Aircraft & Propulsion

Commercial aviation groups and manufacturers planned to file seven petitions challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent decision to grant Ligado Networks access to radio frequency spectrum near bands used for critical aviation applications.

Bamboo Airways is looking to power its new Boeing 787-9s with General Electric GEnx turbofans, according to the airline’s chairman Trinh Van Quyet.

“Ike” Eisenhower’s Connie is the only privately-owned former Air Force One saved from the scrap heap

Special Forces looking for low-cost options to support ground troops in remote areas.

Ask the Editors: Instead of the mature horizontal model of today’s engine market, electric propulsion has been vertically integrated.

A new study suggests that most operators disregarded the FAA’s system for authorizing drone flights in controlled airspace when flying near a large central Florida airport.

Ask the Editors: Anything that lowers trip costs is a benefit to carriers right now, with a predicted shift to lower-capacity aircraft.

Aero-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is looking to cut 9,000 jobs from its 52,000-strong workforce as the company restructures in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

Lufthansa Group is to cooperate with Swiss technology institute ETH Zurich to accelerate the availability of aviation fuel produced using carbon dioxide and water extracted from the atmosphere using concentrated sunlight.

High-speed propulsion developer Reaction Engines has been awarded a European Space Agency study contract for a hypersonic flying testbed design which could potentially evaluate the in-flight performance of its Sabre (Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) system.

Ask the Editors: Available evidence does not give specific clues, but the B-52 ceiling and U-2 operating altitude provide reference.

Reaffirming current protocols and developing new ones are both in the cards.

UK future flight vision; sandbox for UAVs; making LEO safer; augmented-reality landings; connected by balloon.

Ask the Editors: With availability of Fed-backed private sector funding, large aerospace companies are unlikely to rely on CARES Act.

Faced with massive cost pressures during the COVID-19 crisis, Mitsubishi cuts back on regional jet investment.

Startups look set to keep up the pace of electric propulsion development as aviation recovers from COVID-19.

Ask the Editors: Low-energy nuclear reactions, compact fusion reactors and advanced small modular reactors are among concepts being tested.

Electric propulsion has rekindled interest in short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft for regional transportation.

The organizer of the Australian International Airshow has deferred the next edition of the biennial from February 2021 to November of the same year, citing doubts about availability of international travel.

General Electric has shipped the first F414-100 engine to Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to power NASA’s X-59A QueSST low-boom supersonic flight

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada expanded its “simplified package freighter” conversion program to its legacy Dash 8s, announcing Transport Canada approval and a launch customer.

Turboprop manufacturer ATR enjoyed a significant increase in orders in 2019 and believes that the regional market will be one of the first to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matternet says the U.S.-built M2 quadcopter is approved to begin durability and reliability testing.

The original schedule called for completing the stealthy fighter's Block 4 modernization program in 2024, but the timeline must be extended to 2026, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has suspended development of the M100 version of the SpaceJet regional jet as one measure in stanching the cash bleed from the program.