Aircraft

International car service company Uber has branched out to provide helicopter flights at certain times through what the company calls UberChopper. The flights are posted on Uber’s blog at blog.uber.com. Most recently, Uber offered a free promo Christmas flight for four over the Silicon Valley. The flights are conducted through local helicopter operators. Most of […]

If you haven’t noticed, general aviation is on the verge of a mini revolution — and it has nothing to do with jet-fuel-burning diesel engines, shiny new glass cockpits or multibillion-dollar NextGen modernization programs. Instead, the big change in aviation centers on the new millennium’s “sharing economy” and you, the pilot — or, more precisely, […]

The first Chinese-built Mooney rolled out of the factory in central China’s Henan province last week, officially turning the page on an important new chapter for the 85-year-old light airplane manufacturer. Wearing an eye-catching gray, white and red paint scheme, the first Chinese Mooney, an M20TN Acclaim Type S model, is one of 17 airplanes […]

Gulfstream has selected an ADS-B Out avionics package from Garmin for the G150, offering worldwide NextGen air traffic control compliance for operators of the midsize business jet. The upgrade is being offered at Gulfstream’s service center in Dallas. It involves replacing the G150’s existing transponders with Garmin GTX 3000 Mode S Extended Squitter remote transponder […]

After years of flight testing two versions of its solar-powered concept airplane, the Solar Impulse team is now well on its way to making the journey around the globe a reality. Si2 — the second version of the Solar Impulse — has been disassembled and loaded into the nose of a Cargolux Boeing 747 and […]

Sometimes the best way to fly is without any boundaries between you and the outdoors. Flying reader Michael Daniels recently did just that, enjoying the openness of a Quicksilver S2. Check out the great footage he captured during the flight. Want more? Head over to our “Flying Is” channel for all reader videos. Get exclusive […]

In the thin air above 20,000 feet, with German fighters bearing down from all directions, the inside of an unpressurized American bomber in World War II was an altogether foreign world. Freezing cold, oxygen-deprived and hundreds of miles from the nearest friendly fighter escort, the bombers faced desperate odds with each mission deep into enemy […]

Electric motors open a candy box of new possibilities to jaded aeronautical designers and researchers. As with real candy, however, there is a problem of weight gain. The best commercial batteries today are 30 times heavier than their equivalent in fossil fuels. The $80,000 Tesla Model S sedan uses 1,300 pounds of batteries to store […]

With an increasing number of UAS incidents including several reports of close calls with airplanes, the UAS industry has worked with the FAA to come up with a campaign that sheds some light on how drone operations can and should be conducted in order maximize safety in the sky. Named “Know Before You Fly,” the […]

Building your own airplane can be a daunting task and one of the trickiest parts is to properly assemble the avionics equipment and all the cables that go with it. Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Company has just started a program that makes this work much easier. The company’s harness assembly shop offers services ranging from […]