News

In 1919, just after World War I, the Australian government offered a 10,000-pound prize for the first flight to Australia from Great Britain in less than 30 days. The race was won by a crew of two Australian pilots flying an open-cockpit Vickers Vimy aircraft. They made it to Darwin after 23 stops in Europe, […]

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have proposed a possible fix to relieve the increasing noise complaints from neighbors of Boston’s busy Logan Airport — if airplanes on departure just slowed down by about 30 knots, it would significantly reduce the noise at the surface. Logan is one of many airports nationwide where the […]

Lockheed Martin has released concept images of a refueling drone it’s working on for a U.S. Navy competition. The MQ-25 “Stingray” design is under development at the company’s Skunk Works, and will compete with entries from Boeing and General Atomics. The Navy wants the drone to be capable of carrying 14,000 pounds of fuel to […]

Given the flight dynamics, it’s little wonder that helicopter autopilots have been ground upon which engineers fear to tread. But at the Aircraft Electronics Association convention, two companies unveiled rotorcraft autoflight systems, including a start-up called HeliTrak and Garmin International. See yesterday’s coverage for HeliTrak’s offering. It’s expected to be available in 2019. For its […]

JETTECH announced at AEA that it will release its STC for a Garmin G700 TXi touchscreen display modification and upgrade for the Citation 500, 550, S550 and 560 aircraft fleet soon. The new STC will allow their existing customers a special upgrade path for the G700 TXi touchscreen primary flight display, the company says. “The […]

Gig Harbor, Washington-based HeliTrak is offering an autopilot for the R44 that has features for speed envelope protection, full-time low-G detection and warning and the ability to recover the aircraft from unusual attitudes. The product is in the final development stages including in the process of gaining FAA approval. The initial product will have two-axis […]

Autothrottles are usually limited to airliners and high-end business jets, but at the AEA Convention in Las Vegas this week, Innovative Solutions and Support announced a retrofit product designed to put smart power levers in the hands of turboprop pilots. The company says it’s the only aftermarket autothrottle system for turboprops such as Pratt & […]

BendixKing says it’s back in the digital autopilot market with the KFC AeroCruze 230, a clean-sheet product designed to match the form factor of the popular KFC 150, 200 and 250 systems. The new AP features a touchscreen interface and uses existing servo brackets and wiring to cut installation time and cost. The autopilot will […]

In a preliminary report released on Monday, the NTSB summarized its investigation so far into the helicopter accident in New York that killed five passengers on a sightseeing flight on March 11. The board says the pilot told them he provided a safety briefing before the flight, and told the passengers where to find the […]

Women in Aviation International wrapped up their 29th annual conference last week, in Reno, Nevada, with more than 3,200 in attendance during the three-day event. Highlights included the distribution of more than $695,000 in scholarships to 142 WAI members, providing funds for both academic studies and flight training. The conference also featured Girls in Aviation […]