Recent Updates

Boeing and the U.S. Navy successfully refueled an airborne F/A-18 Super Hornet with an MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aircraft system (UAS/drone) last Friday. The demonstration is the first-ever air-to-air refueling to be conducted using a UAS tanker to supply a crewed aircraft. According to Boeing, the test aircraft flew 25 flights prior to Friday’s attempt to […]

The NTSB says the pilot of a DJI Matrice drone suffered a serious hand injury after tangling with the uncooperative aircraft near Young Harris, Georgia, on May 6. According to a preliminary report (search CEN21LA224), the pilot was demonstrating the drone to a prospective customer but the aircraft wouldn’t respond correctly to control inputs. He […]

United Airlines has signed an agreement with Boom Supersonic to purchase 15 Overture supersonic airliners once the model meets United’s “safety, operating and sustainability requirements.” Announced on Thursday, the deal also includes options for 35 additional aircraft. Boom is partnering with Rolls-Royce on a propulsion system for the Overture, which is expected to fly at […]

OneSky Flight’s Halo business unit has placed an order for 200 Eve eVTOL aircraft. With deliveries expected to start in 2026, the developmental urban air mobility vehicles are seen as the next step in OneSky’s strategy of providing a door-to-door solution for private air travel. Initial Halo services are planned for New York and London. […]

China-based urban air mobility (UAM) company EHang has officially introduced its new VT-30 “long-range” autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV). The two-passenger autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft will feature eight propellers on each side, a pusher prop and fly-by-wire control system. With an expected range of up to 300 km (162 NM), the company […]

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Aviation Museum has announced that it will be displaying a collection of the personal archives and memorabilia of NASA astronaut Joe Engle. Engle, who participated in the X-15, Apollo and space shuttle programs, and his wife, Jeanie, donated the collection to the EAA Aviation Foundation in 2020. The exhibit will […]

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the first two images taken by its Zhurong Martian rover on Wednesday. The rover touched down on Utopia Planitia in the planet’s northern hemisphere on May 15, making China the second nation ever to successfully land on Mars. The Tianwen-1 mission, of which the rover is part along […]

Urban air mobility aircraft (UAM) company Volocopter unveiled the design for its newest electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) at EBACE Connect on Monday. The four-seat, retractable gear VoloConnect is expected to have a range of 100 km (54 NM) and a top cruise speed of 250 km/h (135 knots). Volocopter is also developing […]

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft has started its return journey after almost five years in space. The trip is expected to take 2.5 years with OSIRIS-REx currently due to reach Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. As previously reported by AVweb, the spacecraft touched down briefly on asteroid Bennu last […]

It’s said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the world of homebuilt aircraft, usually more power is better than less, but it’s also true that power without control is just heat and noise. (And there ends your monthly ration of overused aphorisms.) Power is speed and climb performance, but it can also […]