Recent Updates

I was listening to NPR on Saturday morning when a brief news item mentioning SpaceX’s planned Sunday launch said two previous launches to resupply the ISS had failed. I couldn’t help but wonder: what are the chances? Actually not that high—or low, depending on how you want to look at it. The SpaceX Falcon blew […]

Pipistrel is taking orders for its pure-electric Alpha Electro aircraft. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli recently went to Slovenia to fly the aircraft and prepared this video report. view on YouTube

An electric airplane produced in South America took its first test flight this week at Itaipu, Brazil. Reuters‘ report on the milestone describes the Sora-E as a two-seat airplane powered by six ion polymer lithium batteries. The airframe was built from carbon fiber and the electric engine, which came from Slovenia, will provide a cruise […]

George Applebay will be remembered for more than being a pioneer in glider design and a fixture in the soaring community. Applebay, who died in April at 89, also was a World War II flight engineer and a test pilot for various aviation companies. His career spanned decades as he worked until late 2014 at […]

Cresting a sparkling aviating career, George Neal is now the oldest active pilot in the world at age 96, as entered in the Guinness Book of World Records. Neal, a longtime test pilot, flew his Chipmunk from Brampton Airport to Toronto Pearson International on June 2 to set the record. Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, […]

AVweb’s search of what’s new in aviation this week found ADS-B equipment updates from Aspen and FltPlan Go, a rebranding announcement from Oplite Technologies, and the revamp of the Catalina Air Show. Aspen Avionics announced its ATX100 ADS-B transceiver will now interface with the Garmin GNS 430W/530W series of GPS navigators. “Aspen designs products to […]

The Hoverbike design created by Malloy Aeronautics, a small U.K.-based company, will be developed with backing from the U.S. Department of Defense, Malloy announced last week at the Paris Air Show. Malloy has teamed up with Survice Engineering, a defense firm based in Maryland, to work toward developing a design that can be used as […]

Two RX1E light sport aircraft, the first electric-powered airplanes to be manufactured in China, were handed off to a customer in a ceremony in Shenyang, China, last week. “The RX1E indicates a milestone in our general aviation,” said Yang Feng, president of Shenyang Aerospace University, where the design was developed. “We will dedicate ourselves to […]

Reports out of Hollywood say Tom Hanks has been picked to play Capt. Chesley Sullenberger in the movie adaptation of the Miracle on the Hudson pilot’s autobiography. Variety reported late last week that Hanks is in final negotiations to play the lead in a movie that will be directed by Clint Eastwood. Hanks has a […]

A European defense company had a successful test using a laser weapon to track and take down an unmanned aerial system, opening up a host of potential anti-drone uses. MBDA Deutschland, which designs guided missile systems as well as high-energy laser weapons, announced this week it maneuvered a small drone at its test site in […]