Recent Updates

Bombardier announced on Thursday that it intends to cut approximately 5,000 positions across the organization as part of a plan to “further streamline, lean out and simplify the company.” The staff reductions will take place over the next 12 to 18 months and Bombardier says it expects the move will save the company around $250 […]

Diamond Aircraft announced the successful first flight of a multi-engine hybrid aircraft it developed in partnership with Siemens AG. The aircraft is a reconfigured (formerly single-engine) DA40, which the company says uses a combustion engine to power two independent electric drive systems consisting of a motor, battery and inverter each. The flight took place last […]

Three hundred people from across the European general aviation community attended the 2018 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Annual Safety Conference in Vienna, Austria, earlier this week. During the two-day event, the agency reviewed progress and set out its future commitments for the “GA Roadmap,” an initiative launched in 2014 that EASA says aims to […]

Bombardier has achieved FAA approval of its Global 7500 jet, the company announced on Wednesday. The long-range business jet, the biggest in Bombardier’s business-jet fleet, can fly up to 7,700 nautical miles, enabling nonstop flights from New York to Hong Kong, or Singapore to San Francisco. The flight deck is equipped with fly-by-wire technology, flight […]

Charles Welden grew up in Alabama watching a seaplane come and go off of Lake Martin and thinking it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen. He learned to fly and eventually bought a Cessna 150/150 so he could figure out flying seaplanes himself. In one of those moments that occasionally happens in aviation, he […]

Delaware State University (DSU) has placed an order for 10 new Vulcanair V1.0 aircraft for its aviation department flight training program, according to a joint announcement from the university and Vulcanair’s U.S. distributor, Ameravia. DSU says it also intends to purchase at least one additional V1.0 a year from 2019 to 2027. To support the […]

“We find ourselves on the cusp of the third great era of aviation,” acting FAA administrator Daniel Elwell said on Monday—”the age of autonomous and unmanned aircraft.” In a talk at the Aero Club of Washington, Elwell said, “I’m not sure we appreciate how much of a seismic change it’s going to be—for all of […]

The new Airbus A330-800 widebody passenger jet successfully completed its first flight on Tuesday. Test pilots Malcolm Ridley and Franois Barre were at the controls for the trip, which lasted for a little over four hours. Airbus expects to conduct about 300 hours of flight testing on the A330-800 and hopes to receive type certification […]

easyJet, a leading regional airline operating in Europe, has partnered with U.S. based startup Wright Electric to develop a small electric-powered aircraft that could efficiently serve on short-haul airline routes. Last week, the airline confirmed the project is progressing—Wright Electric has applied for a patent on “a novel motor design” for “an easyJet-sized aircraft” that […]

The Wall Street Journal says (subscription required) retired Delta Air Lines VP and former line pilot Steve Dickson is the new favorite to become the next FAA administrator. The Journal says Dan Elwell, who has been the acting administrator since January, “quietly pulled out of the running” because it didn’t seem likely he would be […]