News

The U.S. commercial space industry got increased competition from an unexpected source on Saturday when a Chinese company launched its first private rocket. OneSpace Technologies sent an OS-X rocket to an altitude of about 25 miles from a secret launch site in northwestern China. The GB Times reported the 30-foot single stage solid fuel vehicle […]

The Albuquerque Journal is reporting that One Aviation has attracted new investors, wants to resume building airplanes and is offering to pay most of its back rent to the City of Albuquerque as part of its restructuring process. In a May 17 letter to the city obtained by the Journal, Mike Wyse, the new chairman […]

Cuban authorities have confirmed 110 of 113 people died in the crash of a 40-year-old Boeing 737-201 in Havana, Cuba Friday. The aircraft, operated by Cubana, crashed shortly after takeoff from Havana’s Jose Mart Airport. There were 104 passengers and nine crew members onboard Flight DMJ 0972, which was heading to Holguin, Cuba. There has […]

The FAA has announced its acceptance of 30 published ASTM International consensus standards for certification of normal category Part 23 airplanes. The new Means of Compliance (MOC) are, according to the FAA, “an acceptable means, but not the only means, of showing compliance to the applicable regulations in Part 23 [and] provide at least the […]

Pilots Addison Pemberton, Jeff Hamilton, and Ben Scott are marking the centennial anniversary of the U.S. airmail service by flying three vintage Stearman Speedmail biplanes along Contract Air Mail Route 8 from San Diego to Seattle. The airplanes, all of which were built in the early 1930s, are three of only seven Speedmails still flying. […]

The FAA is once again allowing doors-off operations on commercial flights carrying passengers as long as passenger restraint systems comply with its newly published rules. The administration issued an order prohibiting doors-off flights last March after a helicopter conducting a sightseeing flight crashed into New York City’s East River, killing all five passengers onboard. First […]

A new exhibit about the air war in Southeast Asia, “Vietnam Divided,” will open at Seattle’s Museum of Flight on Memorial Day weekend. The exhibit will be a permanent addition to the main gallery, with displays that focus on the years 1955 to 1975. “The exhibit is not meant to be a comprehensive history of […]

A new study from Helicopter Association International (HAI) and the University of North Dakota (UND) is projecting a significant shortage of rotorcraft pilots and mechanics between now and 2036. According to the UND-HAI Rotorcraft Pilot and Mechanic Supply Forecast, “more helicopter pilots are projected to retire or leave than are incoming over the next 12 […]

SpaceX successfully completed the first flight of its upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, carrying the Bangladesh telecommunications satellite Bangabandhu-1 into orbit last Friday. According to SpaceX, the Block 5 is “the final substantial upgrade” to the Falcon 9 rocket, which the company hopes to use to transport people into space in the not-too-distant future. […]

Flight schools are finding it hard to retain their instructor ranks because airlines are hiring away their staff, a government study reported this week. At the same time, flight schools find it challenging to recruit new students, due to the high cost of training, which can often exceed $50,000, on top of tuition. The U.S. […]