Aviation News

Monday must have been one of those schizophrenic days that only a federal agency could suffer. Just as The Washington Post broke a story that the FAA had hired its own lobbyist to suggest ways of speeding up the drone flight approval process against warnings by its own safety inspectors, it was participating in the […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world turned up new corporate appointments at Airbus Group, European certification for Embraer’s Legacy 500, an award to Norwegian Air from Rockford, Illinois, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame 2015 inductees. The Board of Directors of Airbus Group announced four appointments effective Jan. 1, 2015: Tom Williams, […]

NASA and contractor SpaceX announced Thursday this week’s launch of an unmanned supply capsule to the International Space Station will be postponed until January to conduct further testing. NASA said issues during a test of the Falcon rocket engines at Cape Canaveral this week will require investigation. A possible launch date on the morning of […]

AVweb’s search of the world’s aviation news turned up European approval for Pratt & Whitney’s new engine, a landmark anniversary for Embraer, and new product announcements including a Bristell LSA distributor for the U.S. market and a tablet mount from MyGoFlight. Pratt & Whitney Canada’s new PW210A engine has earned certification from the European Aviation […]

The FAA on Wednesday granted four companies exemptions for operating unmanned aerial systems in various functions including aerial surveys, construction site monitoring and oil rig flare inspections. The companies are Trimble Navigation Limited, VDOS Global LLC, Clayco Inc. and Woolpert Inc., which received two exemptions.The FAA is expected to propose rules governing drones by the […]

On December 5, 2014, NASA flew the new Orion deep space vehicle for the first time, launched by a Delta Heavy booster. In this NASA-provided footage, the first part of the mission is detailed. view on YouTube

NASA’s Orion unmanned spacecraft successfully launched, orbited the Earth and splashed downFriday morning on its first test flight, one day after the liftoff was scrubbed due to weather and mechanical problems.Orion, a prototype capsule for future manned space missions, made two laps around the Earth, rode its Delta IV rocket up to 3,600 miles, then […]

Watching the Orion launch on NASA’s splendid live feed on Friday, I was asking myself if it made me feel that old Apollo magic. The answer: it did. Even though the vehicle was unmanned, its ultimate purpose is to put the U.S. back into the manned spaceflight business. That’s on my short list of worthy […]

AVweb’s search of the latest in aviation news turned up previews of 2015 events including EAA’s AirVenture and the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, and announcements from manufacturers including Hartzell Propeller, Quest Aircraft and Waco Aircraft.One of the most harrowing and triumphant adventures in space exploration history will be commemorated atEAAAirVentureOshkosh 2015, as members of the […]

After dealing with a variety of delays including mechanical issues, NASAscrubbed the launch of the Orion capsule Thursday morning and scheduled another attempt in less than 24 hours.The original 7:05 a.m. launch was delayed when a stray boat was spotted in the launch zone, according to Florida Today. Strong winds then delayed new launch times […]