Experimentals

If speed, load-hauling and range represent the trifecta of motorized flight, many would argue you’ll find that sweet spot in wing-in-ground-effect technology, which has been kicking around for almost half a century. The Soviets tried it with their eight-engine Black Sea behemoths. Variations on the Alexander Lippisch-designed reverse delta single-engine skimmers have been spotted in […]

NASA has awarded a $247 million contract to Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works to build a piloted quiet supersonic technology demonstrator, with first flight planned for summer 2021, officials announced at a news conference on Tuesday. The testing is intended to be the first step toward changing international regulations that prohibit supersonic flight over land, and […]

A number of companies have tried a range of variations on the traditional airship in recent years, attempting to combine the simplicity of buoyant flight with new technology to create marketable aircraft — so far, with limited success. Now a new French company, Flying Whales, with support from Chinese aviation conglomerate AVIC, is working on […]

In 1919, just after World War I, the Australian government offered a 10,000-pound prize for the first flight to Australia from Great Britain in less than 30 days. The race was won by a crew of two Australian pilots flying an open-cockpit Vickers Vimy aircraft. They made it to Darwin after 23 stops in Europe, […]

Kitty Hawk, the California company that has been working on a “flying car” funded by Alphabet CEO Larry Page, has released a video of its newest autonomous VTOL prototype, which is now flying in New Zealand. The electric-powered aircraft, dubbed “Cora,” is driven by 12 rotors mounted fore and aft of the wing, plus a […]

Ford Motor Company recently advertised their new line of truck frames as being made of military-grade aluminum. It’s a new twist on the old hype: made of aircraft-grade aluminum. I suppose the salespeople figure: What could be better than aircraft-grade (or military-grade) aluminum, right? After all, you wouldn’t want a truck frame made of beer-can […]

European homebuilders and classic aircraft groups are mounting opposition to a rule proposed by the European Aviation Safety Agency that would invalidate flying hours on so-called Annex II aircraft from counting toward EASA ratings and even renewal of existing licenses. The proposed rule would affect thousands of pilots in Europe, according to Pilot Magazine. In […]

Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) has certified the Pipistrel Alpha Electro in its advanced ultralight category, the first certification of an electric aircraft in North America. The certification means the aircraft can be used commercially in its intended role as an economical trainer. Electricairplanes can’t qualify for the factory-built light sport category (S-LSA) because FAA […]

SpaceX launched their Falcon Heavy test flight from Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, and wowed the crowds with a picture-perfect flight of the world’s biggest rocket. From the blue Florida skies and billowing white smoke on takeoff, to the incredible double upright in-sync landings of the two booster rockets, the team couldn’t have asked for […]

Last week, just as I was girding to launch into the savage hinterlands of central Florida where Sebring is situated, I got a note from Sebastien Heintz, of Zenith Aircraft. At the Sport Aviation Expo, he wanted me to build a rudder from one of the company’s new match-hole kits because he wished to make […]