Aviation News

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is examining nanotechnology that could lead to inexpensive head-up displays (HUDs) for general aviation aircraft. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army Research Office. A proof of concept prototype of the system was recently shown publicly. Using nanotechnology, the […]

Today, the Make-A-Wish Foundation is giving several children with life-threatening medical conditions an opportunity to soar high above the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. The children will climb into a rainbow-colored Lear 35 named Dream Chaser 4, an airplane owned by Centennial, Colorado-based International Jet Aviation, and enjoy a flight above their hometown. […]

The Garmin Pilot mobile app just got a whole lot better with the rollout yesterday of a portable Garmin ADS-B and WAAS GPS receiver with an integrated attitude sensor that greatly expands the application’s capabilities. Garmin says the new GDL 39 3D portable unit brings ADS-B traffic and weather information to the Garmin Pilot app […]

Dramatic security video from five infrared cameras at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado captured the January 5 crash of a Challenger 601 that killed a pilot and critically injured two others. The video, posted online by Aspen Journalism, a local non-profit media outlet, shows the airplane on its second landing attempt after aborting the first […]

The immaculately restored 1959 Cessna L-19 Bird Dog/Dodge M37 truck combination that was donated to the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction, which took place last week in Scottsdale, Arizona, did quite well for its charity, to say the least. Cessna announced that the auction pieces were bought by a Cessna customer who wished to remain anonymous […]

The U.S. Senate has introduced a bill aimed at opening a dialog with pilots and the FAA before the agency adopts a controversial sleep apnea testing policy. The measure would compel the FAA to abide by the normal rulemaking process before implementing any policy change related to pilot medicals and sleep apnea screening. Introduced by […]

It was an old story. A relatively inexperienced pilot practicing landings got too slow on final approach, stalled and crashed. The pilot, 56, was flying a club Cherokee 180, a type in which he had logged 13 of his 130 hours. He was making a short round-robin cross-country flight, ostensibly for practice, with landings at […]

Aluminum lasts a long time. It’s why airplanes are not subject to the same planned obsolescence that allows the automotive industry to continually generate repeat customers. Though the last combat mission over Vietnam was flown almost four decades ago, the remnants of the air war are still visible in the Southeast Asian country. Blogger David […]

A U.S. Navy F/A-18E crashed about 45 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach on Wednesday during a routine training mission. The pilot ejected before the Super Hornet went down and is in critical condition after being rescued by a fishing vessel, according to a statement by the Navy. He had deployed his life raft […]

The animal world continues to inspire aircraft designers. A couple of years ago we published a story about how the fins of humpback whales are helping scientists develop new main rotor blade designs. Now a story is emerging about how a team of scientists from New York University used the motion of swimming jellyfish to […]