Recent Updates

The FAA today issued a safety alert to airlines around the world, urging them to conduct a “safety risk assessment” regarding the transport of lithium batteries as cargo, in light of new evidence from the agency’s recent lithium-battery-fire tests. The FAA also advised its inspectors to determine whether airlines have adequately assessed the risk of […]

Space may get all the mainstream attention in the new NASA budget proposal released today, but staff from the Aeronautics Research Mission are excited about a boost in research funding for new technologies that will impact commercial aviation — including projects that aim to cut fuel burn in half, dramatically reduce noise, restore commercial supersonic […]

Letter of the Week:The Privatization Trap HR 4441 (ATC privatization) is a bear trap using austerity for bait. Don’t think for a moment that user fees will stay out of private aviation. Think revenue. Functional ADS-B infrastructure provides a precision billing platform to warm any number of Congressional hearts. With growing Part 23 and 25 […]

A new two-day symposium to explore the future of electric-powered flight will be held May 6 and 7 in Redwood City, California, the Sustainable Aviation Foundation has announced. The program, which is being developed by SAF President Brien Seeley, will include a “global faculty of technology experts and visionaries,” according to the SAF website. The […]

Elon Musk says he’s “close” to developing a “vertical takeoff and landing electric jet” as a practical alternative to conventional aircraft. During a Q&A session with students at Texas A&M last week the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX was asked what his “next great idea” might be and he brought up the design that he […]

The former president of Sikorsky Aircraft was killed along with his passenger when his P-51D crashednear Maricopa, Arizona, on Friday. Jeffrey Pino, 61, was head of Sikorsky from 2006 to 2012. He was flying the Mustang, named Big Beautiful Doll, when it went down. The passenger was identified as Nickolas Tramontano, 71, of Brookfield, Connecticut. […]

The National Aeronautic Association announced this week nine nominees for the 2015 Robert J. Collier Trophy, which recognizes projects and achievements in aviation and aerospace. The nominees include four aircraft ranging from the Icon A5 light-sport amphibious airplane to the C-5M Super Galaxy, the Air Force transport airplane built by Lockheed Martin. Airbus’ A350 XWB […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news worldwide found announcements from Avidyne, Jeppesen, Beechcraft and the National Air Transportation Association. Avidyne Corporationannounced that they are offering a new lower-priced IFD440 FMS/GPS/NAV/COM, starting at $12,399, including mounting tray and installation kit.The new entry-level pricing option allows customers to add wireless (Wi-Fi & Bluetooth) for $1,300 and Forward Looking […]

Two congressmen in favor of privatizing the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization introduced their proposal Wednesday, just after receiving written opposition from others in the House and Senate. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, H.R. 4441 (PDF), […]

Better batteries for electric aircraft are in the works, but it may be five years before we see significant improvements in energy density, according to a leading battery researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Jeff Chamberlain, who heads the lab’s Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Research Science, told AVweb in an exclusive interview […]