Ahead of Schedule and On-Spec? Boeing Gets a Gold Star

Boeing brought some attention to some of its work coming in above-board, when the company managed to deliver the first pair of modified Block III Super Hornets a full month ahead of schedule. In the civilian world, it's easy to be a little nonplussed at the idea, but in the world of military procurement, where routine delays are measured in years, coming in a month early is downright phenomenal. The upgrade was the first pair of service life modifications to create an F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet, bringing the Navy's bread and butter multirole aircraft to the same standard as a brand-new production unit.

Also: Bombardier Strike?, New Gulfstream-Specific Training, Wright Brothers Trophy, Virgin Galactic

Two women were arrested at London Stansted Airport on June 20 on suspicion of vandalizing aircraft in a restricted area of the airport where private aircraft are parked. Local police said officers responded to a report of “people gaining access to a private area of the airport well away from the runway and main passenger terminal” and damaging two aircraft without providing further details. Just what aviation needed, yet another black eye... this time from a repeat offender who's had no end of trouble with the feds over the last decade-plus. On

Almost as Soon as it Started, it Was Over

Maintenance personnel at Canadian carrier WestJet began their strike in the waning days of June, riding on a 97% rejection of the company's contract offer from last May. The group, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, took their employer by surprise, since they had apparently expected the Canada Industrial Relations Board to turn down the request to strike. Unfortunately for them - and the traveling public on WestJet - the strike was approved, throwing a serious wrench in the works of everyone trying to make their way around the busy Canada Day holiday on July 1st. The striking mechanics had started their walkout on Friday, heading into the weekend for some stress-free rest whi

DARPA Could Get a New Toy in the Path to 'Game Changing' Aircraft Capability

Aurora Flight Sciences has been chose to continue onwards designing and developing its 'SPeed and Runway Independent Technologies' (or SPRINT, of course) X-Plane Demonstration Project. The original program entered phase 1 in December of 2023, promixing to develop a familiar silhouette to B-2 and F-117 enjoyers that could offer the commissioning entity, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) a low-drag, fin-in-wing demonstrator sporting a pancaked fuselage and blended wing design.

Brings Total Investment in eVTOL Maker to Over $200 Million

Global investment firm Stellantis has a strategic funding agreement with Archer, one of the leading developers of electric technologies and aircraft for rapid urban air mobility. The companies announced on July 2 that Archer received an additional $55 million investment from Stellantis under that agreement. This follows Archer’s successful transition flight test milestone in June, and adds to the series of direct funding and open market stock purchases Stellantis completed in 2023 and 2024.

Streaming-Level System for More Than 2,000 King Air Aircraft In Service

SmartSky Networks announced the FAA has issued a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its SmartSky LITE connectivity system. The certificate authorizes installation of the in-flight Wi-Fi system on all models of Beechcraft King Air from B200 to 36CER covering more than 2,000 aircraft now in service. Davinci Jet Services, a charter company and full-service MRO operated by Davinci Jets, LLC, of Charlotte, North Carolina, completed the initial installation on a King Air 350i.

Also: Bombardier Strike?, New Gulfstream-Specific Training, Wright Brothers Trophy, Virgin Galactic

Two women were arrested at London Stansted Airport on June 20 on suspicion of vandalizing aircraft in a restricted area of the airport where private aircraft are parked. Local police said officers responded to a report of “people gaining access to a private area of the airport well away from the runway and main passenger terminal” and damaging two aircraft without providing further details. Just what aviation needed, yet another black eye... this time from a repeat offender who's had no end of trouble with the feds over the last decade-p

Spirit AeroSystems Brings Work to Boeing in Merger

The merger between Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems is mainly about commercial aircraft production, but the deal brings with it work that Spirit had previously been supplying for several manufacturers of military aircraft. If the Boeing-Spirit deal is approved by U.S. regulators, Boeing will become a major supplier of components for the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider long-range stealth bomber, Lockheed Martin’s CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter, and the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft to be built by Bell Textron.

From 2022 (YouTube Version): (v = af – ai / t = a / t) 6

Velocity, Inc—the Sebastisn, FL-based manufacturer of agile, high-performance, Long-EZ-inspired kit aircraft—has some big plans in the works. Big, in this instance, pertains to the six-place iteration the company is developing of its popular, four-place, V-Twin aircraft. Stretching a fiberglass / carbon-composite airframe 24-inches longitudinally and four inches both vertically and laterally is an ambitious undertaking, but one well-suited to Velocity’s decades of

Airplane Then Made A “Barrel Roll,” Descended To 200 Ft, Turned Left, And Completed One Or Two 360° Rolls Before It Descended

On June 17, 2024, at 0816 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-31-310, Canadian registration CGKSI, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Loudonville, New York. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured and one person on the ground sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. The airplane departed runway 19 at Albany International Airport (ALB), Albany, New York, at 0815 on an instrument flight rules flight to Montreal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (CYUL), Montreal, Quebec, Canada. According to

Aero Linx: EUROCONTROL - European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation Our expertise spans research, development, operations and performance monitoring. We are committed to the European Union’s vision for a Single European Sky. We support our Member States and our civil and military stakeholders (including air navigation service providers, airspace users, airports and aircraft/equipment manufacturers) in a joint effort to make aviation in Europe safer, more efficient, more cost-effective and with a minimal environmental impact.

Blind Speed The rate of departure or closing of a target relative to the radar antenna at which cancellation of the primary radar target by moving target indicator (MTI) circuits in the radar equipment causes a reduction or complete loss of signal. 

“These first deliveries of Block III SLM jets are a major milestone in our continued efforts to ensure capability, reliability, availability and maintainability of the Super Hornet aircraft. We look forward to our continued partnership with Boeing to deliver this critical warfighting capability to the fleet.” Source: Capt. Michael Burks, program manager for the F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office, commenting when the Boeing program managed to deliver the first pair of modified Block III Super Hornets a full month ahead of schedule.