Aircraft

A handful of Pipistrel Alpha Electro two-seaters are operating in the United States, but because of the shortsightedness of FAA regulations for light-sport aircraft they can’t be used for paid flight training. Now, the Slovenian maker of the battery-powered airplane thinks the rule will be amended by early next year, a change that would usher […]

Epic Aircraft announced it has completed the structural testing program for the Epic E1000 single-engine turboprop. The company has been flying two test airplanes, FT1 with more than 525 flight hours and the fully conforming FT2, which started flying in January, with more than 100 flight hours. Flight testing with designated FAA test pilots has […]

Diamond Aircraft’s new DA40NG and DA42-VI, both of which burn jet fuel rather than avgas, have been chosen by Republic Airline as the new fleet training aircraft for the airline’s new Leadership In Flight Training program, according to a Diamond Aircraft news release. Republic ordered 50 DA40s and DA42s (along with Diamond Flight Simulation Devices) […]

Lancair International, which recently relocated to Uvalde, Texas, under new ownership, announced a two-seat airplane kit at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Keeping with the ocean theme of nomenclature, Lancair named the airplane Barracuda. Lancair also produces the four-seat Mako. “The Barracuda is a 2/2/2 proposition – two seats and 200 knot cruise for only […]

Bye Aerospace announced that it is in the process of installing a Siemens motor in the two-seat Sun Flyer 2 proof-of-concept, which first flew in April. The 90kW motor provides the equivalent of 115 hp, which will power the all-electric airplane to 135 knots, said Bye Aerospace’s president and CEO, George Bye. Power is stored […]

Thirteen people survived the crash of a vintage C-47 military transport plane on Saturday at Burnet Airport, 20 miles northwest of Austin, Texas. The aircraft, the Bluebonnet Belle owned by the Commemorative Air Force, was departing for AirVenture 2018 in Oshkosh when the accident occurred during takeoff. The aircraft banked right on takeoff, before turning […]

Fresh off its Collier Trophy win this spring, the Cirrus Vision Jet nabbed yet another accolade, this time taking home the 2018 Flying Innovation Award, presented Monday night at Oshkosh. Flying editor-in-chief Stephen Pope handed over the Innovation Award trophy to Cirrus Aircraft senior vice president of product development Ken Harness, who accepted it on […]

Icon Aircraft says it’s launching a fractional program for the A5 light-sport amphibian called Icon Fleet Access that is designed to allow easier and lower-cost ownership options. Icon announced a beta test for the managed fractional program at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh that will kick off this fall ahead of the official rollout of Icon Fleet […]

As the gates opened for the annual weeklong EAA AirVenture show, Redmond, Oregon-based Stratos Aircraft announced a modified version of its proof-of-concept single-engine jet – the Stratos 716. Stratos’s CTO and chief designer, Carsten Sundin, briefed the media about the progress on the proof of concept airplane and the new design. While the ultimate goal […]

You haven’t seen Aston Martin’s new Volante Vision in a James Bond movie, at least not yet. In a joint venture with Cranfield University, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions and Rolls-Royce Electrical, the luxury car maker recently unveiled drawings of an autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL flying vehicle that Aston Martin believes will operate in either the urban or […]