Experimentals

Bell and Safran have agreed to work together to develop hybrid-electric power systems for Bell’s eVTOL aircraft concept, the two companies announced on Tuesday. Bell will lead the design, development and production of VTOL systems, and Safran will work on “a disruptive propulsion system,” according to the companies’ news release. “This announcement is another proof […]

Boeing has announced its selection of 10 designs that will go on to compete for a $1 million prize to be awarded next year in its GoFly competition, which aims to inspire innovators to create a VTOL “personal flying device” that can safely be used by anyone, anywhere. Boeing chose the 10 finalists from almost […]

Sonex Aircraft announced that its SubSonex Personal Jet has been approved for the Reno National Championship Air Races this September. The jet, a JSX-2 model named “Sharkie,” was debuted at the Pylon Racing Seminar by High Performance Aircraft Group last week. It was flown by Pete Zaccagnino, a three-time Reno Gold champion and head of […]

Back to Part 1 There are certainly worse places to be stuck than Punta Arenas. It’s quite a pleasant city with friendly folks, good food, and lots to see. After the requisite 72 hours and a lot of work on the part of the ground crew, the permit to fly to Tahiti is in hand. […]

Researchers in France have developed a drone that can reorient its arms in flight to alter its profile, enabling it to reduce its wingspan and navigate in tight spaces. The “quad-morphing” design comprises two rotating arms, each equipped with two propellers, for helicopter-like flight. A system of elastic and rigid wires allows the robot to […]

VSS Unity, the aircraft that Virgin Galactic plans to use later this year to carry tourists into space, completed a successful supersonic test flight on Tuesday, the company has announced. The rocket motor burned for 31 seconds, as planned, and propelled Unity to a speed of Mach 1.9 and an altitude of 114,500 feet. “Seeing […]

Uber plans to host a second Elevate conference, May 8-9, in Los Angeles, bringing together more than 700 leaders from around the world to discuss the future of aeronautical technology for urban transit. Last year’s summit roster included leaders from industry, government and academia, including Embraer, Bell Helicopter, Pipistrel, Aurora Flight Sciences, Mooney, NASA, Airbus […]

DG Flugzeugbau, a sailplane manufacturer in Germany, said recently it got an order to “manufacture a large number of Volocopters from Volocopter GmbH,” but nobody is saying exactly how many a “large number” is. A Volocopter spokesperson told AVweb, “Unfortunately, I am not able to provide you with more details than this,” and Flugzeubau did […]

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo,VSS Unity, has completed its first supersonic, rocket-powered flight, the company announced last week. The aircraft was carried to a launch altitude of about 46,500 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains by the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, then released. After a few seconds of glide, Unity’srocket motor was engaged, and the pilots placed the spaceship […]

Terrafugia, the Massachusetts-based “flying-car” company, said on Tuesday it has created 75 new jobs in the last year and plans to add 50 more by December. The company was recently acquired by Zhejiang Geely, a Chinese conglomerate, which provided the resources for the company to expand its operations and hire new workers. “The recent jump […]