Recent Updates

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 […]

Terrafugia hopes to deliver its first production flying car in July of 2019, company officials told a news conference at AirVenture 2018 Tuesday. The company hasn’t been at the big show for several years but received a major cash injection late last year when it was bought by Chinese automaker Geely, which owns Volvo and […]

Wheel and brake company Beringer came to AirVenture 2018 with a freshly patented shock absorbing wheel, certification for its Alaskan Landing Gear (ALG) and two new STCs for wheel/brake/master cylinder packages. The company is in the process of developing a bolt-on oleo strut system it is calling the Shock-Wheel. The Shock-Wheel is intended for flight […]

The 2018 Pilot & Technician Outlook from Boeing is projecting that 635,000 commercial aviation pilots will be needed in the next ten years. The estimate is down slightly from the 637,000 pilots needed that the company projected in last year’s report. One of the reasons for the future demand, Boeing says, is the company’s estimates […]