Business & Military

Flying cars are a staple for futuristic magazine covers—mostly Popular Mechanics—because even though the idea is unlikely to ever work, writing about lost causes just has an irresistible entertainment value. Now, as the exciting world of electric airplanes emerges, we have a new opportunity: just change the definition of flying cars. That’s what seems to […]

The first Ovation Ultra completed its first flight on Saturday, Mooney announced this week. Chief test pilot Mike Miles flew for about an hour after launching from Kerrville, Texas. The four-seat retractable-gear airplane is a fully FAA-conforming aircraft and will be the first FAA-certified copy of the design, the company said. Miles said performance and […]

EHang, a Chinese company developing a passenger-carrying drone, plans to conduct flight tests in Nevada in hopes of certifying its 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle. EHang, which has set up branch offices in Asia, Europe and the U.S., won the attention of Nevada officials in January with its test drone at the Consumer Electronics Show in […]

The pilot of an Embraer Phenom failed to turn on crucial de-icing equipment during an approach to the airport in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on December 8, 2014, causing a deadly crash, the NTSB said in its probable-cause hearing today. All three people on the jet and three on the ground were killed. “Pilots must rely on […]

With a $20 million X Prize in play, 16 private companies are vying to be the first to launch a mission to the Moon, and now one of the contenders, Moon Express, may be just weeks away from being the first to gain government approval for its plan. “Until now, only governments have undertaken space […]

Aurora Flight Sciences has successfully tested new technology that will enable pilots to remotely fly standard helicopters, the U.S. Defense Department said last week. The sensor package, called the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System, or AACUS, enables a soldier to control the aircraft via an intuitive application on a tablet computer. “The AACUS is a sensor […]

A Notam (PDF) is warning operators of “all aircraft relying on GPS” of widespread GPS outages starting Tuesday throughout the Southwest and especially southern California. Although the FAA doesn’t go into detail, it seems the military is testing something that can disrupt GPS over a huge area, centered on China Lake, California, home of the […]

Cub Crafters this week rolled out a new airplane. It’s a Part 23 certified aircraft called the XCub, which the company says takes the Cub idea to the ultra level, with fast cruising speed and luxury interior. AVweb traveled to Yakima, Washington, to fly the new entry. view on YouTube

Blue Origin LLC is ramping up its spaceflight programs, breaking ground for a rocket factory as it begins a new three-year launch contract under NASA. The Texas-based company is prepping for construction of an eight-story, 475,000-square-foot facility at Exploration Park, the industrial site at Kennedy Space Center, according to a Florida Today report this week. […]

AVweb‘s weekly review of aviation news found announcements from Embraer, the Aviators Model Code of Conduct Initiative, the Coast Guard Foundation and EAA. Embraer Executive Jets began the production of its Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 in Melbourne, Florida, and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its recently expanded facility, where the Phenom 100 and Phenom […]