Rob Mark

Instrument flying changed forever yesterday when Vū Systems launched the world’s first passive millimeter wave sensor (PMMS) for aviation called the Vu Cube. At first glance, the 29-pound sensor looks like a retro black-and-white TV from the 1950s, but the sensor’s ability to see through heavy clouds, thick fog and even snow make it far […]

Cary, North Carolina, last week became ground zero for the first successful commercial test of a drone delivery service when an M2 drone operated by UPS and its partner drone systems developer Matternet delivered a prescription from a CVS pharmacy to a nearby residence and another later to a customer at a retirement community. The […]

With the demise of the space shuttle program nearly 20 years ago, Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft, being developed with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, was designed to fill the gap and to return human spaceflight launches to the International Space Station from American soil. The reusable Starliner will carry as many as seven […]

Daher, the French maker of the TBM and Kodiak series of single-engine turboprops, recently held a unique contest in a search for new products users would like to see on the TBM series of very fast turboprops. Daher called the contest general aviation’s first hackathon or “General Aviathon.” The company chose three winning concepts that […]

Aviators understand that aircraft accidents seldom occur because of a single misstep in the human or technological chain. They usually occur when a flight crew is overwhelmed by multiple human or technological failures within a short time span. The Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi of Indonesia, also known as the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), issued […]

Hang around general aviation airports long enough, and you’ll probably run across someone with a beautifully restored classic airplane, one they might have found as a wreck in someone’s garage or even in a barn. That scenario means the chance to save some significant money making an airplane fly again, assuming, of course, the new […]

By the time most pilots have begun applying to the major airlines, they can usually recite the carrier’s requirements, whether it’s total flight or PIC time, education, experience or myriad other demands. Sometimes though, a pilot manages to win a seat in an airline class despite not meeting each and every requirement. Consider formal education. […]

Ampaire has launched a NASA-funded feasibility study to learn if the venerable Twin Otter can be efficiently modified to use a hybrid-electric propulsion system. Ampaire and Ikhana are collaborating on the NASA project to evaluate various hybrid diesel/electric configurations for the aircraft, and to develop cost, schedule and risk mitigation plans for a further phase […]

This year’s NBAA Convention is certainly to go down in history as the one in which the sustainable fuel initiative was highlighted with a number of valuable panel discussions and presentations designed to educate visitors on our industry’s commitment to help leave the planet Earth better off than when humans first walked upon it. The […]

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” –Alan Kay, American computer scientist Ken Dichter, chairman, founder and CEO of Wheels Up believes, “The future is now.” The New York company—famous for its fleet of distinctively painted on-demand King Airs and Citations for member travel—is planning to put Kay’s advice to good […]