Aircraft

The Cirrus Vision Jet is one of those rare airplanes that doesn’t fit neatly into any established category. Priced at around $2 million, it burns half the fuel of light jets that cost twice as much, and sells for less than even single-engine turboprops that don’t fly as high or as fast. Then there’s the […]

On the surface, 3½ feet — just over a yard — might not mean much to most people. Spread your arms out and that’s about it. But in a business jet, every inch of extra space, like every pound of weight designers can eliminate, translates into additional customer options for organizing that new cabin. Aboard […]

The FAA today awarded Cirrus Aircraft the production certificate for the SF50 Vision, the world’s first single-engine “personal” jet aimed at pilots who want to fly themselves at turbine speeds in the flight levels. The approval will allow Cirrus to accelerate aircraft deliveries as Vision jets move down the production line at the company’s headquarters […]

John Monnett always thought of himself as a jet pilot, but as his 50s began drawing to a close he realized the only way that was going to happen was if he built one himself. Luckily for Monnett, his day job is founder and president of Oshkosh-based Sonex Aircraft, a kit builder already known for […]

A very different aircraft design powered by multiple electrically powered jets took off for the first time last week. The Lilium Jet has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and this first flight was unmanned. However, the company’s vision is to use it as an air taxi platform. The proof-of-concept, named Eagle, has two seats. In […]

The Kitty Hawk Flyer prototype is not the flying car that Hollywood has been promising us. It’s not even a flying car, despite people calling it that. It is, however, the first version of what promises to be an ultralight, all-electric recreational aircraft that people can fly over water in uncongested areas, and they won’t […]

A new study conducted by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute proves that some Americans really are eager to live like the Jetsons, zipping around the skies in flying cars. Two-thirds of the 508 adults surveyed said they’d like to at least ride in, if not operate, a flying car; although safety was the […]

The Pipistrel Panthera continues to progress toward certification, but the airplane that enters production will incorporate a vast number of design alterations — some minor, some major — that the Slovenian manufacturer hopes will make the sleek four-seater an even more attractive product. According to Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol, the biggest change to the production […]

The FAA has adopted a new airworthiness directive, effective Wednesday, in response to a report of an event aboard an American Champion Aircraft Corp. airplane. Specifically, a pilot reported dealing with a stuck aileron during a flight in his Super Decathlon (model no. 8KCAB), and while he was able to “un-stick” the aileron and land […]

This morning, officials from the European Aviation Safety Agency handed over the Type Certificate for the GameBird GB1 to Bentonville, Arkansas-based Game Composites. Designed by German aerobatic champion Philipp Steinbach, the GameBird is the first aerobatic airplane certified since 2011. The FAA certification effort for the GB1 has been conducted concurrently and Steinbach expects the […]