News

China’s long-awaited C919 single-aisle airliner flew for the first time on Friday and completed an 80-minute low-altitude and low-speed loop around the Yangtze River delta area before landing in Shanghai. The Chinese government, which built the airliner through its wholly owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), issued a statement saying the flight went well […]

Boeing is looking at offering derivatives of the 737 MAX to replace NATO militaries’ fleets of aging and thirsty Boeing 707s, according to a report by Aviation Week. The Boeing 707 was the starting airframe for 140 special observation aircraft still in use around the world (including the E-6, E-3, E-8, RC-135, OC-135 and WC-135). […]

The SolarStratos prototype electric aircraft made its maiden voyage Friday morning with test pilot Damian Hischier at the controls. Rapahel Domjan, the project’s founder, hopes the 81-foot wide, 1,000-pound plane will ultimately climb as high as 75,000 feet with pilots wearing pressurized space suits. The cabin itself will not be pressurized. In addition to its […]

After many years pushing their own electronic flight bag solution, Jeppesen has reached a deal with ForeFlight to make Jeppesen chart and flight data available on the ForeFlight app. “The number-one question I’ve gotten from pilots around the world is ‘when can I get Jeppesen charts on ForeFlight?’” says Ken Sain, Jeppesen COO. A Jeppesen […]

On Thursday, the Senate Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security grilled United Airlines President Scott Kirby and Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans about the dismal state of commercial air travel generally—at least for economy class passengers—and in specific the incident on April 9 in which Dr. David Dao refused […]

A Cherokee Six that had, according to the local Seattle Times, just departed Paine Field made a forced landing on a nearby street after striking a power line pole then a traffic light Tuesday afternoon. Both the pilot, believed to be the owner of the airplane, Justin Dunaway, and his passenger were uninjured. Two people […]

Virgin Galactic has successfully tested its feather re-entry system in flight for the first time, the company said this week. The system, which is designed to enable VSS Unity to safely return to Earth after carrying tourists to the edge of space, reconfigures the vehicle by folding up its twin tail booms. The structure acts […]

Officials from the FAA visited Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, Minnesota, on Tuesday to award the company with a production certificate for the Cirrus jet. The certification means that FAA staffers no longer need to check each individual jet before delivery, which will help the company to ramp up its production. “We are just reaching one […]

The new BasicMed FAA rule took effect on Monday, and according to AOPA, 1,354 pilots already have completed all the requirements to qualify for the program. Those pilots are now eligible to fly under the BasicMed rules. Another 3,897 pilots have completed the online medical education course quiz, and 2,412 pilots have begun the course, […]

Flight Design has been the leader in sales of light sport aircraft since the category launched in 2004, but data recently compiled for sales through 2016 shows that CubCrafters has taken over the lead spot, with a total of 382 aircraft delivered, compared to Flight Design’s total of 378. Third place goes to the Cessna […]