80 Years On... A Skytrain Lumbers Overhead Again

A handful of congressional Republican vets took a leap from a vintage C-47 Skytrain in Florida, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the beach landings on D-Day. A team of House Republicans is set to jump out of a C-47 Skytrain in commemoration of D-Day's 80th Anniversary, joined by a delegation to Normandy, France. The team completed a practice jump last April, getting current and consistent ahead of the big day. At the time, it raised some eyebrows since their side of the aisle only had a single-vote majority, and they could scarcely afford to lose one of their own should the jump go awry. 

Deliveries Could be Key to Cleanup Around Base Camps

DJI has shown off some of its mountaineering prowess again, making the first delivery tests on Mount Everest for some serious bragging rights. The company joined hands with Nepalese drone specialist Airlift to complete their trials, making use of the infamously brutal climate in order to show off its FlyCart 30. The little drone is able to haul 33 lbs of payload at a time even at altitude near the mountain. The FlyCart was able to haul a trio of oxygen bottles and 1.5 kilos of other supplies from the Everest Base Camp at 5,300 feet, all the way up to Camp 1 at 6,000 feet. The trip marks a first for the industry, being the first time drones were able to brave the harsh environment to make a successful out-and-back delivery run.

Amid Acrimonious Contract Negotiations, NetJets Says Ads hit Too Hard

NetJets Aviation sprung a surprise lawsuit on their pilot union, the JetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, alleging that the group's fairly public statements over the last year defamed the company. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the Union has defamed the company in its statements regarding safety, maintenance, and pilot training concerts stretching back nearly a year in total.

At Last, Boeing's Competitor Strikes True in Race to the Top

The United Launch Alliance was proud to announce the successful liftoff of an Atlas V carrying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner out of Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The new launch carries NASA Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, marking what the Alliance refers to as "the return of human spaceflight to Cape Canaveral" while continuing a storied Atlas legacy.

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The Rotax folks have published a Service Bulletin after issues were noted that may affect all R915i and R916i series engines. Rotax operators have reported occasional, isolated, cases a momentary slipping of the overload clutch -- which may lead to a slight exceedance of the maximum rpm limit, followed by the engine rpm quickly normalizing. As previously noted, the next Starship launch seems to be pending... soon. According to Elon's troops, the fourth flight test of Starship could launch as soon as June 6 (pending regulatory approval). The launch window will open as early as 0700CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change. PlaneTags has finished up a run of plates using some of the castoff skins of the upper wings from the Experimental Aviation Association's B-17 Aluminum Overcast. The skins were taken off in March of 2014

Also: Aerox 'Cylinder Sentinel', Annual TBM Reunion, Hubble Pause, Utah AAM 

A combined Spanish-Portuguese aerobatic demo team suffered a fatality at the Beja AirShow, when one of their aircraft clipped another during a performance. The show was held in the southern region of Portugal, the performing team's own backyard given their base in Ponte de Sor. Apparently, the lost pilot was the only one to die, with the other making a landing without incident. Electra has successfully achieved the first high-performance ultra-short flight operations of its piloted blown-lift hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing(eSTOL) demonstrator aircraft (EL-2 Goldfinch). The test flights, piloted by Cody Allee, took place through April and May 2024 at the Manassas Regional Airport and Warrenton-Fauquier Airport in Virginia. The longest flight lasted 1 hour 43 minutes. During the campaign, the aircraft took off in less than 170 ft and landed in under 114 ft gr

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Czech sportplane manufacturer Direct Fly has finished delivering its 200th ALTO NG, the latest iteration of their 600-kg sportplane. The Alto was previously offered as the Alto 912 TG model, sporting some light tweaks and changes for improved stiffness and durability. The Rotax folks have published a Service Bulletin after issues were noted that may affect all R915i and R916i series engines. Rotax operators have reported occasional, isolated, cases a momentary slipping of the overload clutch -- which may lead to a slight exceedance of the maximum rpm limit, followed by the engine rpm quickly normalizing. In perusing over 1,000 variations of sport aircraft for the current SportPlane Resource Guide, a few designs definitely catch the eye. One of the most startling of these is an all-composite, V-Tail machine that appears to offer an extraordinarily low

Also: Starship Set To Launch, Nexus eVTOL, Merlin, SPRINT X-Plane

The Drone industry has raised its hackles regarding the Drones for First Responders Act introduced by Congressional rep Elise Stefanik, describing it as a boon to the EMS/Fire/Police crowd at the expense of the recreational and commercial drone industries. Pivotal signed an 'Other Transaction Authority' contract with the US Air Force and its AFWERX Agility Prime program, providing them with access to testing facilities, segregated airspace, and "expert resources" for a 2-year term. The firm sees the contract as a very solid step in the right direction, where they'll be able to make the best use of government testing facilities and space to keep up developmental pace on their Helix eVTOL. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, in many ways America's flagship combat UAV manufacturer, has finished up durability testing on a new 200-hp engine. The firm calls it the "Heavy Fuel Engi

The Project Looks Promising Enough for Procurement Already, but the Order isn't Firm Yet

XTI Aerospace announced that Mesa Airlines has placed an investment-cum-order into their company with an order for 100 TriFan 600 aircraft, a design they call a "fixed-wing, vertical lift crossover airplane" (VLCA) now in development. Should all the stipulations be met, the order could hit a value of $1 billion in revenue for XTI Aerospace. Along with the order, Mesa Airlines has become an investor with warrants and a minority stake in common stock shares. It's more or less a first for the smaller air carrier, who's calling the shot before the crack of the bat: The VLCA should be a winner. Jonathan Ornstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Mesa Air Group, said the aircraft is most like the "legendary King Air reimagined," offering the ability to use helipads and veritports along with traditional airports.

Massive Aviation News Event Started 2024 Off With a Plethora of Exciting Info

Last year, we introduced the SnF Innovation Preview in which 25 companies introduced over 30 new planes, products, engines, accessories, and more… in other words… a LOT of news. Rotax previewed the powerful 916iS, CubCrafters showcased the Carbon Cub UL, Bose introduced the A30, Aerox revealed the Boomula… and so much more. This year, we went beyond that... way beyond all that, with a larger selection of news announcements that covered ALL aspects of sport, general and commercial aviation... all at the start of the 50th Annual SUN n FUN Aerospace Expo... the undisputed start to the aviation year. This year was also a major news-breaker... especially with the announcement that the DeltaHawk Diesel engine folks were working with Piper Aircraft on an STC for the PA44 Seminole. It also hosted the first forma