Recent Updates

COVID-19 has prompted the FAA to loosen its notoriously tight restrictions on drones flying beyond visual line of site (BVLOS). DroneDJ is reporting that an oil and gas company has been granted a waiver to conduct remote inspection flights because of virus-related restrictions on staff activities. What’s more, the FAA approved the exemption within 24 […]

Embraer will likely sue Boeing after the collapse of a $4.2 billion deal to buy Embraer’s commercial aircraft division. Boeing announced on Saturday it was pulling out of the deal and said it’s because Embraer didn’t live up to its end of the deal. “Boeing has worked diligently over more than two years to finalize […]

China-based urban air mobility company EHang has announced plans to build an autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) port in Hezhou, China. The 2,500-square-meter “E-port” terminal building will feature a first-floor reception hall, second-floor passenger waiting area and third-floor departure/arrival zone with four landing pads located on the roof. The port, along with a planned delivery of […]

Textron Aviation announced that it has delivered the first two Cessna Citation Latitude aircraft configured for flight inspection missions. Both aircraft will be owned and operated by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). According to Textron, the Latitudes have been fitted with Norwegian Special Mission’s (NSM) UNIFIS 3000 Flight Inspection System equipment and will be […]

Airbus has turned to a new “e-Delivery” aircraft handover process designed to keep the company’s delivery system moving while meeting heightened healthy and safety requirements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Pegasus Airlines became the first Airbus customer to adopt the process, taking delivery of three new A320neo family aircraft over the last few days. According […]

This story originally appeared in KITPLANES. By Scott M. Spangler America’s car culture has inculcated consumers of almost every conceivable product to expect, desire, and demand a new model every year. “Do we really need to do that?” asked John McBean, president of Kitfox Aircraft. “Ford comes out with a new F-150 pickup every year, […]

NASA has announced that it is planning to launch the first crewed mission using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft at 4:32 p.m. EDT on May 27, 2020. The Crew Dragon will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley onboard. According […]

Boeing has announced that it plans to resume production at its facilities in Washington’s Puget Sound region early next week. The company’s production activities in the state have been suspended since March 23 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Boeing intends to reopen the facilities using a phased approach with the first group of employees […]

The FAA has selected two partners for the second phase of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management Pilot Program (UPP). The Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Rome, New York’s Griffiss International Airport (RME) will join the program as test site participants. The project’s first phase, which documented capabilities such […]

In collaboration with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA‑ASI) and the FAA, NASA successfully completed the first flight of its Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) demonstration activities last Friday. According to NASA, the SIO demonstrations are designed to “highlight commercial UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] missions that have the potential to provide economic and public benefit” […]