Business & Military

The U.S. Air Force has narrowed the field in the competition for its new light attack aircraft to just two, the AT-6 Wolverine and A-29 Super Tucano, eliminating the Textron Scorpion and L-3 Longsword, a militarized Air Tractor 802 aerial application aircraft. It’s also canceled plans to test the aircraft in combat. “Rather than do […]

The FAA has proposed an AD involving 14,653 U.S. Cessna 172, 182, 206 and 210 models after cracks were found in the lower area of the forward cabin doorpost bulkhead. That’s where the wing strut attaches and the AD requires repetitive inspections of the area. After one owner reported finding cracks, more inspections revealed them […]

A new technology that enables aircraft to fold their wings to different angles while in flight was successful in recent flight tests, NASA has reported. The tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, as part of the Spanwise Adaptive Wing project. Folding wings have been tried in the past, NASA said, […]

HorizonX, Boeing’s innovation team, announced this week it has invested in Cuberg, a Berkeley-based startup developing next-generation battery technology for aerospace applications. “Cuberg’s battery technology has some of the highest energy density we’ve seen in the marketplace, and its unique chemistries could prove to be a safe, stable solution for future electric air transportation,” saidSteve […]

Authorities in India are investigating whether a kite string caused the crash of a powered parachute, killing the pilot and injuring his passenger. Various Indian media are reporting that Manav Mewada, an experienced powered parachute pilot, was operating a commercial sightseeing flight when the engine failed and the aircraft crashed in a residential area. Police […]

While the recently enacted tax cut legislation has economists and deficit-hawks scratching their heads because it came during a time of full employment, at the height of the longest economic growth period in our country’s history, is expected to bump the economy by 0.08 to 0.12 percent annually for the next few years and drive […]

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) unanimously rejected almost 300 percent duties against Bombardier’s CSeries airliners in an unexpected ruling on Friday. The duties were imposed by the Department of Commerce late last year after Boeing launched a claim alleging the CSeries were being dumped on the U.S. market at below-market prices in a deal […]

Five years ago, one strain of conventional wisdom predicted that the demise of the Third Class medical would equal the demise of the light sport aircraft market, too. With BasicMed firmly entrenched, the reality is proving more mixed according to an AVweb canvass of the flight line at the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring this […]

Rotax is about ready to roll out its new 915 iS engine and it will soon be available in uncertified form as a powerplant choice for experimental amateur built aircraft and high-performance LSAs. At 141 HP max for five minutes and 135 HP continuous, the Rotax 915 iS occupies a unique niche for factory-provided engines. […]

The most improbable hands to ever handle the controls of an airplane belong to Niloofar Rahmani. She was born in Afghanistan just as the Soviet Union was departing her country as the repressive Taliban became dominant. A captain in the Afghan Air Force, she was the first woman in the country’s history to become a […]