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Lilium GmbH, the German Aerospace company developing the VTOL Lilium Jet, announced that its technology demonstrator, Phoenix 2, has achieved main wing transition—which is to say, the aircraft successfully transitioned from hover to wing-borne flight. From a physics/aerodynamic perspective, transition entails the transference of lift from vertical engine thrust to horizontal, laminar, relative-wind flow over the test vehicle’s wings. A Seattle man is using ingenuity and aviation technology to fight the rampant crime and worsening lawlessness afflicting his home to

AT-11 Still Tantalizing at Eighty-One

Aero News had occasion to speak with pilot and aircraft restoration expert John Hess about his rare and beautiful AT-11 Kansan, the U.S. Army Air Forces’s primary bombing trainer during the Second World War. Approximately 90-percent of the USAAF’s 45,000 bombardiers trained in the aircraft, which derived of Beechcraft’s Model 18 commercial transport. The AT-11 differed from its civilian forebear by way of a transparent nose, a bomb bay, internal bomb racks, and turrets for gunnery training.

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On 19 May 2020, the Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) uncrewed CST-100 launched aboard the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, to the ISS. The CST-100 returned, landing at the White Sands Missile Range, in New Mexico. While the return landing was ‘textbook’ -- its trip to the ISS wasn’t entirely without issue. Apparently, on its way to the ISS, two of its main thrusters went offline per sensor data, but backups kicked into gear and it was on its merry way. And again, problems arose when the CST-100 got close to the ISS, two

Aero Linx: European Helicopter Association (EHA) EHA’s goal is to be the single voice of the European rotorcraft industry by all its stakeholders, including manufacturers; operators; suppliers; regulatory entities (EASA, ICAO and European Commission); financial institutions; customers and society. EHA influences safety standards and growth of the European rotorcraft industry by creating new opportunities for its members.

Approach Speed The recommended speed contained in aircraft manuals used by pilots when making an approach to landing. This speed will vary for different segments of an approach as well as for aircraft weight and configuration.

“The United States is producing a record number of pilots, yet some are still trying to claim we need to weaken aviation safety rules to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. That’s why it’s so important we have frontline aviation safety experts—our pilots—on Capitol Hill this week to make sure decision-makers know the facts, and what’s at stake. Airline pilots offer a unique perspective that literally no one else can, and I’m proud our members are here in Washington, D.C., this week sharing that expertise in order to protect the world’s safest air transport system.” Source: ALPA president Capt. Joe DePete, explaining that according to the FAA, nearly 8,000 newly certificated com