Aircraft

Sometimes it’s the small things that matter and, if the claims of Premier Aviation out of Concord, California, are true, a simple wheel cover has achieved impressive performance improvements for the Cessna 400 twin-series of airplanes. The company recently received the sign off from the FAA for an STC to install its dome wheel cover […]

A new concept in aircraft ownership is taking flight with the launch of DiamondShare, a shared-use program that seeks to make flying more affordable by spreading the costs around. As you might have guessed, the idea is based exclusively on Diamond Aircraft products, specifically the four-place, single-engine Diamond DA40 XLS. The program matches aircraft owners […]

Van’s Aircraft celebrated a milestone this week as the 8,000th confirmed RV kit airplane made its first flight. The airplane, an RV-7A built by Stephen Watson from Santa Clarita, California, took flight on Monday. At the completion of the flight, the builder proclaimed: “She flew like an RV.” Watson, who works at the Jet Propulsion […]

While the rest of the Boeing 787 fleet remains grounded, the FAA has authorized a one-time crew-only Dreamliner flight to return one of the airplanes from a paint facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to the company’s factory outside Seattle. FAA approval for the flight was given alongside the stipulations that the flight crew take a […]

Aviation enthusiast Bernardo Malfitano has put together an interesting and compelling montage of dozens of photographs showing Chinese aircraft juxtaposed with the Western and Soviet designs on which they are based. The collection spans 50 years of Chinese aviation development, with most of the early photos representing Chinese airplanes and helicopters built under license with […]

Rockwell Collins has decided to bid adieu to its well traveled and much beloved North American Sabreliner 50 avionics test bed, an airplane the company has owned since 1976. The airplane has been used over the decades for testing a variety of groundbreaking avionics developments, including early satellite communications, radio altimeters, the first Mode-S transponder, […]

A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved Hawker Beechcraft’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan, clearing the way for the company to restart operations under the name Beechcraft within the next few weeks. “Today’s ruling marks the final significant step in the restructuring process,” said Robert S. Miller, Hawker Beechcraft CEO. “Throughout this process, we have been guided […]

Just Aircraft out of Walhalla, South Carolina, is delivering a new short takeoff and landing version of its Highlander — the Highlander SuperStol. This new version has a modified wing design and new, beefier landing gear that allows the airplane to fly into short backcountry airstrips. Tundra tires up to 29 inches can be fitted […]

A new aircraft concept called the Aeroscraft completed what Mario Pantuso, Aeros business development, described as the “first float” this month. Pantuso said the initial flight-testing program has been conducted in a hangar and has proven the aircraft’s vertical takeoff and landing and hovering capabilities. The first flight outside the hangar is expected in the […]

The construction process behind the smooth-flying speedster.