Recent Updates

Electric aircraft developer Lilium announced on Monday that it has received the G-1 Certification Basis from the FAA for its Lilium Jet all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) design. The Germany-based company was issued a CRI-A01 certification basis for the model by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2020. According to Lilium, it […]

The FAA is proposing new rules to establish requirements for pilot certification and operation of powered-lift aircraft. Under the proposed regulations, pilots would be required to hold a type rating for each powered-lift model they fly. The rule (PDF) also includes provisions aimed at forming an initial cadre of powered-lift instructors by allowing pilots employed […]

“Some wounds never heal, and for me it was the Honda Mini Trail I couldn’t have,” says seven-time Reno Sport class champion Jeff LaVelle. “It was $280 back then and it might as well have been $280 million.” And so began Jeff’s obsession with speed and freedom and winning and, eventually, airplanes. He couldn’t swing […]

Reuters is reporting that FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen will join eVTOL startup Archer Aviation in the next few weeks. Nolen, who’s been the interim leader of the agency for more than a year after Steve Dickson quit in March of 2022, announced his departure last month. Reuters cited unnamed sources and neither Archer nor […]

Construction is underway for a new facility to be operated by Boeing Defense, Space & Security’s proprietary research, development and prototyping division Phantom Works. Designed to house post-assembly phases of future military aircraft production, the 47,500-square-foot Advanced Coatings Center is scheduled to be operational in 2025. The site is located in St. Louis, Missouri. “As […]

Airplane owners are caretakers, according to the more philosophical among us. Each man leaves his mark on the plane passing through his care before he and machine separate to others, and ultimately, their destinies. Anyone doubting this might consider our present exhibition, an intriguing white Pitts Special most recently named Smokin’ Hot and once again […]

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published a proposal for the assessment and limitation of noise generated by air taxis. Called the Environmental Protection Technical Specifications (EPTS), the proposal covers electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft “powered by multiple, vertical, non-tilting, evenly distributed rotors.” EASA noted that the EPTS proposal stems from […]

Rewind to April 2016 when we attended Sun ’n Fun for the very first time and stumbled across a mockup shell of a rather intriguing and thought-provoking Experimental composite aerobatic aircraft. The Saurenman Aero Works (SAW) REVO left both of us asking questions, pondering the viability and performance of such an aircraft and thinking, “We’ve […]

Fifty-eight aviation stakeholders have been named members of the FAA’s unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) Detection and Mitigation Systems Aviation Rulemaking Committee. Established last March, the committee is tasked with ensuring that “new technologies designed to detect and mitigate risks from errant or hostile UAS do not adversely impact the safe and efficient operation of the […]

The first places most people are likely to encounter an eVTOL or urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft will be at the familiar places they now deal with conventional helicopters and aircraft, according to an updated airspace integration concept released by the FAA last week. The “Concept of Operations V.2 (ConOps V.2)” says that for the […]