Recent Updates

Virgin Galactic test pilots flew VSS Unity from the Mojave Air and Space Port to 170,800 feet on Thursday morning, the company said, marking the company’s highest flight yet. The rocket-powered ship, flying at supersonic speeds, flew though the stratosphere and reached the mesosphere for the first time. “This was a new altitude record for […]

The Bally Bomber makes its Oshkosh debut 17 years after Jack Bally started the project of a lifetime. view on YouTube

Bruce Landsberg, who is well known in GA circles thanks to 22 years with the AOPA Foundation and Air Safety Institute, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a member and vice-chair of the NTSB. Landsberg was nominated to the position last September by the White House. He will serve two years as vice-chair, […]

Construction on the hangar that will become B-29 Doc’s permanent home is on time and under budget, director of Doc’s Friends Josh Wells announced at AirVenture 2018 on Thursday. Doc is one of only two B-29s still flying. The B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center, located in Wichita, Kansas, is expected to be completed this […]

Noise cancelling headsets are a cockpit standard, but even the least expensive ones aren’t exactly cheap. So why not use a consumer grade ANR? Well, no microphone. And that’s the dilemma a company called NFlight Technology wants to address with a gadget intended to add an aviation-quality microphone to consumer headsets like the Sony MDR. […]

While Slovenia-based Pipistrel has aggressively expanded into electric aircraft and has dozens in the field, it acknowledges that lack of battery capacity still makes electrics less than fully functional airplanes. One possible fix: rapid charging systems that use water cooling to potentially halve the amount necessary to top off the batteries. At AirVenture 2018, Pipistrel’s […]

For this week’s AirVenture coverage, we’ve been running daily AirVenture look backs reprising what we reported on in previous shows. When I was writing the 20-year installment—1998—I was struck by how many products and ideas were floated at AirVenture that just never potentiated. I left out a few because it was getting depressing and I […]

The concept of home-to-office personal flight is sweeping the nation, and it seems multirotor ideas are cropping up each week. The Silicon Valley startup VTOL BlackFly is showing particular promise, and recently demonstrated flying prototypes under the ultralight category. It arrived at aviation’s Mecca this week. Marketed by Opener Inc., the carbon-fiber BlackFly is equipped […]

The Switchblade flying sports car is expected to fly by the end of the year and the Oregon company continues to amass a substantial order book. Company President Sam Bousfield said in a podcast interview he had hoped first flight would have occurred before AirVenture 2018 but the tail needed some modifications to improve flight […]