Recent Updates

The other night, I was watching one of the Bond films, The Spy Who Loved Me, and, true to form, fell into my usual annoying habit of obtuseness. How do the bad guys get all the money to pay for their fabulous technological infrastructure? I mean, they’re spending millions on color-coordinated jump suits alone. I […]

Air France is facing a daunting technical challenge to repair an extensively damaged A380 at one of Canada’s most remote airports. Flight 66 from Paris to Los Angeles was almost across the Atlantic when the No. 4 engine had an uncontained failure that blew off the cowl and caused the fan to separate. The crew […]

Elon Musk says his SpaceX company is developing a new booster system that will launch a cargo mission to Mars by 2022, followed by manned missions in 2024. Moreover, the new system, which he calls the BFR, will be capable of re-entry and reuse, making hypersonic passenger service between cities on earth practical and affordable. […]

view on YouTube A Southwest passenger traveling from Baltimore to Los Angeles earlier this week was removed from her flight after telling flight attendants she was deathly allergic to dogs. The passenger, Anila Daulatzai, 46, is a college professor from Baltimore. Two passengers aboard the flight were traveling with canine companions. Video shot by one […]

Cirrus has begun shipping its long-awaited SF50 VisionJet and as part of a two-video series, AVweb recently flew the jet from the company’s Duluth, Minnesota, factory to the East Coast. In this long-form video, AVweb takes a deep dive into how the airplane performs and how it compares to other small jets. view on YouTube

Congress voted on Thursday to extend FAA funding, which was set to expire on Saturday, for six months. The extension allows more time for debate on whether air traffic control should be privatized, and whether changes should be made in the requirements for commercial pilots. GA advocates were quick to weigh in. “We thank members […]

Responding to a complaint by Boeing, the U.S. Department of Commerce says it will levy a 219.63 percent tariff on every Bombardier CSeries airliner imported into the U.S. The tariff ruling is considered preliminary and is yet to be approved by the U.S. International Trade Commission in early 2018. Following a sale of 75 CSeries […]

The great test to unravel the globalized nature of modern economies was going to happen sooner or later. The just-announced U.S. tariff against Bombardier’s CSeries airliner may not be the first shot nor even the biggest, but it’s illustrative of how difficult placing U.S. trade interests above all else will be. The modern aerospace industry […]

Tecnam and Cape Air said this week they have agreed on a delivery schedule for the 11-seat twin commuter that was designed to replace the Cessna 402s in Cape Air’s fleet. Cape Air has agreed to buy 100 of the P2012 Traveller airplanes, and Tecnam now says the first 20 will start deliveries in January […]

Dubai took another step toward providing autonomous flying taxi service, when an unmanned Volocopter took off and flew a demo flight above the city on Monday. It was the “first-ever public flight of an autonomous urban air taxi,” according to Volocopter. “This establishes the feasibility and safety of airborne taxis as a means of public […]