Tag: aircraft

United Reaches Deal with Boeing for Up to 200 787 Dreamliners

The New York Times reports, “United Airlines plans to buy at least 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets by 2032 as it replaces aging planes with newer, more fuel-efficient models and pursues international growth, the airline announced on Tuesday.” The deal, expected to be “worth tens of billions of dollars at list prices, comes a little more than a year after United said it planned to buy 270 single-aisle planes – the largest purchase of U.S. aircraft in a decade.” The deal includes an option for 100 additional Dreamliners, as the carrier seeks to “drop 100 Boeing 767 and 777 wide-body planes from its fleet by 2030.”
Full Story (New York Times)

Ampaire’s Grand Caravan Makes First Flight

Aviation Today reported that Ampaire’s Eco Caravan aircraft, “an upgraded Cessna Grand Caravan, made its first flight last week on a fully-integrated hybrid-electric propulsion system.” The Los Angeles-based electric aircraft developer “flew its first hybrid-electric regional aircraft on a 30-minute test flight above southern California during the early morning hours of Friday, Nov. 18.” This test flight shows “promising success for the developer’s integrated propulsion system.”
Aviation Today (Aviation Today)

FAA Will Add Powered-Lift Aircraft to Air Carrier Category

BBC News reports that the FAA said on Monday that “it was proposing to expand its definition of the machines it considered air carriers from airplanes and helicopters, adding ‘powered lift’ to the list.” This is a big step forward in the regulation clearance for commercial air taxis, but the rules “now face a period of public comment before they can go into effect.” The agency also “said it expected to publish proposed rules for operating such aircraft in summer 2023. Those rules will outline in more detail the criteria that firms will need to meet to license pilots and launch their operations.”
BBC News (BBC News)

Air Taxis Clear One Regulation Hurdle

BBC News reports that the FAA said on Monday that “it was proposing to expand its definition of the machines it considered air carriers from airplanes and helicopters, adding ‘powered lift’ to the list.” This is a big step forward in the regulation clearance for commercial air taxis, but the rules “now face a period of public comment before they can go into effect.” The agency also “said it expected to publish proposed rules for operating such aircraft in summer 2023. Those rules will outline in more detail the criteria that firms will need to meet to license pilots and launch their operations.”
BBC News (BBC News)

Amazon’s New Delivery Drone

CNBC reported that Amazon’s new delivery drone, the MK27-2, will begin making deliveries in two markets in California and Texas by the end of this year. The drone will drop packages from 12 feet in the air on delivery. “It can only carry packages weighing less than five pounds, and deliveries must fit in one box about the size of a shoe box.”
Full Story (CNBC)

XQ-58A Valkyrie Test Flight Successful

Unmanned Systems Technology reports Kratos Defense & Security Solutions “recently completed a successful flight of its production XQ-58A Valkyrie aircraft for the Block 2 Valkyrie Maturation Program.” During a test flight performed at Yuma Proving Ground, the XQ-58A flew “longer, higher, at a heavier mission weight, and at a longer range than the platform has previously been approved for” and demonstrated. The flight also “demonstrated encrypted communications with redundant radios/communications” and “key autonomous capability for the end of mission phase of flight and recovery of the aircraft without RF comms.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)

Despite Jammed Solar Panel, Cygnus Capsule Docks with ISS

AP reports, “A Northrop Grumman capsule delivered several tons of supplies to the International Space Station on Wednesday despite a jammed solar panel.” After liftoff, only one of the craft’s two solar panels opened. Despite controllers’ best attempts to open the stuck panel, the rocket still drew enough power with the functioning solar panel.
Full Story (Associated Press)

Boeing Recommends Air Taxi Safety Standards Mirror Those for Commercial Jets

Reuters reported that The Boeing Company “urged regulators on Tuesday to subject a new generation of air taxis to the same strict safety standards as commercial jets, saying the aircraft designed for short flights on demand should not be judged on a par with small planes.” Federal regulators are innovating design and operational requirements for the eVTOL air taxis, which would allow airline passengers to bypass street traffic. “Analysts say certification standards that air taxis must meet will be make-or-break for many of the new projects vying for investment.”
Full Story (Reuters)

NASA’s X-57 to Fly as Soon as December

Aviation Week reports, “NASA plans to attempt first flight of its X-57 Maxwell electric aircraft ‘no earlier than’ this December. The initial flight will be ‘very short’ and will set the stage for a series of follow-on flight tests of the fixed-wing demonstrator.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)