Aircraft

Airbus Group’s E-Fan demonstrator was able to successfully cross the English Channel on Friday morning, mirroring Louis Blériot’s historical flight nearly 106 years ago. But the record flight is already proving controversial. Taking off from Lydd Airport in southern England, the twin-fan electric airplane completed the flight in 38 minutes, reaching a cruise altitude of […]

The aviation world hasn’t witnessed this type of intrigue in 106 years — at least as far as an English Channel crossing is concerned. Seeking to replicate Louis Blériot’s famous overwater flight in July 1909, two would-be electric-airplane producers, Airbus and Pipistrel, are preparing to make historic Channel crossings this week in battery-powered prototypes. But […]

New drone designs appear to be popping up all over the place. But here’s one we thought is worth checking out. The ARcopter is a newly designed VTOL drone designed by a company called Colugo Systems. Unlike other VTOLs, however, the ARcopter is capable of landing and hovering in windy conditions as its wings are […]

It’s eerie seeing what appears to be a run-of-the mill general aviation airplane starting its engines by itself and taxiing out to the active runway before taking off with nary a human onboard. UAVs are nothing new, of course, and futurologists tell us self-driving cars will be in dealer showrooms before we know it, but […]

A feat that many thought unachievable with today’s technology has been done. Last week, André Borschberg completed the most arduous leg in the planned round-the-world flight of the all-solar-powered Solar Impulse Si2, crossing the Pacific Ocean from Nagoya, Japan to Kalaeloa Airport just west of Honolulu, Hawaii. The marathon flight took nearly 117 hours and […]

Bell Helicopter test pilots flew the new fly-by-wire 525 Relentless turbine twin for the first time yesterday at the company production center in Amarillo, Texas, officially christening the helicopter maker’s biggest and most capable civil model. The pilots evaluated the 525’s hover and low-speed handling capabilities during the test flight, which was made slightly more […]

André Borschberg, the co-founder and CEO of Solar Impulse, has been strapped into the 134 square foot cockpit of the Solar Impulse Si2 and is nearly half-way through his flight from Japan to Hawaii, a journey that is expected to take about 120 hours, all over water with no alternatives for a diversion. The solar-powered […]

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded shortly after takeoff from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Sunday. While the Dragon spacecraft that was attached to Falcon 9 was only carrying cargo for delivery to the International Space Station, there is a Crew Dragon designed to bring astronauts into space. SpaceX is planning […]

This year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, set to take off July 20 through 26, is expecting many special aircraft. One of the biggest that is planning to show up is Goodyear’s “Wingfoot One,” scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, July 21, and stay on display and fly as part of the air show throughout the […]

For the second year, Palm Springs, California, is welcoming back pilots and aviation enthusiasts to the annual Flying Aviation Expo presented by Scheyden, to be held this Oct. 15-17 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Registration is now open for the three-day aviation event at aviation-xpo.com. Tickets for the show are available in a variety […]