Recent Updates

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” […]

Airbus announced on Wednesday that it is reducing average production rates for the A320, A330 and A350 by approximately one-third due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Monthly A320 production will drop to an average of 40 units. A330s will be produced at a rate of two per month and A350s at six per month. “We […]

This story originally appeared in KITPLANES. By Ken Scott The Moose, designed and sold by Murphy Aircraft of Chilliwack, British Columbia, is one of the few kit airplanes designed to haul large loads in and out of unimproved strips—it’s a kind of Experimental-category deHavilland Beaver. Over a hundred Moose (Mooses? Meece?) have flown, but up […]

Boeing has announced the initiation of a voluntary layoff (VLO) plan as a means to address financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the company, the plan “aims to reduce the need for other workforce actions” by allowing eligible employees who want to leave do so with a pay and benefits package. As […]