Business & Military

The name of Eric “Winkle” Brown may not be familiar to U.S. readers, but to the British, he was celebrated as the Royal Navy’s most decorated pilot. He held world records for having flown more different types of aircraft than anyone — a total of 487 — and the most carrier landings — 2,407. During […]

If it seems that airline seats are getting narrower, while the average size of passengers gets wider, Airbus has an idea that could reverse that trend — replace at least some of those seat rows with benches. Airbus has filed a patent (PDF) for bench seats, which could accommodate not only larger-than-average passengers but also […]

The phrase “witness to history” is an overused one in the obituary writer’s vocabulary and probably just as often overstates the departed’s life role. But in the case of Eric “Winkle” Brown, it’s barely adequate to describe the man. As you read in this week’s news columns, Brown died thisweek at the age of 97. […]

Flight Design GmbH, based in Germany, said in a news release it has applied for “a planned receivership which allows for reorganization of the company.” The filing will enable the company to deal with a “liquidity crunch.”The crunch is driven mainly by one international customer that “has not settled a bill of over seven digit […]

The controversial FAA reauthorization bill that would create a private air traffic control organization will not be introduced in the full House this week as originally scheduled, according to Politico. Quoting unnamed sources, the Washington political publication says it was told by a “leadership aide” that the House Transportation Committee, which approved an amended version […]

Virgin Galactic is keeping SpaceShipTwo’s flight schedule under wraps even as the company unveiled the new model at a splashy ceremony Friday at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The company did emphasize the spacecraft is already undergoing an elaborate series of component tests in the name of safety. “Our commitment to safety can be […]

U.S. Army researchers are experimenting with making 3D-printed drones on demand. The Army Research Laboratory recently proposed the concept as a means to quickly build and deploy small unmanned aircraft in the field. The idea won a spot in the 2017 Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiments, which allow selected project teams to demonstrate new technologies, the […]

Virgin Galactic will roll out a replacement SpaceShipTwo suborbital space plane on Friday and while it will look the same as the one that crashed in 2014 there are some important internal differences. According to the Verge, the company says the new vehicle has more automation and failsafe systems designed to prevent the kind of […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found announcements from Sonex Aircraft, The Squawk App, Parkland College and Advent Aircraft Systems.Sonex Aircraft announced its latest aircraft development project: Sonex and Waiex B-Models, offering more room and comfort, more panel space, more fuel, more engine choices, and more standard features combined with reduced build time.Pilots […]

The Hypstair hybrid-electric powertrain ran for the first time this month, launching a test series for the project led by Slovenian aircraft maker Pipistrel. Hypstair, which has been making the rounds at European aviation events, features 200 kilowatts of takeoff power and 150 kilowatts of continuous power suitable for a light GA aircraft. It can […]