Sales of piston-powered, fixed-wing aircraft were flat for the third year in a row, says the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) year-end report issued Wednesday—1,142 piston airplanes delivered in total, down slightly from 1,265 in 2015. Since 2009, sales of piston airplanes have hovered around 1,000 units per year, down from a modern-era peak of […]
Stemme AG and S-Plane Automation Ltd said this week they plan to integrate S-Plane subsystems into the Ecarys ES15 Stemme motor glider to create an optionally piloted vehicle, combining the capabilities of a manned aircraft with those of a UAV. With a human pilot onboard, the OPV can execute missions such as flight in civil […]
A $35 million lawsuit filed against Van’s Aircraft, characterized by Van’s as an attack on the kitplane industry as a whole, was settled by the parties late last year. In a press release issued Wednesday, Van’s said the case was dismissed, which is accurate, though it omitted the reason for the dismissal. Van’s Aircraft told […]
A team of Russian engineers working in San Francisco as Hoversurf have posted a video online showing an indoor flight test with their “hoverbike” design. The vehicle is powered by electric motors that drive four rotors, arrayed vertically at each corner. The pilot sits in a sort of saddle with his legs on either side, […]
Consumer drones have attracted millions of users, and created a conundrum for general aviation — are they friend or foe? On the one hand, many pilots have embraced the technology and enjoy it; on the other hand, the small flying machines can pose a threat to aircraft if operated irresponsibly. AOPA on Tuesday took a […]
Pal-V, a Netherlands company that has been developing a two-seat roadable gyroplane, said last week they are ready to start taking orders for the vehicle. “After years of hard work, beating the technical and qualification challenges, our team succeeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards, determined by regulatory bodies […]
The world’s largest manufacturer of drones and the biggest organization of remotely piloted aircraft operators have announced a joint venture to promote safe operation and expand opportunities for drone operators. DJI, which makes the popular Phantom series and other drones, and the Academy of Model Aeronautics will create programs aimed at boosting accessibility and affordability […]
President Donald Trump said Saturday he’d personally negotiated a $1 billion reduction in the $4.2 billion cost of the replacement aircraft for Air Force One and accomplished it in less than an hour. He also told a campaign rally in Melbourne, Florida, that the 25 percent discount is “not good enough. We’re still not going […]
Sonic booms rattled the southeast coast of Florida Friday evening as two F-15s were scrambled to intercept an aircraft that violated presidential restricted airspace over West Palm Beach. The fighters had to hit the afterburners to catch up to the unidentified “general aviation aircraft” after taking off from Homestead Air National Guard Base, about 100 […]
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. DeWofl Miller showed little enthusiasm for trading F/A-18 Super Hornets for F-35s, as has been proposed by President Trump in an effort to reduce the total program cost of the F-35 Lightning. Testifying at a House Subcommittee hearing on the F-35 program, Miller said, “The F-35C provides unique capabilities that cannot […]
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