Aircraft Upgrades

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to watch on YouTube. Evektor flew an electric-powered light sport aircraft for the first time last week, the company has announced. The airplane made two short flights from Kunovice Airport in the Czech Republic, and was powered by […]

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to watch on YouTube. The four-seat, 1000-nm, 200-knot, (predicted) all-composite Pipistrel Panthera rolled onto the grass at Pipistrel’s Slovenia facility and successfully ran behind its 210-hp Lycoming for the first time Thursday. The aircraft is highly anticipated by […]

Boeing launched a 787 from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on Monday afternoon and flew a two-hour test flight with its redesigned battery system. The 787 returned and landed with no apparent problems, The Associated Press reported. Boeing had said in a statement prior to the flight that during the check flight, the crew would […]

Thursday, Beechcraft announced that it has filed suit in Federal Claims Court “to contest the U.S. Air Force’s decision” to move forward with a $427 million contract awarded to Embraer/Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). The Air Force has twice selected the Embraer/SNC Super Tucano over Beechcraft Corporation’s AT-6 for its Light Air Support program, but Beechcraft’s […]

The one-of-a-kind Orbis flying eye hospital will get an upgrade this year, transitioning from a DC-10 to an MD10 donated by FedEx. The flying hospital travels the world to deliver surgical eye care and training to people in poor countries, with a fully equipped surgical suite and staff on board the aircraft. “The new MD10 […]

The FAA has approved flight testing of what Boeing hopes will be a permanent fix for the lithium ion batteries on its 787 airliners. Two test aircraft have been cleared for flight to test a three-part solution to the issue that has grounded the fleet since the middle of January. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said […]

The first flight of a production Cessna Corvalis TTx — the plane Cessna bills as “the world’s fastest fixed-gear, single-engine piston aircraft in production” — took place on Saturday, March 2, at Independence, Kan., the company announced Wednesday. The Cessna turbocharged TTx evolved from the Corvalis (previously Columbia) line. Cessna says the plane is the […]

Cessna rolled out its first New Citation Sovereign in Wichita this week, sporting new winglets and new Pratt & Whitney PW306D engines. The airplane was announced at the NBAA show in October, and is one of six new Cessna models expected to start deliveries this year. The airplane, which typically seats nine in the cabin, […]

Eclipse Aerospace unveiled a specially painted Total Eclipse jet and presented it to the Veterans’ Airlift Command at EAA AirVenture this week. The jet was donated by an anonymous patron, and Eclipse then contributed more than $500,000 worth of upgrades to convert the airplane into “one of the finest Total Eclipse aircraft ever produced by […]

Diamond’s single-engine five-place D-JET prototype S/N 003 arrived Thursday at Oshkosh with blended winglets that change the jet’s look and improve its performance as the jet heads toward advanced performance testing. Diamond’s test program has flown about 70 hours since January. Test pilot Mark Elwess told AVweb the winglets have delivered measurable improvements in cruise,low-speed […]