Overture’s Overture

Boom Supersonic, the American company about the highly-speculative business of designing and producing a supersonic airliner dubbed the Boom Overture, has reportedly achieved a number of milestones vis-à-vis the development of its XB-1 Baby Boom—a one-third-scale technology demonstrator devised to vet technologies salient to the planned airliner.

Chandrayaan-3 Lander Mission Successful After Russian Failure

India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission landed on the moon successfully, less than a week after a competing Russian mission impacted the surface after unsuccessful orbital maneuvering. The successful touchdown of Chandrayaan-3 is a feather in the cap for India’s space program as it vies for recognition in the international spacefaring community. The lander now lies near the south pole of the moon, a popular landing locale among competing space missions. It’s hoped that analysis in the area will help to unveil the presence of lunar ice reserves, which could portend an easy refueling source of hydrogen, oxygen, and drinkable water for future manned missions.

Putin’s Alleged Involvement Unproved

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has ascribed the aircraft accident presumed to have ended the life of Yevgeny Prigozhin—Russian oligarch, mercenary leader, and former confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin—to an intentional explosion. A U.S. official familiar with the assessment set forth the report goes so far as to state Prigozhin was “very likely” targeted and the explosion aligns with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.”

An Evening with Dr. Kathy Sullivan

After 25 years, retired NASA astronaut Dr. Kathryn Sullivan has returned to the International Women’s Air & Space Museum (IWASM) for purpose of exploring the New Space Age on Friday, 15 September 2023. Selected in the NASA astronaut class of 1978—thereby becoming one of the first female astronauts—oceanographer, geologist, author, and trailblazer Kathryn Sullivan joins IWASM for the first time since the museum’s 1999 move to Cleveland, Ohio. The event is one of Sullivan’s final stops prior to her enshrinement in the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.

Annual Aeronautical Extravaganza Runs 01-04 September

Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum will host its popular annual AirFest event from 01 through 04 September 2023. Attendees of the AirFest celebration can look forward to aircraft and aerial displays, reenactments, live music, classic cars, face painting, caricatures, vendors, exhibitors, food, beer, and more, the four-day hootenanny is the museum’s largest yearly fundraiser.

Sisters of the Skies to Receive Prestigious Award

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) is pleased to announce that Sisters of the Skies has been chosen to receive 2023’s Clifford Henderson Award. The Henderson Trophy, founded in 1960, is named after Clifford W. Henderson, an enthusiastic aviation proponent. The Trophy is awarded annually to a living individual, group of individuals, or an organization whose vision, leadership or skill made a significant and lasting contribution to the promotion and advancement of aviation and aerospace. Nominees are proposed by the NAA President and approved by the NAA Executive Committee.

New Features Take Aim at Photography, Mapping, Inspections with Improved Automation

Autel's EVO Max series of drones are the beneficiary of some snazzy new features courtesy of an update to the accompanying app and firmware updates to the aircraft. First off, the addition of a "rectangle mission" feature allows operators to dial in an automated box pattern, where the EVO Max will fly the survey lines just like a full-sized mapping aircraft. The update also adds a "bypass" feature to the operator's toolbox, enabling the drone to automatically maneuver around obstacles in its flight path and continue on as written in the flight plan. 

Also: Enstrom Update, Powered-Lift SFAR, Folding Knee Desk, Spirit-Wayman Partnership

etZero has benefitted from a US Air Force award of $235-million to build an airliner-scale, piloted, Blended Wing Body technology demonstrator in partnership with Northrop-Grumman and Scaled Composites. The funds will be distributed over a four-year period culminating, presumably, in a 2027 first-flight. The planned aircraft will be assembled at Scaled Composites’s Mojave, California facility and powered, ostensibly, by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW100-series Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines. General aviation aircraft owners and pilots mobilized their machines and must

The Emperors’ New Awards

The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) Board of Trustees has named the distinguished recipients of the inaugural National Aviation Hall of Fame Congressional Leadership Award. Chairman of the Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Congressman Sam Graves, and Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Ranking Member Senate Commerce Committee -Aviation Subcommittee, Senator Jerry Moran, will be honored for their outstanding contributions to American Aviation and Aerospace.

From 2019 (YouTube Version): Learning To Paint Without Getting Any On Your Hands

PPG's Aerospace Coatings Academy is a tool designed to teach everything one needs to know about all our aerospace coatings technologies. It combines both classroom and hands-on training. In the class, PPG’s newest coatings technologies and product features are highlighted. In the spray booth, hands on allows you to learn proper preparation and practice the best application techniques. But paint can be expensive, so PPG is now employing a virtual reality painting simulator to help teach technicians to paint in much the same way that a simulator can help a pi

During The Go-Around, The Airplane Seemed Low And Then The Witness Lost Sight Of The Airplane

On July 30, 2023, about 1230 mountain daylight time, a Cessna T206H, N918KG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Valley County, Idaho. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A witness, who was located near the airport observed the airplane attempt to land in gusty wind conditions. Subsequently, the pilot aborted the landing and accomplished a go-around. During the go-around, the airplane seemed low and then the witness lost sight of the airplane, when it went around a ridgeline.

Military UAV Market Gets a Little Bit Smaller with Merger

AeroVironment has announced its anticipated acquisition of Tomahawk Robotics, a firm focused on developing AI-enabled robotic control systems. The company hopes that their new purchase will work some magic in improving the autonomous functionality and interoperability of their best-selling semiautonomous loitering munitions and uncrewed vehicles. Tomahawk's expertise in connection a plethora of dissimilar vehicles and systems should prove useful for AeroVironment, allowing each of their product offerings to interface and share data in a network answerable to one common controller scheme.

Aero Linx: The International Aerobatic Club, Inc. The International Aerobatic Club, Inc. is an independent corporation (although often referred to as a division of Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc.). All IAC members are required to be members of Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. Membership in EAA is open to all who are interested in aviation.

Published Route A route for which an IFR altitude has been established and published; e.g., Federal Airways, Jet Routes, Area Navigation Routes, Specified Direct Routes.

“India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone. Our approach of one Earth, one family, one future is resonating across the globe. This human-centric approach that we present and that we represent has been welcomed universally. Our moon mission is also based on the same human-centric approach. Therefore, this success belongs to all of humanity, and it will help moon missions by other countries in the future. I’m confident that all countries in the world, including those from the global south, are capable of achieving such feats. We can all aspire for the moon and beyond.” Source: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, doing some justifiable bragging about India's successful robotic moon landing.&