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United States aviation news

SkyDrive & SAI Flight unveil plans for commercial electric air taxi routes in South Carolina, confirm pre-order of 10 eVTOL aircraft

SkyDrive, SAI Flight and Greenville Downtown Airport, the state's busiest general aviation hub, have signed a MOU to jointly develop innovative business opportunities utilizing the cutting-edge SKYDRIVE eVTOL aircraft. The collaboration will focus on advancing air-cargo, air-taxi, and emergency service use cases, paving the way for a new era of efficient and versatile intra-community...

Cessna Citation Ascend continues to progress through certification program

Cessna Citation Ascend continues to progress through its certification program and will be equipped with the latest enhancements to the Garmin G5000 avionics suite. This flight deck will provide pilots with significant technological advances when it enters into service, expected to be in 2025. The Ascend program includes two test articles – Prototype and P1 – which have...

Dates for Future Opportunities for Seaplanes and Amphibious Aviation, FOSAA25, event confirmed

The organizers of the Future Opportunities for Seaplanes and Amphibious Aviation, FOSAA25,  have confirmed February 11, 2025, as the date for the second outing of the dedicated conference. The event, which will be held at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami, is building on the success of the first event held in March this year, when commercial members of the burgeoning seaplane and amphibio...

Clay Lacy Aviation breaks ground on Orange County FBO, largest private infrastructure investment in John Wayne Airport history

Clay Lacy Aviation began a new era of investment, service and commitment to Orange County aviation and the communities it serves. The 57-year-old private aviation services provider broke ground on a sustainability focused FBO development facility Thursday at John Wayne Airport (SNA).The FBO, aircraft management, maintenance and charter services provider will redevelop its existing 14 acres on...

Electra reveals design for EL9 Ultra Short hybrid-electric aircraft

Electra revealed the design of its EL9 Ultra Short hybrid-electric product aircraft, a nine-passenger piloted aircraft built for the electric future that redefines air travel without airports, emissions, or noise. Electra now enters the development phase of the EL9 backed by over a year of successful flight testing of its EL2 Goldfinch two-seat prototype, proving the technology’s readiness f...

NASA selects Electra as awardee in AACES 2050 program

NASA awarded Electra.aero a contract to develop key technologies and aircraft concepts for next generation commercial airliners that could enter service by mid-century. The award to Electra comes under NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 initiative. John Langford founded Electra in 2020 with a specific mission to lead in the development of sustainab...

Sikorsky & Rain successfully demonstrate autonomous flight with wildfire mission autonomy to rapidly find and suppress test fires

Sikorsky and Rain successfully demonstrated how an autonomous Black Hawk helicopter can be commanded to take off, identify the location and size of a small fire, and then accurately drop water to suppress the flames. Performed Oct. 29 at Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford, the Rapid Wildfire Response Demonstration showed the effective fusion of Sikorsky’s MATRIX™ flight...

BETA Technologies raises more than $300M in additional equity capital to fund growth and commercialization

Beta Technologies has raised $318 million in Series C equity capital. QIA led the raise and several of BETA’s largest investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Company and TPG Rise Climate increased their ownership in BETA. Longtime customer United Therapeutics has also joined this round as an investor. The financing round was priced at an increased valuation relative to prior...

Hartzell Propeller elevates customer service experience

Hartzell Propeller is making a number of investments to further elevate its customer service experience. Hartzell has introduced a new propeller exchange program, added new Hartzell-owned propeller service facilities, and unveiled a customer-centric Hartzell Service Center website. These initiatives are designed to improve customer convenience, reduce downtime, and provide an enhanced se...

Thornton Aviation installs first CDS/R to Universal InSight conversion on a Falcon 900B per Dassault STC

Thornton Aviation has used Dassault’s STC to integrate and install Universal Avionics InSight Integrated Flight Display system into a Falcon 900B. Dassault’s STC allows operators to upgrade to the four-display InSight system while maintaining the existing Honeywell flight management system. This project was unique due to the existing CDS/R displays installed in the aircraft. The S...

Paragon expands Northeast presence with Westover Metropolitan Airport partnership

Westover Metropolitan Airport announced its recent partnership with Paragon Aviation Group.This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Westover's long-standing history as a key aviation hub in the Northeast. Westover Metropolitan Airport, initially established as Westover Field by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, has been a vital part of the region's aviation history. Durin...

Gulfstream completes emissions testing of sustainable aviation fuel with Zero sulfur

Gulfstream Aerospace successfully completed ground emissions testing of 100% neat sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) containing zero sulfur on the all-new Gulfstream G700. Powered by Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines, the G700 ground emissions test was conducted to measure multiple fuel types, including a 30/70 SAF blend and neat SAF (a non-fossil-based aviation fuel). The preliminary results of the...