Signature Adds DC Facility to Network

Signature Aviation has announced an agreement to buy Dulles Jet Center, a corporate hangar facility near Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). The deal will give them Dulles Jet Center's full 197,000 square feet of hangar space, along with Class A office space and a luxury passenger lounge. Signature says it 'looks forward to continuing DJC’s commitment to providing high-quality, safe, and secure operations', which is good news for Dulles' former employees. That means that operations will continue, and likely track similar to other Signature Aviation acquisitions: Expansion and promotion, in the best case, allowing Dulles Jet Center employees to leave the small pond of their old company int

Vertical Continues Onward to Flight Testing

After Publicizing their Refreshed Permit to Fly from the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority, Vertical Aerospace began its test flight campaign with a tethered launch of their electric eVTOL prototype. The VX4 pulled it off perfectly, taking off and hovering for a short time as personnel parsed, checked, and assessed more than "20,000 flight and system parameters". The prototype pulled it off without a hitch, providing Vertical the data it needs to move on to the next phase of testing.

Reusable Shuttle-Alike Readies For Action With Final Touches to Thermal Protection, Environmental Systems

Sierra Space has begun its final test phase for the Dream Chaser spaceplane at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, good news for fans of the ongoing commercial space race. Sierra Space is hoping that its Dream Chaser, and corresponding Shooting Star cargo module will offer a competitive, affordable option to those looking to deliver payloads into orbit and beyond. With production complete, Sierra Space will now move on to final testing and launch prep for its inaugural mission to resupply the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser now has to look forward to its closeout checks on propulsion, electrical, and pre-launch processing, along with th

A Halt to Crewed Fighter Development May Save USAF From Ill-Timed Next-Gen Fighter on Eve of UAV Gold Rush

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said that the project to develop a suitable replacement for the F-15 and F-22 fighter systems has been paused due to concerns about the 'high costs' of the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter. The industry has heard no shortage of water-cooler whispers regarding the death of NGAD, which were only put to rest when Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall spoke on the issue at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Industry Day. His take on it was optimistic, in a purely bureaucratic sense: Avoiding development now could ultimately create a much better aircraft, both in terms of cost and mission.

School Highlights AI-Based LOC Research

A raft of Embry-Riddle research projects have been funded by seed grants from the Boeing Center for Aviation & Aerospace Safety, kicking off a flurry of activity at the Florida college. The school highlighted one project 'using artificial intelligence to help model and predict in-flight loss-of-control incidents', citing its use to reduce fatalities in commercial aviation. Additional projects included "Open-Source Validation and Verification Framework for AI-Controlled Aerial Vehicles“, "3D Printing of Continuous Carbon Fiber Composites With Programmable Thermal Behaviors: A Proactive Safety Design for Advanced Thermal Management", "Robust Automatic Speech Recognition for Aviation Applications

Klyde Had More Fun Than He's Willing To Admit... (So Did We!)

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Charity Network Gets Some New Blood at the Helm

Embraer Executive Jets CEO and President Michael Amalfitano has been installed to the Corporate Angel Network's Board of Directors. The Network is a 501c3 that aims to pair cancer patients in need of specialized, rapid transit with corporate aircraft ready for a mission, allowing them to give off their considerable corporate resources and help patients survive just that much longer with more specialized medical care. Amalfitano joins the rest of the Board, with members from across the aviation industry in everything from media to manufacturing, in their efforts to bolster awareness of the Network's mission. Amalfitano is no stranger to business ops, either, as current President and CEO of Embraer Exe

From 2016 (YouTube Version): An Amazing Opportunity For Colorado’s STEM Educators…

In this video you’ll hear about a program that is designed to inspire teachers to inspire their students by sharing with them the excitement of flying in a 1942 Boeing PT-17 Stearman trainer plane. Hetty Carlson, of the Teacher Flight Program, explains how they use aviation as a tool to motivate and encourage students. Their Colorado-based operation has a goal of flying one teacher from every school along the Colorado Front Range. Counti

When The Airplane Was About 300 Ft Above Ground Level, The Engine Lost Partial Power

On June 26, 2024, around 1449 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Aventura II, N243AV, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Deland, Florida. The pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 test flight. The pilot was at DeLand Municipal Airport-Sidney H Taylor Field (DED), DeLand, Florida, to ferry another airplane when he agreed to test fly the accident airplane with an avionics specialist to troubleshoot an avionics issue. Shortly after takeoff from runway 31, when the airplane was about 300 ft above ground level, the engine lost par

Aero Linx: National Museum of the United States Air Force It’s hard to believe, but 2023 marked the museum's 100th Anniversary! Since 1923 the museum has grown from a small engineering study collection to the world's largest military aviation museum and is a world-renowned center for air and space power technology and culture preservation. The museum is home to countless one-of-a-kind objects. Our once small engine collection now includes more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles, thousands of artifacts, and spans 20 indoor acres with additional outdoor Air and Memorial Parks that continue to grow every year.

Airport Taxi Charts Designed to expedite the efficient and safe flow of ground traffic at an airport. These charts are identified by the official airport name;  e.g., Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“You may have heard about this, but with the platform itself, we’re taking a pause. It’s at the time in any program where you really have your last chance to think very carefully if I really got the right design. We want to make sure we’ve got the right concept. We’re going to take a little bit of time to make sure you do, before we make a major commitment. That’s the biggest commitment in any given development program, which is to start design and development for production."

Source: Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall discussing the delay of a project to develop a suitable replace