CATEGORIES

Testing of Boom technology demonstrator proceeding apace

Boom Supersonic, the American company about the highly speculative business of designing and producing a supersonic airliner dubbed the Boom Overture, has reportedly achieved a number of milestones vis-à-vis the development of its XB-1 Baby Boom, a one-third-scale technology demonstrator devised to vet technologies salient to the planned airliner.

NASA astronaut sets spaceflight milestone

On Wednesday 13 September 2023 during an Earth-to-Space call at 12h05 EDT, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy spoke with agency astronaut Frank Rubio about his record-breaking number of consecutive days in space.

Pipistrel flies liquid hydrogen demonstrator

On Friday 8 September 2023 Textron subsidiary Pipistrel Aircraft flew the first piloted liquid hydrogen-powered electric aircraft. The HEAVEN project HY4 demonstrator took off from Maribor, Slovenia with two pilots onboard and 'demonstrated safe and efficient operation throughout multiple flight tests, the company said.

Aviation's hydrogen shift: Exploring test and validation for hydrogen propulsion

Asourclimateworsens, decarbonisation becomes an increasingly pressing imperative for aircraft, manufacturers. Coventry University and engineering services company FEV co-created the Centre for Advanced Low-Carbon Systems to develop the varied propulsion technologies this endeavour demands.

One-seat eVTOL needs no pilot certificate to fly

There are thousands of persons who have the flying bug but lack the time or energy to set aside hundreds of hours needed for a pilot's licence. But if they have the money, a personal aircraft for which the pilot needs no certification to fly just came closer to entering production.

EHang unmanned aircraft cloud system approved by CAA

EHang, an autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, announced that its EHang Unmanned Aircraft Cloud System (UACS) has been officially approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for UACS trial operations.

EASA introduces eVTOL policy changes

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published new proposed regulations governing the operation of vertical-take-offand-landing (VTOL) aircraft, including drones and eVTOL air taxis, in Europe's cities.

Bristow to introduce Volocopter air taxis to US via a new partnership

The first commercial electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi flights will probably not be made by Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, or Boeing's Wisk Aero. In fact, they are most likely to come from a firm with zero presence in the US market, at least, not yet.

AMPAIRE FLIES hybrid-electric Cessna to Alaska in milestone flight

On 13 August Ampaire revealed that following a 3,400-mile series of flights from Southern California, its hybrid-electric aircraft successfully landed at the Fairbanks International Airport (FAI). The EEL is a platform for the development of scalable technology and certification processes.

W Autonomous Systems (WAS) makes history landing on Royal Navy carrier at sea

A pilotless plane has flown on and off a Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time. The W Autonomous Systems (WAS) drone flew from the Lizard Peninsula and onto the deck of HMS Prince of Wales off the Cornish coast, delivered supplies and then flew back in a milestone flight which points the way to the future of naval aviation.

uAvionix and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma complete first US flights

Operating at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Emerging Aviation Technology Center, uAvionix completed the first true Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight in non-segregated airspace using aviation protected C-Band in the United States.

DroneX DroneX - Tradeshow & Conference is returning to the ExCeL London on 26 and 27 September 2023.

The show brings together the key innovators, pioneers, suppliers and buyers from across four key sectors who will all come together to provide the most comprehensive show on record including:

The US Army's LIDS: A sure shot against drones

Raytheon's KURFS radars and Coyote® effectors have teamed up to defeat evolving, proliferating unmanned aircraft systems threat. The KuRFS radar and Coyote® effector deliver essential detect and defeat capabilities in the defence against unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, also known as drones.

FAA approves - BVLOS operations for three UAS companies

Recently three United States companies received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorisation to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) where their operators cannot see them.

Bristow Group - secures early deliveries of five Elroy Air Chaparral cargo drones

Houston-based Bristow Group, which achieved its start as an international operator of helicopters but now bills itself as a vertical flight solutions provider, is looking to speed up the introduction of new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft to its fleet.

NASA works to restore Supersonic passenger flight

Concorde conducted its final commercial flight on 24 October 2003, flying from New York to London at Mach 2.0, twice the speed of sound in about 3.5-hours.

