Recent Updates

With a production site for its E-Fan 2.0 electric trainer selected in France, Airbus is bullish enough on e-flight to project a four-place electric hybrid before 2020. At the Electric Aircraft Symposium in Santa Rosa, California, on Friday, the company’s head of development and strategy, Ken McKenzie, said Airbus isn’t exactly going after Cirrus and […]

Sonex Aircraft will collaborate with Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation to develop an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle based on its Xenos line of motor gliders. Under the agreement, Oshkosh-based Sonex will produce the aircraft, to be called Teros, and ship them to NASC in Pennsylvania for UAV outfitting. The first prototype Teros is slated for delivery in […]

This week’s announcement that the FAA closed comments on the NPRM for small UAS so caught me by surprise that I never got around to submitting my own comments. Not that it matters much; my views were well represented by many others, perhaps with just a couple of exceptions I’ll get to in a moment. […]

AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli spoke with Airbus’s Ken McKenzie about the European giant’s foray into electric aviation at the Electric Airplane Symposium in Santa Rosa, California. Duration: 6:24 File Size: 5.9 MB download here

Blue Origin launched its experimental spacecraft this week from Texas, marking the start of the company’s unmanned test flights with plans to develop a space tourism vehicle.The New Shepard craft launched Wednesday from Blue Origin’s test site, reached an altitude of 58 miles, then separated from its rocket and deployed a parachute for landing, Reuters […]

AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world found an aircraft restoration competition, news from the upcoming Air Race Classic, a partnership between Jet Logistics and Medflight One, and the Aero Club of New England’s annual award announcement.The National Aviation Heritage Invitational (NAHI) is proud to be able to create the Best Contemporary trophy in […]

Airbus’ electric airplane, the E-Fan, will be produced in Pau in southwest France, the company said Thursday. Airbus is purchasing a site there and plans to begin building a final assembly line in mid-2016. The E-Fan, developed by Airbus subsidiary VoltAir, is a two-seat trainer with two propellers and two battery-powered motors. The demonstration aircraft […]

The ever-intriguing X-37B space plane is slated for its fourth mission in May, this time to experiment with a propulsion system for military satellites, the Air Force announced this week. The target launch date is May 20, according to multiple news sources. The military has revealed little about past missions, prompting broad speculation about what […]

Flaris, the single-engine very-light jet that has been in development in Poland for about six years, has been in taxi testing since last month and a first flight is expected soon, according to the company website. Test pilot Henryk Szkudlarz will be at the controls for the first tests, which will take place from the […]

The FAA’s proposed rule for allowing small unmanned aircraft systems (under 55 pounds) into the federal airspace drew more than 4,400 comments, including input from aviation advocacy groups. Several of the advocacy groups, including EAA, AOPA and GAMA, said the FAA should lower its ceiling for small UAS ops to 400 feet, instead of 500, […]