Recent Updates

China’s first regional jet made its first revenue flight on Tuesday but it seems unlikely the aircraft will find any customers outside the country’s sphere of influence. The ARJ21-700 operated by Chengdu Airlines took 70 passengers from Chengdu to Shanghai. “The first flight of the ARJ21 marks the beginning of commercial, or passenger, operations for […]

It might seem that in an age of instant online weather, the need for pilot reports, or pireps, would be a thing of the past, but that’s far from true, according to a recent NTSB forum. “Pireps done right have enormous untapped potential to make aviation safer for pilots, passengers, and people on the ground,” […]

The Falcon 8X is now EASA-certified, Dassault Aviation announced this week, and FAA approval is expected to follow by the end of next month. The design, based on the company’s 7X, offers the longest range of any Falcon jet, up to 6,450 nautical miles, and the biggest cabin, almost 43 feet long. “Feedback from the […]

As the U.K.’s vote to exit the European Union settles in, we sought out a general aviation perspective from across the Atlantic from Thomas Borchert, editor of the German-language fliegermagazin and from Ian Seager, publisher of the U.K. Flyer magazine. From Germany The overwhelmingly major benefit of the EU for GA pilots has been a […]

Gulfstream is touring the U.S. this summer with a full-scale mockup of the cabin and flight deck for its new G600 business jet. The company unveiled its final plans for the new cabin last year at the NBAA convention in Las Vegas, but the mockup was introduced just a few weeks ago in Savannah, Georgia. […]

This year’s winners of the annual GAMA/Build A Plane design challenge are at work this week in Arlington, Washington, helping to build a brand-new Sportsman airplane at Glasair Aviation. The four students, plus a teacher and chaperone, traveled from Weyauwega-Fremont High School in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, after beating out 76 other teams from around the country. […]

A total of 241 people were saved by firefighters after a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 caught fire after an emergency landing at Singapore Airport early Monday. The aircraft was on a flight from Singapore to Milan when there was an oil leak in the right engine. The crew turned back to Singapore and the engine […]

 The Air Force is considering asking for a major modification to the F-35 that would further disrupt the delivery schedule of the complex program. Defense News is reporting the Air Force wants Lockheed Martin to cost out installing a different ejection seat. The current Martin Baker design can cause potentially fatal neck injuries to […]

If you’re a reader of current events—and these days, who isn’t?—you can’t have missed Friday morning’s seismic news about the U.K.’s vote to exit the European Union. It’s easy to compartmentalize that as being “over there” with little or no impact on the U.S. Pardon me, but I don’t think so, although no one knows […]

The restoration team for the B-29 “Doc” received Pentagon approval this week to use McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita for completing ground tests and future flight tests. The authorization allows Doc’s flight crew to work with base officials for arranging high-speed taxi tests, followed by a first flight. Josh Wells, a spokesman for Doc’s […]