Aircraft

California-based Archer, creating the world’s first all-electric airline, plans to collaborate with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to access the automobile giant’s low-cost supply chain, advanced composite material capabilities, and engineering and design experience. Archer will manufacture high-volume, composite, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with the intent of starting production in 2023. FCA, the parent company […]

Tecnam has partnered with ultra-freezer manufacturer Desmon to retrofit the P2012 Traveller for COVID-19 vaccination transportation, into a new version dubbed the Travelcare. The P2012 was deemed a good platform for transportation of the critical materials to remote locations in Europe and around the world. A special ultra-freezer designed by Desmon can maintain product temperatures at minus 86 […]

When you and your bank account finally decide it is time to buy a new airplane, the choices vary widely in price, features and mission. Every make and model has specific mission capabilities that offer the owner-pilot the most efficient return on investment, and where you settle on the “mission” question ultimately determines the price […]

The US Department of Transportation and the FAA issued a Final Rule (PDF) on January 6 2021 to facilitate the safe development of civil supersonic aircraft. The rule streamlines and clarifies procedures to obtain FAA approval for supersonic flight testing in the United States. The rule will help ensure that companies developing these aircraft clearly […]

Frenchman Henri Fabre’s name might not ring a bell to most people. But it just might to pilots operating aircraft that use lakes and rivers as their runways. In 1910, Fabre was credited with the first flight of a powered seaplane at Martigues near Marseille, France. Oddly, Fabre was not even a pilot when he […]

Whether in tricycle or tailwheel configuration, this economical cruiser shows its value.

Pilatus Aircraft delivered its 100th PC-24 business jet to Jetfly Aviation, the largest European fractional operator of Pilatus PC-12s and PC-24s. Jetfly, based in Luxembourg, now operates 10 of the versatile light jets—and one that apparently punches higher than its weight. Pilatus delivered the first PC-24 in February 2018, and the now 100-strong fleet has […]

Of the roughly 100,000 active single-piston-engine airplanes in the FAA registry, a quarter are amateur-built. A person shopping for a used airplane might want to take a look at them. The difference between buying a factory airplane or choosing a homebuilt is something like the difference between getting a chair and getting a dog. A […]

Textron Aviation recently delivered a mission-ready Beechcraft King Air 350CER turboprop to the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Marine & Aviation Operations (OMAO). NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts and conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. The new […]

The popularity as well as the utility of Cessna’s Caravans—operating on both land and sea—is well known, with nearly 3,000 having been produced since the model series was introduced nearly 40 years ago. It makes sense, then, that a number of companies chose the Caravan as the platform around which to create a supplemental type […]