Business & Military

The X-47B unmanned aircraft successfully demonstrated the first-ever fully autonomous aerial re-fueling on Wednesday, Northrop Grumman has announced. The X-47B launched from the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland, and flew to a test site offshore. The UAS flew in close formation flight with an Omega K-707 tanker, and upon clearance from the tanker […]

A first at Sun ‘n Fun, the Chinese aviation company Yuneec was demonstrating quadcopter drones in a net cage near the center of the vendor area. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli interviewed Craig Clover about what the company is offering. view on YouTube

Cirrus Aircraft has started production of the Vision SF50 single-engine jet at its facility in Duluth, Minnesota. In an exclusive video interview with AVweb at the plant earlier this week, Matt Bergwall, project manager for the jet, said limited production will be done through 2015 in advance of certification by the end of the year. […]

The FAA is exploring the idea, and the small airplane groups are gathering the information. AVweb’s Russ Niles spoke with Dan Johnson of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) at Sun ‘n Fun 2015. Duration: 5:35 File Size: 5.1 MB download here

The FAA has told its field inspectors that a video on the Internet is not enough to prove that someone has violated its rules against commercial operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). In a notice (PDF)to its enforcement personnel, the agency says that while video that appears to have been shot from a UAS might […]

SpaceX will try again to land its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating barge in June, when its next mission to the International Space Station is scheduled. Tuesday’s launch of the rocket to take the Dragon supply spacecraft to the station was a success, but the landing was not. The rocket made it to the […]

AVweb’s search of news around the world found a newly revamped aviation program at Parkland College, the unveiling of a helicopter laboratory at the University of Miami, an upcoming STC for Aerocet floats, and announcements for this year’s Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.The Parkland College Institute of Aviation at the University of Illinois announcedspecial opportunities […]

The economics of “synergy” were a driving force that motivated Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aircraft to join together into a new company called One Aviation, Kestrel CEO Alan Klapmeier told AVweb on Wednesday at Aero Friedrichshafen. The new company was announced Wednesday in a news release. “This gives us more choices and more independence,” Klapmeier […]

Epic Aircraft is “pushing hard” for certification of its E1000 turboprop by the end of this year, the company said Wednesday. Structural testing is underway, and the first prototype will fly this spring in the first phase of in-flight testing, Epic said. There are more than 60 reservations from buyers and the first deliveries are […]

At Aero Friedrichshafen this week, Kestrel’s Alan Klapmeier spoke with AVweb’s Mary Grady about his rationale in joining forces with Eclipse Aerospace to form the new company, One Aviation. Duration: 5:04 File Size: 11.6 MB download here