Also: Dawn Aerospace, Lindbergh Foundation, Airbus v ALPA, Air Cargo-Only Airport
ICON Aircraft has successfully completed the sale of essentially all its assets to investment banking group SG Investment America (which apparently/ultimately is derived from Chinese ownership), who will continue to operate the company (for now) under the name ICON Aircraft. Joby Aviation announced the third production prototype aircraft has been completed on the production line in Marina, California. A fourth aircraft is expected to be finished in the coming weeks and its flight testing is expected to begin during Q4 of this year. After about two months of delays, space enthusiasts have begun wondering just how functional the Boeing Starliner is, after
Mk-II Aurora Rocketplane Gets Its License to Speed
The Mk-II Aurora, Dawn Aerospace's supersonic rocketplane, got a license for unlimited speed by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, allowing it to go as fast as it pleases up to 80,000 feet. The Mk-II Aurora first flew in July 2021, and has since flown at increasing speeds and altitudes as the team pushes its limits. The Aurora can fly 100 kilometers up, provide a suitable environment to play with microgravity, high-speed research, and near-space tech. Of course, the Aurora's natural abilities will have plenty of applications in the defense sphere too, a fact that isn't at all lost on Dawn Aerospace. Now, it's on to the fun part: Pushing the limits of their rocket-powered UAV.
A "Three Hour Tour" Stretches Into Months for Gilligan & Co - Or, Wilmore & Williams
After about two months of delays, space enthusiasts have begun wondering just how functional the Boeing Starliner is, after apparently stranding Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the ISS. Initially, the problematic Starliner was slated for a quick 'out-n-back' mission that would serve as its official entry into crewed launches, taking Wilmore and Williams to the ISS and back. On its outbound leg, Starliner suffered a number of thruster malfunctions, which Boeing had downplayed as an issue ahead of the return flight. Now, a couple months later, it's looking like NASA may have to look to SpaceX for a plan B...
Help Us Assemble A Proper Look-Back At The Aero-Equivalent Of Burning Man, Woodstock And An Old Fashioned Tent Revival—All Rolled Into One... OSHKOSH!
Compiled By Jim Campbell, and The Staff, Stringers, and Friends of the Aero-News Network
When Oshkosh is all of a few days in the rear-view mirror, we come to a time when we TRY to evaluate what happened this year… in both positive and negative terms. And YOU can help... a lot. We’ve tried a few variants on this report in the past… and some of them have worked better than others, but we’re going to try to prese
Successful Mission Intercepts Space Junk for a Scouting Mission
Astroscale Japan Inc got some beautiful shots of orbital debris after the first successful flight of their Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) satellite. Their unit made a flyby of a floating remainder of a Japanese upper stage rocket body, taking a series of pictures of the spinning junk as it circled the Earth. It's great news for space enthusiasts, since the space race and its new commercial age has tended to leave a good deal of material orphaned in orbit. That's quickly becoming a danger to satellite and space station options, eliminating orbital tracks from consideration in order to avoid high-speed impact damage.
Electric Propulsion Innovation Challenge STEM Challenge Pushes Students to Compete in Electric Flight
The Saint Louis Science Center and its partner, the nonprofit Lindbergh Foundation, capped a STEM-focused challenge for young students to compete for glide performance. The Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) students can attempt the annual challenge to design, create, and fly a fully electric aircraft, with their final awards granted based on how far their design can glide. Local St. Louis area students from the YES program came out to compete in late July, before competing in a public fly-off with their designs on August 3rd. The kids were awarded a whole roster of awards for specific achievements, giving everyone a little somet
The Subaru 412EPX was the center of a recent purchase by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, with plans to use it as an advanced fire and rescue aircraft. “Bell is excited to work with San Diego Fire-Rescue as it expands their city’s public safety fleet,” said Lane Evans, managing director, North America. “The SUBARU Bell 412EPX combines what many public safety units are looking for – high-altitude power, increased weight capabilities, and a spacious interior. The platform continues to be highly sought-after in the field, especially for those tasked with combating wildfire outbreaks.”
PAL To Develop Innovations for De Havilland Aircraft
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (De Havilland Canada, DHC) and PAL Aerospace have decades of partnering on innovations for De Havilland aircraft. PAL Aerospace is part of the PAL Group of Companies, a longtime operator of DHC aircraft, and is uniquely positioned to develop innovative solutions for De Havilland that can be adopted by other DHC operators within the PAL Group and this MOU proposes to do just that: identify innovative solutions and new opportunities for PAL Group to deploy in its DHC fleet.
The South Suburban Airport (SSA) has been under consideration for decades and has been actively studied since the 1990s. Due to recent legislation directing the Illinois Department of Transportation to develop a prequalification process for vendors to participate in its planning, the vision for the airport has shifted to a dedicated all-cargo facility and no longer as a passenger transportation center. A recent study released by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI), a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization, found that during the multi-year construction period, 8,000 jobs would be created and stimulate regional economic activity by more than $1.3 billion.
The Airplane... Entered A Shallow Left Bank, And An Explosion Is Seen And Heard Originating From The Forward Engine Cowling Area
On July 21, 2024, about 1754 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Titan T-51 Mustang, N751TX, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near the Germack Airport (7D9), Geneva, Ohio. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a personal flight conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to a private pilot who witnessed the accident flight, he planned to complete a demonstration flight with the accident pilot. Prior to the flight, the accident pilot had performed maintenance on the airplane, to i
From 2019 (YouTube Version): New AirCam Option Allows For The Installation Of A Third Seat
The recently announced Aircam 'Gen-3' model airframe now has the option of incorporating a third seat located behind the second seat as well as a 220-pound gross weight increase from the current 1,680-pound max gross weight -- totaling up to 1,900 pounds. The new jump seat can be readily converted between cargo usage or the carrying of a third passenger.
Very High Frequency (VHF)
The frequency band between 30 and 300 MHz. Portions of this band, 108 to 118 MHz, are used for certain NAVAIDs; 118 to 136 MHz are used for civil air/ground voice communications. Other frequencies in this band are used for purposes not related to air traffic control.
“As we plant new roots in St. Louis, collaborating with the Science Center to implement the EPIC STEM Challenge is a critical first step toward a broader goal of decarbonizing the aviation industry. Working alongside world-class manufacturer Seyer Industries and the world’s foremost machine tool innovator in Starrag to incentivize the next generation. We’re proud to contribute to the growing innovation scene here in St. Louis, and having these students act as peer mentors for next year's summer camps is brilliant.”
Source: Lindbergh Foundation Chairman Erik Lindbergh, noting how the Saint Louis Science Center and the nonprofit Lindbergh Foundation, capped a STEM-focused challenge for young students to comp
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