Recent Updates

An apparently well-funded Massachusetts startup says it will develop a “flying car” hexacopter powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that will carry five people 400 miles. Alaka’i’s Skai says it picked fuel cells as an energy source because they’re much more energy dense and long-lasting than any batteries developed so far. The effort is backed […]

The combat glider was an integral part of Operation Neptune, the airborne component of Operation Overlord, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this week in Normandy. In this video shot in 2017, AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli explains the critical role gliders played in the Normandy operation.

A young Canadian inventor has come up with what he says is a low-cost flight data recorder for light aircraft that requires no special installation. Ephraim Nowak, 26, says the video-based SkyVU system doesn’t need to be wired into the aircraft’s panel and systems. Instead, it uses 4K video cameras to record gauges on the […]

As Boeing tweaked final development of the 737 MAX, it made the MCAS autotrim system more aggressive and ultimately riskier, according to a new report in The New York Times. Boeing failed to inform even its own test pilots and the FAA about the revisions. MCAS—Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System—was added to the 737 MAX to […]

Reuters is reporting that Stratolaunch Systems, the rocket launch company founded by the late Paul Allen, will be closed after unsuccessful efforts to sell it. Allen, who died at 65 last October, teamed up with Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan to create the launch system, which was to use a massive six-engine aircraft to carry […]

While it’s common for airports to list “birds in the vicinity,” this alert for Situk Airport in Alaska warns of especially distracted type engaged in perpetuating our national symbol: Additional Remarks • RY SAFETY AREA 75 FT WIDE FULL LENGTH WITH GROUND RISING AND FALLING OVER 12 INCHES. MAINTAIN CNTRLN CONTROL. • TREES BTN 50 […]

The Desanctification of AoA We installed an AOA called a “Lift Reserve Indicator” in our missionary C182. It’s purpose was exactly what the name implied…at any given airspeed, weight, bank angle, and G load, you knew how close you were to a stall far more precisely than indicated airspeed, sound, feel, buffet, etc. The instructions […]

The January 2019 U.S. Sport Aviation Expo was the last to be hosted by Sebring Regional Airport (SEF), according to an announcement made by expo organizers on Thursday. The annual expo, which was held in Sebring, Florida, first took place in 2004. According to the event website, over 100 aircraft were on display at the […]

Helicopters participating in the disaster response efforts surrounding severe flooding in Oklahoma are having trouble with illegal unmanned aircraft system (UAS/drone) operations interfering with their flights. According to Tulsa Fire Department spokesperson Andrew Little, emergency response personnel encountered approximately 30 drones flying illegally on Wednesday alone. Little emphasized that emergency response helicopters can’t operate when […]

Airbus launched a global campaign to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary on Wednesday. The date marked five decades since French Minister of Transport, Jean Chamant, and German Minister of Economic Affairs, Karl Schiller, signed an agreement for the joint development of the A300 at the 1969 Paris Air Show. The celebration campaign will run from […]