Recent Updates

Dornier is going ahead with production of the latest in its long line of flying boats and Diamond Aircraft’s London, Ontario, plant is building the composite airframe. The Seastar, which is powered by push/pull twin PT6 turboprops, first flew in the 1980s but it wasn’t until 2009 that Dornier Seawings, a third-generation offshoot of one […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee is strongly opposing a proposal to split the FAA’s air traffic organization (ATO) from the agency. In a pointed letter (PDF) to the leaders of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the appropriations arm says it’s fundamentally opposed to the plan on a number of fronts. “We are writing to express […]

Boeing’s 737 MAX completed its first flight Friday, beginning the next test phase for the latest version of the flagship jet. Boeing says the flight went well and the aircraft is on schedule for deliveries to start in 2017. The airliner departed from Renton, Washington, Friday morning and, during a circuitous route over the state, […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found announcements from PS Engineering, Banyan Air Service, the National Weather Service and the Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide. PS Engineering announced the new PMA8000BTi audio selector panel, a version of the very popular PMA800BT that includes IntelliAudio(R) spatial audio technology. Shipments of these units began […]

Lufthansa Aerial Services, part of the German conglomerate that owns Europe’s major airline, has stepped up its stake in the drone business. The company this week signed a deal with Chinese drone maker DJI to develop unmanned aircraft for a number of commercial purposes, such as inspecting railroads and airport runways. The agreement solidifies the […]

Political momentum is gathering against the proposal to fundamentally change the way the federal government funds and administers the National Airspace System. A week after two influential Republican congressmen categorically stated that no new user fees would be accepted to fund a privatized system, two Democratic members are joining a grassroots liberal movement to end […]

Aernnova, an aircraft-components manufacturer based in Spain, will collaborate with Spike in its project to develop a supersonic business jet, the two companies have announced. The partnership will accelerate Spike’s engineering efforts, the companies said, by adding Aernnova’s expertise in structural analysis to the project. Aernnova has over 4,300 employees in eight countries, including the […]

New technology in the works could make winter weather easier for pilots to bear, with one project seeking to make airport surfaces ice-free, and another aiming to keep ice off airplane wings. At the University of Nebraska, Lincoln campus, civil engineer Chris Tuan and his research team are testing a mix of steel shavings and […]

Cape Air, one of the biggest independent regional airlines in the U.S., has cut another route, citing a shortage of pilots. The airline, which cancelled a route in Montana last week, will no longer fly from the Providence, Rhode Island, airport to Block Island, a popular vacation destination about 40 miles away. Trish Lorino, a […]

The new KC-46 tanker reached a milestone on Sunday when it completed its first aerial refueling, the U.S. Air Force has announced. The flight took place from Boeing Field, in Seattle. The crew transferred 1,600 pounds of fuel to an F-16. The new tanker uses a remote-vision system to operate the boom, instead of visual […]