Aircraft

The FAA on Tuesday approved a plan to test changes to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s lithium-ion batteries in a bid to certify a new design and get the grounded airliners back in the air. The Boeing plan includes changes to the internal battery components to minimize the possibility of short-circuiting, which can lead to overheating […]

Hopes for bringing a B-29 Superfortress named Doc back to life grew stronger this week as several business leaders in Wichita came together to form a non-profit organization called Doc’s Friends. The organization took ownership of the Superfortress, which was rescued by aviation enthusiast Tony Mazzolini and a group of historians who found the airplane […]

On March 7 the SpaceX Grasshopper, a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle currently in development at the company’s McGregor, Texas, facility, completed a nearly 263-foot leap and hovered at that altitude for about 34 seconds before landing at the center of its launch pad. In addition to landing on its target, SpaceX said the Grasshopper’s […]

On Tuesday Cirrus Aircraft announced that longtime company employee Pat Waddick would assume the reins as president and chief operating officer of the company while co-founder Dale Klapmeier will remain as chief executive officer. While such moves often result from performance challenges, in this case, it’s the opposite. Cirrus’ recent launch of the Generation Five […]

If this catches on, there will be jokes about adding a line on fuel order forms: “Do you want fries with that?” Last week, four members of the Paramus (New Jersey) Flying Club flew a Cessna 182 from Rhode Island to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, using a 50-50 mix of biofuel and jet-A. The biofuel, […]

From virtual flight to reality, eight students and their science teachers will travel to the Glasair factory to build a pair of Sportsman kit planes. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association is teaming with BuildAPlane to conduct a nationwide competition for the slots. Teams of students can compete by designing their own aircraft, using free “Fly […]

After losing out twice before, Beechcraft is again protesting the U.S. Air Force’s decision to award a contract for light attack airplanes for the Afghan military to Brazil’s Embraer. Embraer and its U.S.-based partner, Sierra Nevada, won a $427 million deal on February 27 to supply 20 Super Tucano turboprops to be used in Afghanistan […]

Three people are dead after a Northrop Grumman EA-6B crashed in eastern Washington state Monday morning during a routine low-level training flight. According to base officials, the airplane was assigned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and went down shortly before 9 a.m. local time approximately 10 miles outside the city of Harrington, which lies […]

OEMs and show organizers at Heli-Expo this week appear to be on cloud nine as the helicopter industry continues on a strong growth path. More than 13,000 people pre-registered for the show this year, and, by Thursday morning, Helicopter Association International reported more than 20,100 attendees, breaking the attendance record for the sixth consecutive year. […]

One of the most surprising announcements coming out of Heli-Expo this week was the introduction of a new turbine version of the Bell 47 — the 47GT-6 from Scott’s-Bell 47 — a company that also refers to itself as SB47. The new version of the 1940s bubble-canopy helicopter design will be based on Bell’s 47G-3B-2A […]