Aircraft

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 […]

Bombardier Business Aircraft announced this week that the FAA has now certified the latest update to the popular Garmin G5000 avionics suite aboard Learjet aircraft. The upgrade will be incorporated on new Learjet aircraft deliveries and will be available as a retrofit in early 2020 for in-service Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 aircraft. The updated […]

Joby Aviation has earned its latest financial infusion from Toyota Motor Corporation in the development of its all-electric VTOL aircraft. Toyota plans to “share expertise in manufacturing, quality and cost controls” during the development of the “quiet” eVTOL aircraft, according to a company press release. Toyota has invested $394 million as a lead investor in […]

It’s a rare pilot indeed who learns to fly in a single-engine airplane and never dreams of jumping into a larger, sleeker machine that carries more people, flies faster and farther, and of course, is outfitted with all the latest electronic navigation and communications gear. For pilots able to climb that ownership ladder—often men and […]

In this industry, an airplane with a for sale sign never seems all that odd. When the airplane turns out to be a relatively new Boeing Business Jet—a BBJ 787 Dreamliner no less—people tend to pay attention. Boeing Business Jets are usually purchased for senior executive or VIP transportation and, with a list price north […]