Recent Updates

Kitmaker Sonex Aircraft has reclaimed ownership of the Sonerai design. Penned by Sonex creator John Monnett in the early 1970s, the Sonerai was developed to compete in Formula Vee racing—and is said to be capable of 170 MPH with a converted Volkswagen four-cylinder engine on the nose. The Sonerai has been supported by SoneraiWorks, but […]

Russian aircraft manufacturer and United Aircraft Corporation branch Irkut continued the flight test campaign for its MC-21-300 airliner with the initial flight of the program’s fourth test aircraft on Wednesday. According to the company, the design of its latest test aircraft took into account test data from the first three MC-21-300 flight test models. The […]

The FAA issued a proposal on Thursday for a rule that would require unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) to be identifiable remotely. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) suggests tying remote identification requirements to UAS registration and would allow drone identification and location information to be received by “people on the ground and other airspace users.” […]

Textron Aviation announced that it has successfully attached the wings to the fuselage of its first Cessna SkyCourier prototype. According to the company, landing gear and avionics ground testing for the twin-engine utility turboprop are also underway. The first flight of SkyCourier is expected to take place in 2020. “As expected, the operation was sound […]

NASA has announced that its X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft has been cleared for final assembly and systems integration, a move the agency called the “last programmatic hurdle” for QueSST prior to flight signoff. Approval for final assembly of the X-59 was given at a Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D) management review last week. Assembly […]

The grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX has turned a pilot shortage in China into a pilot surplus for those qualified on 737s. A year ago, Chinese airlines were scrambling for pilots to help fuel the rapid growth of the industry in Asia and most of them were pinning that growth on massive orders for […]

The FAA has selected twelve organizations to advise the agency as it develops test administration requirements for an aeronautical knowledge and safety test for recreational Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/drone) operators. Among the organizations that will be advising the FAA are Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, DJI, King Schools, the Unmanned Safety Institute, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association […]

Textron is laying off 875 people including some in its aviation division and closing some facilities just before Christmas as part of a restructuring plan outlined in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday. The company announced on Thursday that it would lay off an unspecified number of salaried employees but refused to offer […]

The prototype of what may be the world’s first fully electric airliner, a modified 60-year-old De Havilland Beaver, is tentatively scheduled for its first flight on Dec. 11. Harbour Air, which operates one of the world’s largest seaplane airlines on the west coast of British Columbia, is tentatively planning to fly the aircraft off the […]

A news helicopter operated by KABC-TV in Los Angeles, California, was struck by an object believed to be a drone at approximately 7:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday. The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350 B2, made a precautionary landing following the strike. As shown in the video below, the tail of the aircraft was damaged, but […]