Aviation News

The Navy lost one of its unmanned aerial systems (aka, “drones”) in a crash in Maryland on Monday. The craft crashed in a sparsely inhabited area across the Chesapeake Bay from the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, where the drones are being used for training, according to the Navy. The RQ-4A BAMS-D drone is a […]

China is gearing up for what will be its fourth manned space launch and possibly the country’s first launch to include a female astronaut, according to a recent announcement made by a government news agency over the weekend. The mission is expected to include the launch of three astronauts into space aboard the Shenzhou 9, […]

The FAA recently published updated practical test standards (PTS) for several certificates, including the private and commercial pilot certificates. While the FAA published these documents last fall, they just came into effect on June 1st. This is significant if you’re a flight instructor or a student working on a rating since the examiners are bound […]

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified the first three airplanes in a newly created certification category for light sport aircraft. Airplanes approved under the new framework are the Czech Sport Aircraft PS-28 Cruiser, Flight Design CTLS-ELA and Evektor SportStar RTC. Airplanes in the European LSA category are limited to two seats and a […]

NetJets on Monday announced orders with Cessna and Bombardier for up to 425 new business jets worth $9.6 billion that will form the cornerstone of the private aviation giant’s new NetJets Signature Series fractional ownership program. NetJets called the purchases the largest deal for private aircraft in aviation history. The Ohio-based fractional ownership firm said […]

A Pilatus PC-12 carrying a family of six crashed in Central Florida on Thursday, killing all six individuals aboard after what appears to have been an in-flight separation of the aircraft, authorities say. Just 30 minutes prior to the crash, the single-engine turboprop had made a stopover to clear customs in Fort Pierce, Florida, while […]

The top-secret Boeing X-37B space plane that has been orbiting the Earth for the last 15 months is scheduled to descend on Vandenberg Air Force Base “during the early- to mid-June timeframe,” according to a statement issued by the base. The landing will constitute the second for the unmanned spacecraft, following the completion of the […]

Boeing’s hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye UAV made its maiden autonomous flight last Friday, staying aloft for 28 minutes after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California. During the flight, Phantom Eye reached an altitude of just over 4,000 feet and a cruising speed of 68 knots before coming in for a rough landing that […]

Three GA aircraft were intercepted by F-16s in the past two days after busting a presidential TFR in the airspace surrounding Los Angeles, marking the latest in a growing string of TFR busts in the area since February. On Wednesday night, the offending airplane was a single-engine Cessna, which was intercepted northwest of L.A. around […]

The Aviation Fuel Club is urging anyone who can fly to Oshkosh next month using unleaded autogas to do as part of an event it’s calling “Unleaded to Oshkosh” to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the FAA’s approval of the first autogas STC. Dubbed U2OSH by event organizers, the effort is being led in part […]