Aircraft
From autonomous flying-taxis to experimental hypersonic craft, check out what's new in the world of aviation.
LATEST NEWS
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Sergey Brin's 400-foot airship reportedly cleared for takeoff
October 26, 2023Google co-founder Sergey Brin quietly founded LTA Research in 2015, and its massive rigid airship prototype is preparing for its first outdoor flights, with a view to speeding up disaster response and starting zero-infrastructure cargo flights. -
Archer's production-spec Midnight eVTOL starts flight testing
October 25, 2023The eVTOL air taxi Archer is pushing toward production has now lifted off for the first time. The handsome, five-seat Midnight aircraft is scheduled to enter service in 2025, providing clean, quiet, short-range, traffic-busting hops over urban areas. -
Airbus Helicopters single-joystick system simplifies copter controls
October 25, 2023Airbus Helicopters' new FlightLab flying laboratory is already yielding results, successfully testing a fly-by-wire system for Airbus’ CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL prototype that reduces the primary flight controls to a single joystick. -
How to protect hypersonic vehicles? Make them sweat
October 23, 2023How do you protect hypersonic vehicles from the high temperatures of over 2,200 °C (4,000 °F) encountered when flying in excess of Mach 5? According to the RTX Technology Research Center, the answer is to make them sweat. -
Now you can own your own 7-seat eVTOL, if you're crazy rich
October 20, 2023Got a pilot's license? That and a fat bank account will let you take off vertically then soar horizontally with Lilium's sleek electric-powered craft, now on sale in the US market. The offering marks the first private availability of eVTOLs. -
World's first type-certified eVTOL aircraft is ready for service
October 15, 2023Way back at CES 2016, eHang stunned the world with a little autonomous passenger-carrying octacopter concept. Seven years later, that concept has evolved into the world's first fully certified eVTOL air taxi, cleared for commercial air taxi work. -
MIT system promotes AI from backup to co-pilot
October 10, 2023MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is developing an AI co-pilot for aircraft called Air Guardian that actively co-operates with the pilot, making the computer part of a team instead of an emergency backup. -
CycloTech unveils its CycloRotor-powered eVTOL air car concept
October 05, 2023After 15 years of development and prototype testing, CycloTech has presented its first concept aircraft. The CruiseUp is a unique-looking personal two-seat eVTOL air car designed for cross-town hops – and it'd probably stop better than any other eVTOL. -
Joby is now test-flying its eVTOL air taxis with pilots on board
October 04, 2023In a huge moment for the company – and the electric VTOL industry at large – Joby Aviation has officially started manned flight testing of its S4 eVTOL air taxi. Announcing the milestone with a video, Joby leads team USA in the race to certification. -
Crew-less Droneliner may one day slash the cost of airfreight
October 02, 2023While airfreight is certainly the fastest method of transporting cargo, it's also by far the most expensive. The Droneliner aircraft could help change that, by doing away with a crew and adopting a more cargo-friendly body shape. -
Solar-powered airship will circle the world non-stop without fuel
September 28, 2023Zero-emissions long-distance aviation is absolutely possible... Provided you're not in a hurry. Solar Airship One will take 20 days to fly all the way around the equator, some 40,000 km (~25,000 miles), in a single zero-emissions hop. -
Airbus shows off new helicopter flying lab for tech tests
September 27, 2023At this week's German National Aviation Conference in Hamburg, Airbus Helicopters took the wraps off its PioneerLab flying helicopter laboratory based on the company's twin-engine H145 platform. -
Audacious modular jet concept uses swappable wings, engines and cabins
September 17, 2023UK company Aeralis is going full throttle on a disruptive new modular jet concept that could handle a huge range of capabilities, from advanced jet training to long-range unmanned ISR missions, with a single fuselage and a range of swappable parts. -
Morphing hypersonic engine project is underway at UCF
September 10, 2023The US Naval Research Laboratory has funded a groundbreaking project to develop a new hypersonic engine capable of morphing its shape during flight to optimize power, thrust and efficiency. It's now entering experimental testing in Florida. -
H2Fly's twin-fuselage aircraft makes world-first liquid hydrogen flight
September 07, 2023Liquid hydrogen is a giant pain to handle, but it's one of the few technologies with a genuine chance of decarbonizing long-range flight. So it's huge news for clean aviation that H2Fly has now landed the word's first piloted liquid hydrogen flight.
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