Recent Updates

Bell Helicopter demonstrated its unmanned Hybrid Drive Train Research Aircraft (HYDRA) at the first Tech Demo edition of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Center of Excellence in Alma, Quebec, this week. According to the company, HYDRA uses distributed propulsion technology and a circular wing to “sustain wing-borne flight at reduced power consumption, while increasing its […]

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 302 Division B) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 398 to 23 on Wednesday. The bill will authorize FAA funding and programs until 2023. If it also passes the Senate, which has to happen before it can be signed into law, it […]

Hybrid Air Freighters, based in Paris, and Columbia Helicopters, in Oregon, have agreed to team up to operate a fleet of 12 airships to be built by Lockheed Martin. In a joint news release issued earlier this month, the companies said the airships will provide “high performance and innovative logistical services” for the oil and […]

The CAFE Foundation, which works to promote new aircraft technologies, held its 12th Electric Aircraft Symposium in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July, and now all 19 of the speakers’ presentations have been posted online. The forums explore the future of electric-powered aviation and opportunities in the sector. The speakers include representatives from Aurora Flight Sciences, Uber […]

Workhorse Group has announced that it has started the formal process to sell its SureFly hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) multi-copter. SureFly is the first manned aircraft developed by the company, which designs and builds electric and hybrid vehicles. The aircraft completed its first untethered test flight last April and the FAA accepted Workhorse’s […]

A small company based in France has created a two-place hot-air balloon designed to be certified under U.S. S-LSA regulations, with production expected to begin early next year. “The system is available for sale as an experimental already,” designer and CEO Leandro Corradini told AVweb in an email. “I applied the ASTM standard since the […]

If it seems like storms are getting worse, there may be some comfort in the fact that storm response, including GA’s contribution, is getting better. Volunteer pilots stepped up in numbers to help bring relief to millions affected by Hurricane Florence and thanks to some well-organized efforts of groups that have learned from past disasters, […]

Yet another eVTOL company has announced it is in flight trials with the intention of upending the urban transportation market and Astro Aerospace, of Dallas, isn’t shy about the Jetson analogies. Not only is the company named after the 1960s cartoon family of the future’s dog, its prototype autonomous passenger carrying drone is called Elroy […]

Scattered among accident reports is the occasional hand prop attempt that goes wrong but not many concern high-performance aircraft. The accompanying video illustrates that it is indeed possible to spark up a Cirrus SR22’s IO-550 from the front but it needs to be done with an abundance of forethought and caution. It’s not clear who […]