Recent Updates

This story originally appeared in KITPLANES. I didn’t buy this GlaStar intending to commit significant resources to the engine in the first year. Indeed, few of us intend to do that—but it happens. Who does that? But I always knew it was a possibility. My GlaStar’s Lycoming O-320-E3D, originally in a Piper Warrior, had seen […]

Shift4 Payments and Draken International founder Jared Isaacman has booked a trip with SpaceX that is being called “the world’s first all-civilian mission to space.” Named Inspiration4, the multi-day orbital flight is currently being planned for the fourth quarter of 2021. Isaacman, whose accomplishments as a pilot include two around-the-world speed records and over 100 […]

Electric aircraft developer Lilium has signed an agreement with multinational infrastructure operator Ferrovial to develop a network of at least ten “vertiports” for an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)-based air taxi service. According to Lilium, the network will cover “strategic locations in all major cities across Florida.” Exact locations for the vertiports planned in […]

NASA is observing its annual Day of Remembrance on Thursday, paying tribute to “members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery.” As part of the event, NASA acting administrator Steve Jurczyk will lead a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Virginia’s Arlington […]

The FAA has allowed a Massachusetts company to conduct the first truly autonomous beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operation in the National Airspace System (NAS), opening the door to a wide range of commercial applications. American Robotics is now allowed to fly drones weighing up to 20 pounds in rural areas without a […]

Throughout the 1980s, tandem two-seat homebuilt designs were firmly in the mainstream. Burt Rutan’s VariEze and Long-EZ were popular, and examples of Dick VanGrunsven’s RV-4 were showing up at Oshkosh in rapidly increasing numbers. Then came the RV-6, a side-by-side airplane that was destined to become the most successful kit airplane of all time. Everything […]

Cadillac appears to be taking its current marketing slogan (“Rise Above”) literally as it jumps into the eVTOL market with a quadrotor. The automaker’s parent company General Motors unveiled a video for the Consumer Electronics Show featuring a prototype single-seat design with a novel two-level arrangement for the rotors. It will be badged with the […]

German air taxi startup Volocopter announced on Friday that the FAA has accepted its application for concurrent type certificate validation for its VoloCity electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The company is currently pursuing certification of the VoloCity under EASA’s SC-VTOL rule, which was published in July 2019. Volocopter hopes to receive that certification […]

Citing delays related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has pushed back the time frame for the first mission using its Dream Chaser spaceplane. Formerly scheduled for late 2021, the company now expects the Dream Chaser to make its initial flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022. The cargo mission […]

Urban air mobility (UAM) startup Archer has formed a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to “accelerate” production of Archer’s all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. According to the companies, the agreement will allow Archer to access FCA’s supply chain and advanced composite material capabilities, along with benefiting from its engineering and design experience. […]