Simple Flying reports, “Boom Supersonic conducted a fourth and successful Boom XB-1test flight, this time reaching an altitude of 16,150 feet and a speed of Mach 0.617 (about 313 knots equivalent airspeed) during tests for flutter, g-forces, handling, and landing gear. The proof-of-concept XB-1 is helping educate Boom Supersonic on how to build and test supersonic aircraft in the lead-up to building Boom Overture.”
Full Story (Simple Flying)
Tag: Makes
Virgin Galactic Chalks Up 7th Commercial Sub-Orbital Space Flight
CBS News reports, “Two pilots, a Turkish research astronaut and three private citizens rocketed to space and back Saturday aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity spaceplane, enjoying spectacular views of Earth and about three minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to touchdown in New Mexico. It was the company’s 12th piloted up-and-down sub-orbital flight.”
Full Story (CBS News)
Wisk Aero Makes Autonomous eVTOL Flight from California Airport
Aviation Week reports Wisk Aero has started “conducting test flights of its autonomous air taxi out of Long Beach Airport, California, which the Boeing subsidiary believes is the first time an electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle has flown in Los Angeles.” Wisk’s fifth-generation Cora demonstrator is being used for the test flights. According to the article, Wisk’s purpose for the flights “is to capture learnings about conducting autonomous operations at a major commercial airport.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
CityAirbus NextGen Prototype Performs First Liftoff
Vertical Magazine reports, “The CityAirbus NextGen prototype eVTOL aircraft has performed its first liftoff, marking the official start of the type’s flight test campaign. The news was announced by Bruno Even, the CEO of Airbus Helicopters, on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Nov. 6.”
Full Story (Vertical Magazine)
Gray Eagle UAS Performs First Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Flights
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has conducted its first flight test series of the Gray Eagle® Extended Range (GE-ER) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) using a Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) satellite constellation for aircraft communications. Contracted by the U.S. Army, the flight tests began in January 2025 and mark a significant milestone, reportedly making GE-ER the first long-endurance U.S. Army aircraft to be controlled over the new satellite service. Gray Eagle is also the only U.S. Army UAS capable of leveraging Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and PLEO constellations for secure, inflight adaptable and resilient communication, navigation and data management.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)
SpaceX Starship Completes Successful Test Flight After Previous Launch Setbacks
The New York Times reports, “After several disappointing failures, SpaceX’s Starship — the mammoth rocket that Elon Musk hopes to use to take people to Mars — made it all the way up to space and all the way back down to Earth during a 10th test flight on Tuesday night. The largely successful mission was a likely relief to both SpaceX and NASA, suggesting that the development program is back on track. NASA is counting on Starship as the lander to put its astronauts on the moon in the coming years.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
Video
SpaceX Starship Completes Successful Test Flight (Launch at the 2:59:19 mark)
NASASpaceFlight; YouTube
Belgian Air Force’s First MQ-9B Performs Debut Flight
Defense Daily reports, “The first of four General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones ordered by the Belgian Air Force arrived at Florennes Air Base last month and had its debut flight on Tuesday, according to General Atomics. Linden Blue, the CEO of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. said that the initial flight ‘ushers in a new era of information dominance for Belgium.’ The MQ-9B is a successor to the U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reaper.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
Boeing’s 5th 777X Makes First Flight from Paine Field
Flying Magazine reports, “Boeing’s fifth 777-9X made its first flight Tuesday, launching out of Seattle Paine Field International Airport (KPAE) in Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle. According to the Seattle Times, the aircraft lifted off at approximately 11 a.m. PDT. It is classified as a production airplane, with its primary function being to determine if certain features of the aircraft work as expected.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Performs First Flight
Aviation Week reports, “NASA began flight tests of its needle-nosed X-59 Quesst quiet supersonic research aircraft with a 1 hr. 7 min. initial sortie from Palmdale, California, to the nearby Edwards AFB on Oct. 28. Flown by NASA X-59 lead pilot Nils Larson, the much-anticipated first flight of the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft began at 8:14 a.m. Pacific time with an unrestricted climb from Palmdale’s 12,000 ft.-long runway 07/25.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)