Hart said that early data indicated the crew activated one of two controls […]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting (subscription only) that structural failure, rather than an engine explosion, is the initial focus of the NTSB investigation into the loss of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo on Friday. It is quoting unnamed sources as saying the preliminary video and data analysis is turning the focus to an aerodynamic breakup, although […]

Friday’s loss of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo was as inevitable was it was tragic. If anyone believes-as I think some do-that attaching “tourism” to space flight somehow erases the risk of flight beyond the atmosphere, this accident should disabuse them of that notion. But I wonder if it will. Promoting space tourism has gotten quite beyond […]