Aerotime reports, “Vertical Aerospace has achieved what its CEO Stuart Simpson described as the ‘most significant technical milestone’ in its history after the air taxi developer became the first outside the US to execute a piloted two-way transition flight. On 14 April 2026, at its spiritual home at Cotswold Airport (GBA), Chief Test Pilot Simon Davies successfully switched Vertical Aerospace’s electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from helicopter mode to plane mode and back again.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Tag: Aviation
Boeing Delivers 143 Aircraft in Q1 2026, Led by 737 Output
Aerotime reports, “Boeing delivered 143 commercial aircraft in the first quarter of 2026, a figure that demonstrates the company’s output is holding steady after last year’s recovery took hold. Though deliveries fell short of Boeing’s brisk late-2025 pace, the most recent quarter was led by 114 deliveries of the 737, along with six 767s, eight 777s, and 15 787s.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
AIAA AVIATION Forum 2026 to Showcase Next Generation Flight Technologies
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The future of aviation takes flight in San Diego this June. AIAA unveiled the program for AIAA AVIATION Forum 2026, 8-12 June, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt and it’s built to match the rapid pace of change in aerospace. This year’s theme, “From Velocity to Altitude – Accelerating Toward Tomorrow,” captures the acceleration of aviation technology. Registration for the forum is open, with early-bird rates ending 11 May.
FAA Clears Hermeus Quarterhorse for Supersonic Flight Testing
Aerotime reports, “Hermeus announced on March 12, 2026, that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental Category (SAC-EC) for its unmanned Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 aircraft. The certification clears the way for Hermeus to proceed with flight testing as it works toward achieving supersonic flight. According to the company, the process involved a rigorous inspection by FAA agents, who assessed the aircraft ahead of its planned flight-test campaign.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Airbus Delivers 500th A220 as March Output Signals Production Ramp-Up
Aerotime reports, “Airbus is celebrating delivery of the 500th Airbus A220 aircraft, a day after publishing March results that show a decisive ramp up in operations. On April 10, 2026, Airbus confirmed that 60 commercial aircraft had been delivered during March 2026, after delivering only 54 across January and February this year.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
NATO Ally Taps Red Cat’s Black Widow Drones for Next-Gen Defense
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “The Black Widow small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) from Red Cat Holdings has been selected by a NATO ally following a competitive tender process.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)
DoD Seeks Expanded Investment in Counter-UAS Capabilities
Defense Daily reports, “The Defense Department’s office focused on speeding the development and delivery of systems and technologies to counter threats from small drones is requesting more than $580 million in research, development, test and evaluation funds in fiscal year 2027 and an unknown amount of procurement funding, according to Pentagon budget documents.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
From Kitty Hawk to Space, America Showcases Milestones in Aviation Innovation
MSN/Wall Street Journal report, “The Wright brothers made history when they flew a gasoline-powered plane into the air for 12 seconds one morning in 1903. Little did they know that more than a century later, American scientists would operate robotic vehicles on Mars.”
Full Story (MSN/Wall Street Journal)
GA-ASI YFQ-42A CCA Prototype Crashes During California Test Flight
Aerotime reports, “A General Atomics YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototype crashed shortly after takeoff in the California desert on April 6, 2026, dealing the US Air Force’s flagship drone-wingman program its first known flight mishap. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) said the incident occurred at approximately 13:00 Pacific time at a company-owned airport. No one was injured. The company has temporarily paused flight test operations while it investigates the root cause.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Video
YFQ-42A CCA Flight Testing | Credit: General Atomics; YouTube
Autonomous Air Taxi Certification Emerges as New Regulatory Frontier
Flying Magazine reports, “Owing to the novelty of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology, the FAA is requiring air taxi developers such as Archer Aviation, Joby Aviation, and Beta Technologies to complete a gauntlet of testing. One of them, Boeing’s Wisk Aero, is building an aircraft that incorporates not just VTOL but another emerging technology—autonomy. Unlike Archer’s Midnight, Joby’s S4, or Beta’s Alia, Wisk’s Generation 6 is designed to fly autonomously from the jump.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
Video
Wisk Aero’s Generation 6 aircraft
Wisk Aero | YouTube