Recent Updates

In a week during which five military crashes killed seven service members, an article in the current issue of Newsweek raises questions about funding, training and maintenance in U.S. military aviation units. “The number of service members killed in noncombat aviation was 37 in 2017—almost double the 19 who died in 2016,” the piece states. […]

The FAA is looking for a few companies to supply near real-time processing of airspace authorizations for drone operators. The idea behind the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) system is that it will streamline the approval process for routine Part 107 drone flights below approved altitudes in controlled airspace. So far, LAANC has […]

The Collings Foundation’s iconic B-24 sustained minor damage in a bizarre incident that shut down a runway at Dallas’ busy Love Field this week. The aircraft was on a takeoff roll when debris, possibly concrete from the runway, entered the cockpit of the historic World War II bomber, hit the copilot in the hand. It […]

Now that Qantas has airplanes that will safely make the 17-hour hop from Perth to London, the airline has turned its attention to keeping passengers healthy and comfortable on those long-haul legs. Using innovations in lighting and temperature control, lower cabin altitude and meal selection, Qantas aims to reduce one of the biggest complaints of […]

A Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing crashed in the vicinity of El Centro, California, at about 2:35 p.m. Tuesday during a routine training mission, the Corps has announced. All four crew members are presumed dead. The crash site is about 10 miles from the border with Mexico. The […]

As airborne drones find ever more applications, Verizon is testing unmanned aircraft to provide cellphone service after a natural disaster. The 200-pound drones are being used in the latest in a series of tests Verizon has been conducting since 2016, according to USA Today. The aircraft, which carry equipment called a femtocell, can be deployed […]

When I was a young newspaper reporter and just reaching into opinion and commentary writing, it was understood there were certain things you never joked about. One was religion, another was a guy’s wife or a woman’s husband and anything to do with violent crimes was similarly off-limits. I’m adding a new sacred cow: No […]

If speed, load-hauling and range represent the trifecta of motorized flight, many would argue you’ll find that sweet spot in wing-in-ground-effect technology, which has been kicking around for almost half a century. The Soviets tried it with their eight-engine Black Sea behemoths. Variations on the Alexander Lippisch-designed reverse delta single-engine skimmers have been spotted in […]

NASA has awarded a $247 million contract to Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works to build a piloted quiet supersonic technology demonstrator, with first flight planned for summer 2021, officials announced at a news conference on Tuesday. The testing is intended to be the first step toward changing international regulations that prohibit supersonic flight over land, and […]

On April 1 the Royal Air Forcecelebrated its 100th birthday. The event is being celebrated by special events and activities across the UK running fromApril to the end of fall2018. The main celebration event of RAF100 will take place on July 10 with a service in Westminster Abbey, followed by a parade in The Mall […]