Recent Updates

Airbus is testing a scale model of an A321 with “flapping” wingtips it says may lead to lighter and less draggy wing designs. The AlbatrossOne remote control aircraft has been fitted with semi-aeroelastic hinges on the wingtips. The hinges allow the tips to move in response to wind gusts and turbulence, reducing stress on the […]

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has announced that it has given its MRJ aircraft family the “commercial” name SpaceJet. The SpaceJet M90, formerly the MRJ90, began certification flight test activities in the U.S. in March and the company opened a new U.S. headquarters in Renton, Washington, last May. Mitsubishi plans to begin deliveries of the M90 regional […]

Battery limitations continue to stunt the potential of electric aircraft, but Uber is betting that current technology is good enough to make urban air mobility workable now and will only improve as the vehicles mature. At this week’s Uber Elevate Summit in Washington, D.C., the company’s Mark Moore said battery capacity and longevity drives both […]

NASA has announced that it is opening the International Space Station (ISS) to commercial businesses. To qualify for a spot on the ISS, the agency says commercial activities must show that they require the station’s unique microgravity environment, have a connection to NASA’s mission or support the development of a “sustainable low-Earth orbit economy.” The […]

Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Science’s autonomous Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype crashed during its fifth test flight, company spokespeople told several news outlets at the Uber Elevate Summit this week. No one was injured in the accident—the PAV was flying unmanned—and no damage beyond that sustained by the aircraft […]

Wait. What? These things aren’t flying cars. They just aren’t. Or are they? This is the little argument I had with myself yesterday while covering the Uber Elevate Summit in Washington, D.C., via remote streaming. During his introduction, Nikhil Goel, Uber’s head of product for Elevate, referred to these new air taxis as flying cars. […]

Slovenia-based Pipistrel Vertical Solutions threw its hat into the eVTOL ring Tuesday by revealing a multi-fan electric airplane with vertical takeoff and landing capability. At Uber’s Elevate Summit in Washington, D.C., Pipistrel unveiled the so-called 801 as a five-occupant winged aircraft capable of a 60-mile range at 175 MPH or more. The 801 has four […]

A devastating fire broke out at the manufacturing facility for Belite Aircraft late last week. The company produces the Chipper experimental and the UltraCub ultralight, as well as the Radiant instrument line.  According to company founder James Wiebe, “It appears that the fire started at our CNC router dust collection system. Intense smoke filled the building, […]

In an alternately inspirational and cautionary talk at Uber’s Elevate Summit in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, acting FAA chief Dan Elwell told the aspiring urban air taxi audience that he’s impressed with ideas and progress the industry has made. But, “When I put my FAA regulator hat on, I’ve got a whole new bucket of stuff […]

Uber is betting big that data it’s collecting from its ground-based ride-hailing app will drive the emerging urban air taxi market, but while we’re waiting for the aircraft, beginning this summer, UberCopter will launch in limited round-trip service between downtown Manhattan and JFK Airport. The service will be provided by Part 135-operator HeliFlite using conventional […]