Recent Updates

Textron AirLand has announced the first flight of its Scorpion Intelligence, Surveillance Reconnaissance/Strike aircraft took place at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita early Thursday. The twinjet took off just after 9 a.m. and landed 1.4 hours later and “met all expectations” according to Textron CEO Scott Donnelly. When the design phase began less than […]

Bell Helicopter has announced it will build its new Short Light Single helicopter at Lafayette Regional Airport in Louisiana. The SLS is a restart of the iconic JetRanger line, an updated five-seat turbine single that will include modern technology standard on bigger airframes. It’s aimed at the utility, law enforcement and flight training sector and […]

As air travelers brace for the annual holiday ordeal that awaits many of them, Canadian budget carrier WestJet had a holiday miracle in store for passengers on two of its flights earlier this week. The airline began by creating present-shaped check-in kiosks at Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario airports for two flights bound for its hub […]

User fees will likely form the foundation of a bipartisan budget deal aimed at avoiding another government shutdown and that has at least one aviation group calling its members to action. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his Senate counterpart Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., are negotiating a spending plan that would avoid […]

Textron is aiming for first flight of the Scorpion jet on Tuesday at Cessnas facility in Wichita, with a follow-up flight Thursday if all goes well, and weather permitting, DefenseNews.com reported Friday. The jet sports a two-seat tandem cockpit and turns twin turbofan engines. It supports six hard points capable of holding anything from drop […]

The Navy said Thursday that it successfully launched the XFC folding-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS, or drone) from a torpedo tube on the USS Providence, while the submarine was submerged. The all-electric, fuel-cell-powered aircraft has an X-wing configuration in flight that folds for storage and launch. The UAS was delivered from the submarine to the […]

Bangladesh Biman Airlines announced it would on Dec. 7 pull from service what it believes is the last McDonnell Douglas DC-10 to still carry passengers as part of routine commercial service, but enthusiasts may still get one more chance to fly in it. The big jet is still in operation with cargo carriers (FedEx included) […]

I dont know about you, but Ive found the reaction to Amazons trial balloon to use drones to deliver packages quite curious. Its been generally negative and several people whove Ive talked to in casual conversation brought it up as a kind of WTF. Are they really serious? A poll done by HuffPost/YouGov found that […]

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has approved a bill that would force the FAA to follow the formal rulemaking process in adopting a controversial new sleep apnea detection initiative, It’s the first legislative step to slow down implementation of a policy introduced by Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton in his November newsletter to […]

Aviation heritage organizations are organizing to create a “nationwide flyover of WWII aircraft” Aug. 15-16, 2015, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, but the event may not be what you think. The Chennault Foundation describes the nationwide flyover as taking place in communities throughout America. Groups involved in the event […]