Recent Updates

The FAA announced on Tuesday that it has finished the second phase of its Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS/drone) Traffic Management Pilot Program (UPP). UPP Phase 2 objectives included “testing of Remote Identification (RID) technologies and operations with increasing volumes and density.” According to the agency, program results will be used as a proof of concept […]

Despite a difficult month of September, the number of fatal accidents involving experimental aircraft fell over the last year. From Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020, there were 44 fatal accidents. Six fatals involved experimental light sport aircraft, one each in racing and R&D categories, and four in the exhibition subcategory. Most of these, […]

Urban air mobility (UAM) company Wisk has announced that it is partnering with NASA to explore the “safe integration of autonomous aircraft systems into Urban Air Mobility applications at a national level.” According to the company, its work will initially focus on safety scenarios related to autonomous flight and contingency management including collision avoidance and […]

Electric aircraft developer Lilium has chosen Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida, for the location of the first U.S. hub in its proposed electric air mobility network. The company, which is headquartered in Munich, Germany, is partnering with Orlando-based Tavistock Development Company to build the Lake Nona “vertiport.” Lilium is targeting 2025 for the launch of […]

Pilots already building their own airplanes or giving it serious thought won’t have to wait for AirVenture 2021 to do their research. The Experimental Aircraft Association has announced a week of online events called the Homebuilders Week, starting Jan. 26. “EAA members and the homebuilt aircraft community have always been generous in sharing information and […]

Sir Richard Branson hopes to become the second billionaire to go to space in early 2021 to kick off his space tourism business. Branson, the owner of Virgin Galactic, will be on the first flight after the operation is certified by the FAA to take “space tourists” to the edge of space in a reusable […]

The propeller designs for NASA’s all-electric X-57 Maxwell have now undergone two weeks of wind tunnel testing, the agency said on Monday. The propeller assemblies, supplied by California-based contractor Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero), logged 14 hours of powered operation during testing with wind speeds up to around 90 knots. The tests took place at the […]

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao has announced the completion of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/drone) Integration Pilot Program (IPP), a three-year initiative designed to test and evaluate the integration of drone operations into the national airspace system. IPP is followed by the BEYOND program, which officially launched last week. BEYOND is expected to […]

Looking to “accelerate the implementation of electric and hydrogen powered, vertical takeoff flight in Canada,” the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium (CAAM) announced its official launch on Wednesday. The Vancouver-based organization says it is aiming to streamline Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) research, development and commercial operations by meeting objectives such as creating an AAM innovation […]

Boeing’s Loyal Wingman unmanned military aircraft successfully completed its initial low-speed taxi test this week, marking the first time the aircraft has moved under its own power. During the test, the prototype reached a speed of 14 knots while the team verified systems integration and functions including steering, braking and engine controls. According to Boeing, […]