Aviation News

An unmanned aerial system that can take off and land on destroyers and other small military ships is nearing reality. After completing initial design phases, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency this month awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. to build a full-scale demonstration model of the yet-to-be-named UAS.DARPA’s goal is to build a […]

The Army’s longest-serving unmanned aerial system retired this month after a final flight at Fort Hood in Texas. Operators of the Hunter, a fixed-wing unit similar in size to a two-seat piston airplane, enjoyed a last demonstration flight during a ceremony Dec. 16 at Robert Gray Army Airfield. The UAS is among the early generations […]

This week’s successful landing and recovery of a launch booster by SpaceX got a lot favorable coverage and was an impressive feat. But as a classically trained aeronautical engineer who spent more than three decades flying crewed rocket ships into space, I have always looked at the concept of a fly-back booster with skepticism. The […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news found announcements from airline training company CAE, a new quick-build airplane kit,details for the nextWomen in Aviation Conference, and an announcement fromLiving Legends of Aviation.CAE announced a series of training solution contracts valued at more than C$100 million with five airlines. The diversity of these agreements highlights the span of […]

So Amazon is starting an airline and it’s because of me. Or people like me, evidently. As you read in this week’s news columns, Amazon hasn’t confirmed it yet, but sources say they’re trying to make a deal to lease a fleet of 20 or more 767s to fly their own packages around the country. […]

It’s always amusing when the hardworking daily press gets wind of an aviation-related story that’s trending out there where the busses don’t run. Such was the case Thursday when several outlets picked up the announcement from Terrafugia that its flying car had been approved for test flights in the U.S. “The FAA Just Approved Test […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found a partnership between Envoy Air and ATP Flight School, new features for the Garmin Pilot app, EASA engine certification for the Bell 505 helicopter, and national recognition for two aerospace organizations. Garmin is bringing enhanced flight plan filing capabilities to Garmin Pilot, which now incorporates the […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found announcements from Flying Eyes Sunglasses, Piper Aircraft, Just Aircraft, and ForeFlight. Flying Eyes Sunglasses of Austin, Texas, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 for its new line of products. Flying Eyes began when Dean Siracusa, a private pilot, could no longer stand the headaches […]

Like spilled red wine soaking into a white tablecloth, the meme that we live in an age of fear seems to be an indelible idea. I would like to state two things for the record, however. One, I think that whatever fear exists is mostly a product of hysterical cable news coverage. And second, speaking […]

Pieces of the F-1 rocket engines that launched the Apollo 12 mission 46 years ago are at The Museum of Flight in Seattle after undergoing a 2 1/2-year restoration. An injector plate was among the pieces unveiled by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos in November as part of the future exhibit, which will include Apollo mission artifacts […]