Aircraft

The Cirrus Vision Jet is progressing toward certification on schedule after the FAA issued the SF50’s Type Inspection Authorization (TIA), marking the start of formal FAA flight evaluations of the single-engine jet’s type design, airworthiness, performance and handling. The TIA allows Cirrus to begin certification flight tests with an FAA pilot on board, one of […]

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently announced details on the progress of the test program for its G500 and G600 family of business jets, which are expected to hit the market in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The G500 took to the skies for the first time on May 18. Since then, company test pilots have completed five […]

The Bugatti 100P replica race plane that has been under construction for the last several years in Oklahoma sustained damage yesterday during its first test flight, nosing over and striking both propellers after a failure of its right brake and a slow-speed departure from the runway into soft mud. Still, the builders of the airplane […]

Enstrom Helicopters announced that the flight test program for its two-seat TH180, currently in development, is progressing on schedule with the second prototype building flight hours. “We are into the envelope expansion phase,” said Enstrom test pilot Bill Taylor. “We’ve had it out over 90 knots so far, and everything is performing as expected.” A […]

I’m generally biased in favor of anything that flies, but truth be told there have been a few light-sport aircraft that I haven’t enjoyed flying. I felt that those airplanes were so light on the controls that it was rather unsettling. While the Icon A5 looks cool, I was prepared for the worst when I […]

The volunteers that have been hard at work restoring Doc, a Superfortress that was one of eight B-29s named after characters in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, didn’t quite get the airplane flying by AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as the group had hoped. But Doc’s Friends, the organization that is spearheading the restoration, says […]

Here’s a very cool video of a P-51 Mustang and F-22 Raptor formation flight that lets the viewer scroll around the screen for an unprecedented 360-degree view of the action. From the camera position in the P-51’s rear seat, viewers can use their mouse (or finger if watching on a touchscreen tablet) to look in […]

Reports of close calls with personal quadracopters and other remotely piloted UAVs are on the rise, with the latest scary story coming from the pilot of a SkyLife medevac helicopter in Fresno, California, who says he came “within about 15 feet” of a drone yesterday afternoon before making a sharp turn to avoid a collision. […]

The FAA has finally had enough. After a sharp rise in close encounters this year between remotely piloted UAVs and commercial aircraft, the agency is now warning drone pilots that they face stiff penalties, criminal charges and even prison time for unauthorized flights. The FAA says there have been 650 reports of UAV sightings by […]

It’s a rare airplane that appears on the scene and hangs on, long after production has ended, not as a nod to nostalgia but because the airplane keeps letting pilots (or their bosses) do things they want to do. Be it making money transporting people and packages deep into mountainous terrain, keeping an eye on […]