Aviation News

Airbus engineers have quietly received a patent for a 20-passenger hypersonic “ultra-rapid” business jet that would be capable of whisking the well-heeled from San Francisco to Paris in under three hours. The patent claims the ambitious aircraft would significantly reduce its sonic boom to allow flights at supersonic speed over land. Turbojets and a rocket […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association released its quarterly shipment report last week — a report that compares general aviation aircraft delivery numbers year over year. This latest report compares the first half of 2015 to the same time period in 2014, and the results will not make the aviation industry jump for joy. The total […]

While the U.S. population has been on a steady and strong increase for decades, the pilot population has slowly been declining as the large number of amazing aviators that came out of the World War II and the Vietnam War are aging. But with the emergence of new young pilot groups there is hope for […]

As a child, Jessica Cox wasn’t allowed to climb the slide at the playground. Born without arms, she was limited — not by her own abilities, but by protective grown-ups who told her, “Oh, you can’t do that.” “I wanted to be up high,” Cox said, but because she had no way of holding onto […]

A beautiful display of hot air balloons of multiple shapes and colors took to the skies in Chambley, France, on Saturday in an attempt to break a world record for the most number of balloons taking off simultaneously. A total of 433 balloons took off from the Lorraine Mondial Air Balloons meet, taking place at […]

Amazon is proposing a “drone zone” in the airspace below 400 feet to facilitate high-speed delivery of packages to customers who just can’t wait to get their hands on the latest gadgets from the online retailing giant. The proposal calls for crafting new operating rules in Class G airspace below 500 feet to keep unmanned […]

Congress has all but given up trying to pass a highway spending bill before starting its long summer break this weekend, quashing hopes of third-class medical reform coming up for a vote before the fall. Even then, lawmakers who support expanding medical self-assessments from the Sport pilot ranks to most private pilots will face an […]

Investigators say part of a wing that washed up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean came from a Boeing 777, making it appear likely that searchers have gotten their first big break in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. French investigators will check a number found on the wing part, thought to […]

The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded its investigation into the fatal accident involving Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. The space ship disintegrated during a test flight on October 31, 2014, resulting in the death of copilot Michael Alsbury. The NTSB concluded that Scaled Composites, the contractor for the program, failed to “consider and protect against the […]

We have witnessed some pretty challenging crosswind landings in the U.K. recently, but this might be a landing to top even the most hair-raising descents. Last weekend a KLM Boeing 777 was captured on video — that has since gone viral — while making its way into Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport during what is being called […]