Airbus To Acquire Majority Stake In The C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership

Airbus SE and Bombardier are to become partners on the C Series aircraft program. A corresponding agreement was signed Monday. The agreement brings together Airbus' global reach and scale with Bombardier's newest, state-of-the-art jet aircraft family, positioning both partners to fully unlock the value of the C Series platform and create significant new value for customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders.

Also: Embraer, Aero-Calendar, AeroVironment, Sikorsky Heli's, EASA Singapore, FireFighting UAV, WestJet

The amazing craftsman of the Waco Classic Aircraft operation in Michigan have just started test flying their new YMF-5F -- the amphibious float equipped version of the rugged classic Waco YMF-5 biplane series. Most important; this bird looks even better than we expected. This is the first amphib Waco built... though a straight float version flew long ago -- with a few performance limitations. Now with the trifecta of 300 HP engines, the new MT composite propeller and Aerocet 3400 Amphibious floats, WACO says it has "the perfect combination to make a great WACO on Floats. The YMF-5F." SpaceX just had a GREAT week... with two launches and first stage recoveries in as many days... including the recovery of their third re-used first stage booster. And they’re doing something even more ama

Also: AeroVironment Award, Washington State Patrol, Altavian Nova UAS, Robotaxis

The French Military is training four Golden Eagles to attack drones in flight as a way to defend against potential spying or attacks from the unmanned aircraft. The idea came up after several drones were flown over the French Presidential Palace. But they were not the first to consider such a plan. The Dutch National Police recently released a video showing an eagle taking down a DJI drone. That bird was trained by a company that is specializing in teaching birds of prey to attack unmanned aircraft. DJI has unveiled AeroScope, a new solution to identify and monitor airborne drones with existing technology that can address safety, security and privacy concerns. AeroScope uses the existing communications link between a drone and its remote controller to broadcast identification information such as a registration or seri

Aircraft Suffered Only Minor Damage, Landed Safely

On October 12, 2017, a Skyjet flight was reportedly struck by a drone while inbound to Jean Lesage International Airport in Québec City. This is the first time a drone has hit a commercial aircraft in Canada, according to a statement from the Honourable Marc Garneau, Canada's Minister of Transport.

Follows 2016 Accident In Texas That Resulted In 16 Fatalities

After a July 2016 balloon accident in Lockhart, TX that caused 16 fatalities, the FAA took proactive steps to increase the safety of hot-air balloon tourism. As the result of a year-long FAA “Call to Action” with the commercial hot-air balloon industry, the Balloon Federation of America (BFA) has developed an “Envelope of Safety” accreditation program for balloon ride operations.

Newly-Designed Airplanes Will Be Held To The Updated Noise Levels

Beginning in January 1, 2018, the FAA will require newly designed aircraft to be quieter which will help toward lowering noise around airports and surrounding communities.  Called “Stage 5 Airplane Noise Standards,” this FAA rule ensures that the latest available noise reduction technology is incorporated into new aircraft designs. 

Most Recent Project Is The Model 401

Scaled Composites is proud to announce the rollout and first flight of its most recent project, experimental aircraft Model 401. Scaled worked with a proprietary customer to build two vehicles to demonstrate advanced, low-cost manufacturing techniques and to provide aircraft for research flight services to industry partners and the United States government.

Downward Trend In The Category Tracks Overall GA Accident Rate

In September, EAA completed its annual tracking of experimental category fatal accidents. Experimental aircraft were involved in 45 fatal accidents during fiscal year 2017, with amateur-built aircraft accounting for roughly two-thirds of those accidents.

Awards 12-Month Contract For X-Plane Development To Aurora Flight Sciences

Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a twelve-month contract from NASA for continued development of the company's subsonic D8 X-Plane (XD8). The XD8 is designed to demonstrate the key enabling technologies of the D8 commercial aircraft concept, which could yield substantial fuel, noise and operational efficiency improvements within the next decade.

Plans To Spin Off Homes And The ADI Global Distribution Business

Honeywell has announced the results of its comprehensive portfolio review, including its intention to separately spin off its Homes product portfolio and ADI global distribution business, as well as its Transportation Systems business, into two stand-alone, publicly-traded companies. The planned separation transactions are intended to be tax-free spins to Honeywell shareowners for U.S. federal income tax purposes and are expected to be completed by the end of 2018.