Aircraft

A new solar-electric aircraft has entered commercial production and is getting ready for its first delivery. Named the Silent Falcon, the UAS is produced by Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Silent Falcon UAS Technologies (SFUAS), a former subsidiary of Bye Aerospace, which specializes in alternative energies for aviation application that is also involved with Aero Electric Aircraft […]

During World War II the British adopted the term boffin for scientists or engineers secretly developing novel weapons, inventing radar, breaking codes and so on. Frank Whittle, one of the creators of the jet engine, was a notable boffin. Another, less well-known than Whittle although, like him, later to be the subject of a motion […]

The FAA has eased the arduous COA (Certificate of Waiver or Authorization) application required for commercial UAS operators, allowing for what the FAA calls a “blanket” 200-foot COA. What this means is that any drone operators who hold a Section 333 exemption can fly below 200 feet agl without having to go through the previously […]

Earlier this month Pakistani military leaders released statements commending engineers for developing an “indigenous” drone that’s strikingly reminiscent of the popular Long-EZ homebuilt designed by Burt Rutan in the 1970s. Officials say the UAV, called the Burraq, fired a laser-guided missile during testing a few weeks ago, constituting a first for the Middle Eastern country. […]

Just Aircraft has introduced a stretched version of the light-sport SuperSTOL that adds an extra two feet to the taildragger’s aft section and an extra six inches up front. The changes allow the SuperSTOL Stretch XL to accommodate bigger engines, such as the UL Power 520 series and Lycoming O-320 engine putting out 160 hp. […]

“This whole thing of ‘The sky is the limit’ — it’s not,” says professional aerobatic pilot Rob Holland. “The sky is just a playground.” Nothing could be closer to the truth when it comes to people who engage in extreme flying adventures. Whether they fly powered or nonpowered aircraft, these individuals are pushing the boundaries […]

NASA has selected Tecnam’s P2006T, more commonly referred to as the Tecnam Twin, as the base platform for a new all-electric program named the Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology project, or LEAPTech for short. Within a few years, NASA hopes to fly a prototype of the airplane modified with a 31-foot wing equipped with 18 […]

Officials from Daher, maker of the TBM 900 single-engine turboprop, cut the ribbon on a new 32,000-square-foot U.S. headquarters in Pompano Beach, Florida, at an event that attracted more than 300 attendees and 30 customer airplanes. The new facility includes two hurricane-proof, temperature-controlled hangars, one of which is equipped with a three-ton overhead crane, that […]

It looks like Fifi, the only known B-29 to maintain airworthy status, will soon have some welcome company in the skies. After several decades, the efforts to bring the B-29 bomber named Doc from its dormancy in the Mojave Desert to back into the skies has taken one giant step in the right direction. Doc’s […]

In the FAA’s just-released Aerospace Forecast for the fiscal years 2015 through 2035 the agency expects steady growth in the general aviation sector with an average increase of 1.4 percent per year over the 20-year period. According to the published FAA data, 2014 saw one percent growth in total GA shipments. The single-engine piston market […]