Business & Military

After nearly five days aloft “without a drop of fuel,” Solar Impulse 2 pilot Andre Borschberg touched down in the early-morning light at Kalaleoa Airport in Hawaii. He has just flown over the Pacific from Japan, completing leg 8 of the solar-powered airplane’s global voyage.In the meantime, Borschbergtook the title for the longest nonstop solo […]

LightSquared, the company that three years ago was proposing a nationwide cellphone network whose signals were shown to disrupt GPS signals, is back. In a multibillion-dollar gambit that could reduce the cost of cell service, potentially at the expense of GPS, it’s also asking the FCC to force GPS companies to help solve the technical […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found new business alliances announced by Paradigm Precision, Pratt & Whitney, Plane Perfect and Maule Air; and recognition for two women in aviation – one from Whirly-Girls International and another from EAA.Paradigm Precision has entered into a long-term agreement with Pratt & Whitney, a division of United […]

Back in the blissfully simple days of 1986, before cable news became the 24-hour din it is today, I recall watching some coverage of Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager landing the Voyager back at Edwards Air Force base, where they had begun their round-the-world flight nine days earlier. Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff had been […]

Aircraft Spruce co-founder Bob Irwin died June 26 at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Irwin and his wife Flo started Fullerton Air Parts in 1955, Aircraft Spruce in 1965 and ACS Products Co. in 1983, building the business into the largest supplier of aviation supplies in the U.S. In addition to his business […]

NBAA is urging its members to strongly oppose a proposal to separate air traffic control from the FAA through the establishment of a not-for-profit corporation. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Penn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has said he’ll introduce a bill to create the corporation to free the air traffic control system from […]

AOPA is hoping for some movement on the relaxation of third class aviation medical requirements “in the next few weeks,” according to a report recorded for AOPA Live. Jim Coon, AOPA’s senior vice president of government affairs, told the program that medical reform remains AOPA’s top priority. “This is an issue we are working on […]

I was listening to NPR on Saturday morning when a brief news item mentioning SpaceX’s planned Sunday launch said two previous launches to resupply the ISS had failed. I couldn’t help but wonder: what are the chances? Actually not that high—or low, depending on how you want to look at it. The SpaceX Falcon blew […]

An electric airplane produced in South America took its first test flight this week at Itaipu, Brazil. Reuters‘ report on the milestone describes the Sora-E as a two-seat airplane powered by six ion polymer lithium batteries. The airframe was built from carbon fiber and the electric engine, which came from Slovenia, will provide a cruise […]

George Applebay will be remembered for more than being a pioneer in glider design and a fixture in the soaring community. Applebay, who died in April at 89, also was a World War II flight engineer and a test pilot for various aviation companies. His career spanned decades as he worked until late 2014 at […]