Aviation News

Add China to the list of nations conducting biofuel demonstration flights, as Air China prepares to fly a Boeing 747-400 by the end of November using a blend of conventional and hydrotreated renewable jet fuel. The flight is part of a broader agreement with Air China, PetroChina, Boeing and Honeywell to use fuel derived from […]

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifted off on Wednesday for the first time with paying passengers on board, marking a milestone many years in the making for the world’s first “plastic” airliner. The jet, owned and operated by All Nippon Airways, carried 240 passengers from Hong Kong to Tokyo, a trip that some passengers paid as […]

After what it calls “six quarters of mostly positive news,” aviation market research firm Amstat reported on Wednesday that the third quarter of 2011 was a disappointing one for jet sales. The firm reported that the existing inventory of used business jets, considered a key marker for economic energy in the business aviation sector, had […]

In a bipartisan vote on Monday, the U.S. House rejected the European Union’s plan to enact a carbon tax on commercial and general aviation aircraft flying over or landing in EU territory. The bill prevents all U.S. airlines and general aviation operators from participating in the EU tax program, scheduled to take effect at the […]

In an effort to combat the growing problem of lasers being pointed at aircraft, where they can affect the pilots’ vision, the FAA has created a new website to make it easier for aviators and the public to report laser incidents. The website includes links for reporting laser incidents as well as a database of […]

A manned version of the X-37B space plane could be in the works, according to a paper recently delivered by Arthur Grantz, chief engineer of Space and Intelligence Systems’ Experimental Systems Group at Boeing. The paper describes the proposed space plane, called X-37C, as a vehicle that would be approximately twice the size of the […]

One of the little reported on details of the iPhone 4S is that the new smart phone includes a pair of global satellite navigation receiver chips in the device, one for GPS and one for Glonass, Russia’s own satellite-based navigation system. First launched in the 1970s, Glonass was a response to our own nascent Global […]

Sikorsky’s S-76D has moved one step closer to certification after Pratt & Whitney’s PW210S engine that powers the helicopter received Transport Canada certification. More than 8,700 hours of testing were conducted to complete the certification. But the testing will continue to finish FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency validations, which are expected within the next […]

Honda is preparing for the first flight tests of two HF120 turbofan engines with a newly redesigned titanium fan blisk that engine maker GE Honda is confident can pass required ice ingestion testing. The engine fan underwent a redesign following the failure of an on-ground ice ingestion test, Honda Aircraft revealed recently. The company expects […]

Accident investigators looking into the deadly Reno air race crash were unable to retrieve any onboard video from memory cards found amongst the wreckage, the NTSB announced on Friday. Investigators are still working to determine whether they will be able to extract any clues from a memory card used in the onboard telemetry unit of […]