At AirVenture 2008, electrics were all the rage. Eight years and numerous prototypes later, very few have made it to production and delivery, but at least three European manufacturers—Pipistrel, Airbus and Siemens—are working hard toward that goal.
Airbus announces winners of the cargo-drone crowdsourcing design challenge run with Local Motors, calling the quality of entries “enormous and astounding” and the cocreation process “a breath of fresh air.”
Boeing’s 737-8 MAX is making its Airshow debut at Farnborough this week. The re-engined airframe, with CFM Leap 1B engines, has undergone 800 hours in its flight-test program and Boeing expects to deliver the first airplane in the first half of 2017.
FAA and industry are searching high and low for interventions and technologies to help keep recreational pilots and their passengers flying another day.
JAXA has achieved long-term success for its JEM space lab on the ISS by sticking to its original plan as much as possible, regardless of short-term priorities.
In an interview with Aviation Week, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard expressed confidence that his government’s C Series investment would pan out for taxpayers.
Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne project has kick-started the creation of new, vertically integrated, rocket development and manufacturing capabilities in California.
Airbus Helicopters has flight tested hybrid-electric propulsion but says batteries and motors must improve dramatically before it becomes practical and valuable to the customer.
F-35s take center stage at the Royal International Air Tattoo—two years later than planned—and seem to have bolstered the country’s mood about its defense outlook.
Two new narrowbody competitors to Airbus and Boeing are at this year’s Farnborough Airshow. Bombardier has been showing off the C Series with media and VIP flights on the eve of the show, while Embraer’s E2 is making its international debut just six weeks after first flight.
An Aviation Week/Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of airlines reveals how technologically challenging it would be for a manufacturer to launch a middle-market aircraft.
GE and the U.S. Air Force are conducting advanced compressor and fan rig testing that could lead to a follow-on development and test regime of full three-stream, adaptive combat engines.
Airbus flies electric ECS; Safran’s high power-density diesel; can digital chemistry grow UAVs?; IAI’s Bigger Role in Clean Sky 2; ultracapacitor energy storage for cargo airship.
India’s Tejas light fighter is late, does not meet requirements, but it is affordable. Planned upgrades could make it a capable machine—given a few more years.
