Recent Updates

I was flying south over a water route just off the East Coast nearing Washington, D.C., when a Baron called ATC and this was the exchange. Baron: “Washington Center, what were those aircraft that just went by me? It was a group of some kind of fighters.” Center: “Oh, those. Yes, that was a flight […]

Honeywell and Curtiss-Wright are collaborating to develop a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) that will give operators real-time streaming and server storage options for flight data and voice communications. According to Honeywell, the new cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, branded as the Honeywell Connected Recorder-25 (HCR-25), “paves way for […]

Airbus Helicopters and Helisim broke ground on a new helicopter pilot and maintenance crew training center in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Tuesday. According to Airbus, the Helisim Simulation Center will house the first H145 and H175 Level D full-motion flight simulators in North America. In addition, it will incorporate Airbus Helicopters’ existing training facilities including […]

Bombardier has officially launched its new 50-seat CRJ550 passenger jet. United Airlines is the launch customer for the new model, with 50 aircraft on order. As per a recently executed a letter of agreement, the new CRJs will be operated by United regional partner GoJet for at least 10 years. According to GoJet, deliveries are […]

Diamond Aircraft intends to “double production” in 2019, and is looking for staff to achieve that goal. More than a year after Wanfeng Aviation purchased Diamond Aircraft, the company claims to be ready to take production to 150 units worldwide, and so needs an additional 200 staff members in both Austria and Canada. That production […]

Boeing and Aerion Supersonic announced their partnership today to help bring the Mach 1.4 AS2 supersonic business jet to market by 2023, lending serious commercial muscle to the prospect of high-speed executive travel. According to the joint news release, with this agreement “Boeing made a significant investment in Aerion to accelerate technology development and aircraft […]

Southwest Airlines is due to conduct its maiden flight from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, this week as part of its ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) certification. Partly delayed by the government shutdown, Southwest will complete its ETOPS certification flights over the next few weeks with the goal of launching California-to-Hawaii revenue flights by […]

Today’s reality quiz: You’re in an airport boarding lounge and the gate agent announces your flight has been delayed because a drone was sighted near the airport. In the improbably fantastical world I’ve created for this blog, the agent asks for a vote: Go or stay on the ground? How do you vote? How do […]

While the actual football game as part of the 53rd Super Bowl might have been less than thrilling even for hardcore Patriots fans, the halftime show got a literal lift from a synchronized drone show during Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved.” A total of 150 Intel Shooting Star drones hoisted illuminated lanterns during the […]