Business & Military

There’s no guarantee Cessna will build the Textron AirLand Scorpion light tactical jet over the long term if it gains the orders its backers hope for. In a weekend email exchange with AVweb, Textron spokesman David Sylvestre said that even though Cessna engineers and workers played a major role in building the prototype, the Textron-owned […]

Major Douglas Witmer, flying on exchange with the Argentine air force, was recognized at the Pentagon this month for safely returning to the ground an AT-63 Pampa II aircraft (and his student) after losing 80 percent of his left wing to a midair. Witmer was flying as part of a six-plane demonstration formation on Aug. […]

China has declared an airspace defense zone over the East China Sea above territory claimed by South Korea and Japan, prompting criticism from Japan, the U.S., and South Korea, and some direct challenges in recent days. China declared the zone, Saturday, saying it would police the airspace. Japan, the U.S. and South Korea have refused […]

For aircraft, increases in aerodynamic efficiency often translate to increases in economic efficiency, and NASAs bug team has recently concluded tests on eight different coatings designed to reduce bug accumulation for that very purpose. The team flew NASA Langleys HU-25C Falcon jet through low-altitude flight this past summer in Virginia. The flights included multiple departures […]

Textron, the parent company of Cessna, is getting ready to fly the prototype of the Scorpion light attack jet it’s developing with a company called AirLand Enterprises LLC. The joint venture hopes to have the Scorpion flying by Dec. 5. AirLand has no operating website that we can find but LinkedIn names its CEO as […]

A jellyfish and an owl have inspired researchers recently with new insights about how to fly more efficiently and with less noise. The oscillating movement used by jellyfish underwater can translate into aerial capabilities, as proven by a tiny hovercraft built by Leif Ristroph, a mathematician at New York University. The tiny 3-inch-wide prototype, which […]

Textron, the parent company of Cessna and Bell Helicopter, announced on Friday that it has agreed to buy two flight simulation and aircraft training companies — Mechtronix, based in Montreal, and Opinicus Corp., based in Lutz, Fla. The two companies will be combined with Textron’s existing training and simulation business for military pilots in South […]

Travel bookings for November and December are up nearly 70 percent compared to the same period last year for Sentient Jet, the company announced recently. The change reflects “the continued resurgence in private aviation,” according to the company news release. The Sentient Jet fleet accumulated more hours over the summer than it has in the […]

China has taken a major step toward opening its airspace for general aviation operations, Reuters has reported. The government said that effective Dec. 1, companies and individuals flying in a private jet or helicopter no longer need to have their flight plans pre-approved by the military. Flights will still need to be OK’d by the […]

Boeing says it has identified 15 locations, including its production home base of Washington, as potential sites to build the next generation 777. According to the Seattle Times, the contenders have until Dec. 15 to submit proposals. It’s been widely speculated that Long Beach, Calif., the historic home of Douglas Aircraft and now the site […]