Japan Airlines’ and Sumitomo Corporation’s Joint Venture Company, Soracle, Announces Agreement Including Intended Purchase Of Up To $500M of Electric Aircraft From Archer Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR) and Soracle Corporation (Soracle), a joint venture newly established by Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation, signed agreements focused on bringing advanced air mobility (AAM) services to Japan. Soracle plans to launch its AAM...Read More
NASA Funds New Studies Looking at Future of Sustainable Aircraft By Robert Margetta Picture yourself at an airport a few decades from now. What does your airliner look like? It’s more efficient, with lower emissions than today’s aircraft – what kinds of designs or technology make that possible? NASA is working to answer those questions by commissioning five new design...Read More
Sikorsky Increases S-92® Inspection Intervals Data-driven vote of confidence mitigates downtime and maximizes fleet availability Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, announced that it is increasing the scheduled inspection intervals for S-92® helicopters from 375 flight hours to 500 hours, and from 750 flight hours to 1,000 hours. By increasing these intervals, average S-92 operators will be able to safely keep aircraft in...Read More
USAF Approves Merlin’s Airworthiness Plan for Autonomous KC-135 Inflight refueling aircraft slated for first autonomous flight in 2025 By Hanneke Weitering The U.S. Air Force has accepted Merlin’s airworthiness plan for a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker retrofitted with its autonomous flight control system, called Merlin Pilot. Announcing the news on November 12, the Boston-based company said it aims to begin flight...Read More
Qantas Airbus A380 flew for 294 hours with tool lodged in engine: ATSB report By Luke Peters The official report into how a Qantas Airbus A380 flew for almost 300 hours and 34 flights with a tool lodged in one of its four engines has been published by the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB). The report has made recommendations to...Read More
Airbus’s Electric Air Taxi Just Made Its First Flight By Daniel Cote The CityAirbus NextGen’s jaunt shows the eVTOL sector that the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer is moving forward with its own electric aircraft. The CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL aircraft has completed its first liftoff for the official start of its flight-test campaign. Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even made the announcement yesterday on X. “I’m...Read More
Flight Testing Announced for Full Scale eVTOL Demonstrator By Abi Wylie Textron eAviation will conduct flight testing for its Nexus eVTOL multi-mission, zero-emission demonstrator aircraft, designed to address global demand for sustainable aviation. Textron Inc. company Textron eAviation Inc. will conduct flight testing for its Nexus electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) full-scale technology demonstrator aircraft at Salina Regional Airport...Read More
Aircraft Maintenance: FAA puts disruptive determination on hold Moss interpretation stayed pending new guidance By Jeff Simon In my previous column, I discussed the serious impact that the FAA’s recent Moss interpretation would have on general aviation maintenance, and the evolving battle to overturn it. On October 15, the FAA issued a temporary legal stay of that interpretation, but the battle...Read More
Piper wing spars facing new airworthiness inspections The long-running saga of Piper aircraft wing spars is back with two new Airworthiness Directives proposed by the US regulator, the FAA. Up to 21,000 aircraft could be affected. The new directives are: AD 2024-00008-A, published on 19 September, followed by AD 2024-00033-A, published on 23 September. The FAA is accepting comments on...Read More
Promoting AirworthinessInternationalImpartial
