Aircraft

Stans, Switzerland-based Pilatus Aircraft has become the first business jet manufacturer to achieve something many expected would be impossible—certification for rough field operations—for its PC-24 Super Versatile Jet. Since 2018, the bizjet has been certified to land on dry sand and gravel, but complete rough field certification allows the PC-24 to land on additional surfaces, […]

Back in 1997, Steve Jobs challenged the world to “Think Different,” as he and his team of engineers invented a line of desktop computers that turned the industry on its head. Jobs was not only an engineer, he was a visionary, able to marry his intense quest for innovation with forward-thinking creativity. Great engineers can […]

If you’ve ever attended the Stihl National Championship Air Races at the Reno-Stead Airport west of Reno, Nevada, you know the event brands itself as “the fastest motorsport on earth,” with the slogan “fly low, fly fast, turn left.” Low and slow has never factored into the equation since the races began decades ago. But […]

Brazilian airplane maker Embraer has announced an upgraded version of its Phenom 300 light business jet. The Phenom 300E has reached Mach 0.80, which, the company claims, makes the airplane the fastest single-pilot business jet on the market. High-speed cruise for the Phenom 300E is listed at 464 knots, an increase from 453 knots in […]

After a “long and extremely professional evaluation” by Spain’s Ministry of Defense to select a training system for the country’s future military pilots, the Spanish Air Force chose the Swiss-produced Pilatus PC-21 training system, and has committed to receiving a total of 24 PC-21s to replace the Casa C-101 jet trainers they have used since […]

The first airplane to cross the Atlantic was a war-surplus Vickers Vimy bomber with a wingspan of 68 feet. The Spirit of St. Louis had a 46-foot wing. In 1975, I made the 2,000-mile trip from Gander, Newfoundland, to Shannon, Ireland—by then, a commonplace for single-engine planes with optimistic pilots—in a homebuilt of 23-foot span. […]

For the pilots, crews and families that operate vintage biplanes for giving public rides, there are few—if any—days off when it comes to performing important annual maintenance and 100-hour inspections. Meeting the FAA safety criteria for holding out rides to the public when your airplane was built over 80 years ago requires a dedication to […]

More than 72 years have passed since the Cessna 172 first appeared on engineering drawing boards in Kansas, and the airplane still figures into the training plan for many pilots who learn to fly around the world. While the powerplant options continue to evolve, with the JT-A burning Jet-A, and an electric-powered version in the […]

Approximately five months after Bearhawk Aircraft announced a two-seat, taildragger kit design—the Companion—the Austin, Texas-based company has delivered the first two airplanes. Both of the new owners, Chad Marks and Greg Charest, are new to aircraft building, and both are expecting assistance from Mark Goldberg of AviPro (the Atlixco, Mexico-based builder of Bearhawk’s quickbuild kits), […]

As Boom Supersonic moves forward on their ultimate goal of building “history’s fastest supersonic airliner,” the Colorado-based company announced a strategic partnership with Flight Research, Inc. (FRI) aimed at bringing test flights for XB-1, Boom’s supersonic demonstrator aircraft, to the supersonic corridor stretching across the Mojave Desert. The FRI partnership will provide flight test support […]