Aviation News

Perlan 2 — the glider slated to fly to the edge of space next year — has lifted off for the first time. The successful first flight was conducted yesterday from Roberts Field Airport in Redmond, Oregon. The glider was pulled off the ground by an agricultural airplane and released to soar to an altitude […]

The FAA has issued flight advisories detailing temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) in the vicinities of New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., to enable Pope Francis’ scheduled visits to each region. From September 22-27, all three cities will be “no drone zones,” and additional flight restrictions will apply to each throughout the papal visit. The FAA […]

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a new design for landing gear that could enable helicopters to land just about anywhere. Rather than the traditional fixed skids or wheels that are attached to the bottom of the helicopter’s fuselage, the Mission Adaptive Rotor (MAR) Robotic Landing Gear is comprised of four articulated, […]

Doc’s Friends have a reason to cheer once again as the Wichita, Kansas-based volunteer crew has reached the point of engine start in the monumental task of returning the massive B-29 bomber to the skies. The first engine run was conducted days ago at the McConnell Air Force Base on the east side of the […]

Airshow performer Jay “Flash” Gordon died in a crash during the Wings Over Big South Fork Air & Car Show at the Scott Municipal Airport in Oneida, Tennessee, over the weekend. The Louisville, Kentucky, pilot was flying his L-39 Albatros when it entered a dive shortly after takeoff, according to witnesses and local news reports. […]

Will Steven Hinton win his seventh straight Unlimited Class Gold? That was the big question at the 52nd National Championship Air Races held September 16-20 at Reno Stead Airport in Reno, Nevada. Hinton, flying Voodoo, a P-51 Mustang, screamed around the pylons with Robert “Hoot” Gibson racing Strega, also a P-51D. The suspense was building […]

If you are an air race fan, it’s time to make the annual migration to Reno for the National Championship Air Races. The competition starts today at Reno Stead Airport, 10 miles northwest of the city. In addition to the promise of adrenaline-pumping races from buzzing miniature sport airplanes to roaring unlimiteds, the weekend promises […]

Unless you are required by a lender to carry liability insurance for your airplane, you likely don’t have to pay for such a policy. Only 11 states require some form of liability insurance for general aviation aircraft operators, according to the Government Accountability Office, unlike automobile owners and commercial airlines, which are federally obligated to […]

The FAA has issued guidance to offices that handle pilot certificate action, offering an alternative tool for handling FAA violations through remedial training. The FAA said the new guidance was put in place in an effort to make the National Airspace System safer by correcting deviances through training rather than litigation. The remedial training will […]

The French commercial jet manufacturing giant Airbus this week held the official opening of its first manufacturing facility in the United States, at a sprawling new plant in Mobile, Alabama. The facility has been in operation since July and Airbus expects to deliver its first U.S.-built airplane next year. The $600 million, 53-acre facility will […]