WEBB celebrates first year of science with close-up on birth of sun-like stars

From our cosmic backyard in the solar system to distant galaxies James Space delivered on its promise of revealing the universe like never before in its first year of science operations. To celebrate the completion of a successful first year, NASA has released Webb's image of a small star-forming region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.

NASA and DARPA partner with industry on Mars rocket engine

On Wednesday 2 August NASA and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colorado, as the prime contractor for the design, build and testing of NASA and DARPA's nuclear-powered rocket demonstration, in collaboration with other industry partners. The Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations. (DRACO) programme will test a nuclearpowered rocket in space as soon as 2027.

Switchblade flying car/bike gains more sales at Oshkosh

At the moment, the flying car has as many sceptics as believers. However, at Oshkosh last month the Samson Sky added 115 sales of the Switchblade to its order books. At about US$170 000 per street legal vehicle, the Switchblade is able to both drive on highways and take-off and fly from airports.

EAA AirVenture 2023 Future Flight developments

EAA AirVenture is one of the globe's largest airshows and the event at Oshkosh's Wittman Regional Airport once again earned its title as 'The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration' with a record-breaking attendance of 677,000 people attending the week-long event that concluded on 30 July 2023.

What goes into a vertiport?

Leadingvertiport provider Skyports Infrastructure has commissioned cloud-led digital transformation Managed Services Provider (MSP) Node4 to provide the IT network components and data analysis capabilities required for vertiport operations.

SKYPORTS infrastructure's design for VERTIPORTS approved in DUBAI

The vision for Dubai's future air mobility infrastructure network was jointly presented by Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Skyports Infrastructure and Joby Aviation at a closed presentation ahead of the start of the World Government Summit, an annual three-day event which brings together international government officials and business leaders.

Joby Q2 net loss widens as eVTOL manufacturer gears up for certification

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Joby Aviation is still losing millions in its pursuit of becoming the United States first eVTOL air taxi route, but its investments are beginning to pay off.

Astronics confirms orders from ten eVTOL manufacturers

Headquartered in New York State, Astronics Corporation (Astronics) has announced that the company is in receipt of firm orders from ten eVTOL manufacturers who are developing electrical aircraft for emerging air mobility missions.

ARCHER partners with US Air Force AFWERX programme

Since 2021 ARCHER has been partnering with the United States Department of Defence (DoD) on a series of projects through the US AIR FORCE'S AFWERX PROGRAMME with the goal of helping the AFWERX Agility Prime programme assess the transformational potential of the vertical flight market and eVTOL technologies for DoD purposes.

AMPAIRE provides company update

Founded in 2016 under the guiding principle of establishing itself as the world's foremost developer of practical electric aircraft, Los Angeles-based Ampaire has made headlines and demonstrable progress toward upgrading existing utility aircraft to hybrid-electric power.

Proposed aviation standard supports HYBRID-ELECTRIC POWERPLANT DESIGN

A newly proposed standard from ASTM International's aircraft systems committee (F 39) will cover the design of hybrid-electric powerplants and engines. \"This proposed standard is intended to support companies that are creating hybrid-electric power generation systems for use as the primary source of electrical propulsive power in electric aircraft,\" says ASTM member David Eichstedt.\"They will benefit from a more clearly defined certification path, but aircraft developers will also benefit.

ELECTRA AERO unveils full-scale technology demonstrator

On 12 June 2023, Electra unveiled the newly completed test vehicle by which it intends to vet its hybrid-electric Short Take-Off and Landing (eSTOL) platform. The event marked a significant milestone in the company's stated mission of helping decarbonise aviation and revolutionise urban and regional transportation.

DANX CAROUSEL and ELECTRON AEROSPACE PARTNER on ZERO-EMISSION cargo plane

The Danx Carousel Group and Electron Aerospace are entering a strategic partnership to launch Electron 5, an electric, zero-emission cargo aircraft. Danx Carousel is investing in the Dutch aircraft manufacturer as the 'Founding Logistics Partner' for the project, which aims to revolutionise the air freight industry.

STUDY OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO NEAR-MISS COLLISIONS BETWEEN DRONES AND AIRCRAFT

Researchers have developed a new way to accurately count and objectively analyse close encounters between drones and airplanes without depending solely on pilot sightings.