Business & Military

Airbus celebrated the first flight of its new A320neo Thursday at its facility in Toulouse, France. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G-JM engines, the aircraft flew for 2.5 hours performing initial system checks and began the process of expanding the flight and performance envelope, reaching a maximum altitude of 26,500 feet. […]

AVweb’s weekly search of the latest developments in aviation uncovered news of the all-electric Sun Flyer’s flight tests, Sporty’s new ATP training course, two new vice presidents at Cirrus and a free trial of Aspen Avionics’s synthetic vision product.SunAero Electric Aircraft Corp. has entered the next phase of development for its high tech solar-electric training […]

Brazilian aircraft giant Embraer and its U.S. partner, Sierra Nevada Corp., rolled out the first the A-29 Super Tucano for the U.S. Air Force in Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday. (See the video here.) The aircraft is the first of 20 purchased by the Air Force for deployment in Afghanistan where they will serve as trainers […]

At Jacksonville, Florida, this week, Sierra Nevada and Embraer took the wraps off the first A29 Tucano to be made in the U.S. It’s the first of 20 airplanes on their way to Afghanistan for that country’s rebuilding air force. view on YouTube

It might seem after more than 100 years, we’ve figured out the best ways to fly, but creative folks insist on continuing to try new technologies. One young inventor, Aaron Wypyszynski, of Meridianville, Alabama, is working on a “wingboard” that enthusiasts could ride, like a kind of waterski, in the wake of an airplane. “It […]

The oft-maligned but remarkably capable Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor entered combat for the first time this week when an undisclosed number were used in airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds and facilities in Syria. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the aircraft dropped GPS-guided bombs on an array of targets, including a building […]

I suspect if you could somehow get a full overview of the number and type of unmanned aircraft in use today and the companies involved in their manufacture, the response would be: Wow, I never imagined. I am constantly running into people in the aviation business who are directly or indirectly involved in UAS projects. […]

Forbes blogger Gregory S. McNeal is reporting that the FAA will make a major announcement on the commercial use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) Thursday when it gives the movie industry permission to legally use remotely piloted aircraft in production. What Forbes also says is that the deal with Hollywood will set the basic standards, […]

Airbus has agreed to collaborate on technology development with Aerion Corporation, the Reno, Nevada, company that has been working over the last decade to develop a supersonic business jet. “To further their mutual objectives, both companies will exchange knowledge and capabilities in design, manufacturing and certification,” Aerion announced on Monday. Airbus will provide technical and […]

Two Illinois congressmen have introduced legislation that would force the FAA to abandon a controversial new recruitment process to fill an anticipated 10,000 air traffic controller openings over the next 10 years. Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren and Democrat Dan Lipinski introduced the Safe Towers Act on Friday. The bill, if passed, will force the FAA […]