News

JETcopter, a startup company based in Germany, said this week it has completed tests that confirmed the feasibility of its concept to power its seven-seat VTOL design with two 400-HP automotive engines that will drive two counter-rotating fans on top of the carbon-fiber fuselage. The company said it will bring a full-scale mock-up of the […]

A couple of third-place victories were recorded by U.S. pilots in the season finale of the Red Bull Air Race series Sunday in Fort Worth. Michael Goulian earned the third spot overall among the 14 Master Class pilots on the season while Kirby Chambliss was third in the Fort Worth race. He ended up in […]

The massive runway at the Kennedy Space Center that was the primary landing site for the Space Shuttle could again be used for privately operated space missions. The FAA has released a “Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision” on the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Cape. The facility encompasses 4,432 […]

Possibly the country’s only “clothing optional” airstrip is about to be officially recognized by the National Parks Service (NPS), and the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) is urging members to let the NPS know they support the initiative. The Saline Valley Warm Springs Airfield, better known as the Chicken Strip, is located adjacent to an abundant […]

A well-known Texas pilot who gave numerous rides to veterans in his P-51 “Pecos Bill” was killed along with a passenger when the warbird crashed into an apartment building parking lot in Fredericksburg, Texas, on Saturday. Cowden Ward Jr. and the unidentified passenger, believed to be a Second World War B-17 pilot, were taking part […]

As Boeing pushed to provide airlines with more information on a background auto trim system on its 737 MAX, the head of one pilot union said it’s not necessary for pilots to know the details of every automatic system on an airliner and that they’re already adequately trained to handle runaway trim abnormals. The auto […]

Following the Lion Air crash in Indonesia last month, the FAA is focusing new scrutiny on the control architecture of the Boeing 737 MAX and may require the company to engineer a fix for an auto trim system installed on the airplane. The system wasn’t well documented and reporting has revealed that pilots and airlines […]

An FAA certification official said on Wednesday that Boeing 737 engine inlets might require design changes in the wake of a Southwest Airlines accident last April in which an uncontained engine failure breached the cabin and caused the death of a passenger. Testifying at an NTSB fact-finding hearing on the accident, another FAA official said […]

Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam announced confirmed orders for 30 aircraft from Chinese Anhui Lantian International Flight Academy (ALIFA) at the biannual Zhuhai International Air Show last week. The ab-initio academy will acquire Tecnam P2006T twin-engine trainers, as well as P2010 models to replace its fleet of legacy training aircraft. “We are so proud to partner […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association will accelerate its efforts to work with European regulators to promote the development of electric VTOL aircraft, the association said this week. Thirty eVTOL experts from eight countries met with EASA, the European Commission and industry representatives over two days in Cologne and Brussels to discuss the future of the […]