Airbus

Marking a milestone for the exclusive power plant for the Airbus A330neo, the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 demonstrator engine has run for the first time. “This is a great moment for everyone at Rolls-Royce – we have achieved an important program milestone on the journey to deliver our latest Trent engine,” said Chris Davie, director of […]

Airbus Helicopters successfully completed the first flight test of its high-compression diesel engine demonstrator aircraft at the Marignane Airport in Marignane, France. “The first result of the 30-minute flight confirms the advantages of new-technology high-compression piston engines for rotorcraft in offering reduced emissions, up to 50 percent lower fuel consumption depending on duty cycle, nearly […]

In 2004, Aerion introduced the first design of its supersonic business jet. More than 10 years later, the project is gaining traction, with the company gaining backers, solidifying collaborations with partner Airbus and searching for a factory site. Still, the first supersonic business jet won’t hit the market anytime soon; the Aerion AS2’s first flight […]

Perlan 2 — the glider slated to fly to the edge of space next year — has lifted off for the first time. The successful first flight was conducted yesterday from Roberts Field Airport in Redmond, Oregon. The glider was pulled off the ground by an agricultural airplane and released to soar to an altitude […]

The French commercial jet manufacturing giant Airbus this week held the official opening of its first manufacturing facility in the United States, at a sprawling new plant in Mobile, Alabama. The facility has been in operation since July and Airbus expects to deliver its first U.S.-built airplane next year. The $600 million, 53-acre facility will […]

Disrupt or be disrupted. It’s one of the hard lessons emerging in today’s tech-fueled economy, in which the frenetic pace of innovation means not only seeing new ideas materialize with dizzying speed but also watching as they threaten to obliterate entire industries that came before them. We’ve glimpsed this trend in aviation already with everything […]

Since the earliest days of powered flight, propulsion technology has mattered more than anything else in humankind’s quest to break the bonds of earth and rise triumphantly into thin air. For the Wright Flyer it was a 180-pound, 12-horsepower gasoline piston engine built by Orville and Wilbur’s trusty mechanic, Charles ­Taylor. For the P-51D Mustang, […]

Airbus Group’s E-Fan demonstrator was able to successfully cross the English Channel on Friday morning, mirroring Louis Blériot’s historical flight nearly 106 years ago. But the record flight is already proving controversial. Taking off from Lydd Airport in southern England, the twin-fan electric airplane completed the flight in 38 minutes, reaching a cruise altitude of […]

Airbus Helicopters used the stage at the Paris Air Show to announce a two-year development phase for a new model code-named the X6 that would emerge as a modern-day replacement for the 1970s-era Super Puma. Airbus Helicopters CEO Guillaume Faury said the X6 would primarily target the oil and gas industry as well as search […]

Airbus Group today announced plans to build a factory in southwest France where it will manufacture the E-Fan 2.0, a two-seat electric airplane that is due to hit the market about two and a half years from now. Airbus will break ground next year on the final assembly plant in the town of Pau near […]