50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

Essential news for 20 Jul 2026

Loganair adds BETA Technologies ALIA CTOL aircraft to its fleet following successful demonstrations

Farnborough International Airshow was the place for an announcement by Loganair and BETA Technologies: the signing of a term sheet under which Loganair will purchase five all-electric ALIA conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) (CX300) aircraft, with options for five more. UK, and Scotland in particular, is a natural first market for commercial electric flight. Across the country, islan...

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SMBC Aviation Capital orders 100 Airbus A320neo family aircraft

SMBC Aviation Capital placed a firm order for an additional 65 A321neo and 35 A320neo aircraft. The agreement was finalised at the Farnborough International Airshow. SMBC Aviation Capital is already one of the largest customers for the A320 Family and together with its parent company Sumitomo Corporation, accounts for over 900 total commitments directly from Airbus for all Airbus aircraft types....

Piper Industrial Manufacturing Company forges strategic partnership with AURA AERO

Piper Industrial Manufacturing Company announced a strategic MOU with AURA AERO. This landmark collaboration brings together PIMCO’s extensive aerospace manufacturing capabilities and AURA AERO’s expertise in next generation aircraft development to support the industrialization and scalable production of ERA, AURA AERO’s Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft. Jér&eacut...

magniAIR electric powertrains from magniX now available for pre-order

magniX announced the opening of pre-orders for its magniAIR electric engine for experimental and kit planes. Customers are now able to secure a place in the magniAIR production queue with a deposit. Final sales packages will include options for an integrated magniAIR powertrain including magniX Samson batteries and a full firewall forward kit for select popular kit planes comprising powertrai...

Daher Aircraft expands its authorized service center network and distributor organization for the Kodiak airplane family

Daher Aircraft announced the expansion of the customer support and sales infrastructure for its Kodiak airplane family, adding three authorized Network service center locations in the United States and Asia, as well as two distributors in these regions. For Kodiak customer support, two of the new Network service station locations are at Blackhawk Group facilities in Camarillo, California (KCMA) an...

Bell marks the delivery of the 700th Bell 505 during Farnborough International Airshow

During Farnborough International Airshow Bell Textron announced that it has delivered its 700th Bell 505 to a private VIP operator, highlighting the platforms’ popularity in the corporate aircraft segment. Since its introduction in 2017, the Bell 505 has accumulated more than 390,000 flight hours and operates in more than 55 countries across six continents. Based on the proven...

Adelaide Aviation chooses Tecnam P-Mentor

South Australia based Adelaide Aviation selected Tecnam P-Mentor as its primary trainer, and will take immediate delivery of two (2) aircraft, facilitated by Tecnam’s Australian representative, Hallmarc Aviation. Sherman Anthoney, CEO, Adelaide Aviation Pty Ltd, commented: “Our goal is to produce safe, capable, and adaptable pilots, efficiently. After evaluating multiple t...

UK National Police Air Service orders two additional Airbus H135s

UK National Police Air Service (NPAS) has placed an order for an additional two H135 helicopters, bringing the total fleet renewal programme to nine H135s. The firm order, which follows the arrival of the first two fleet renewal aircraft at Airbus Helicopters in the UK in April for extensive policing customisation, comes under the original 2025 Framework Contract signed with the BlueLight Com...

Rolls-Royce partners with Boeing and Lufthansa to test technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce noise

Rolls-Royce partners with Boeing and Lufthansa to conduct flight tests of innovations meant to improve fuel efficiency and reduce noise. The testing, which begins later this month at the Boeing site in Glasgow, Montana, is being conducted on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet that’s serving as Boeing’s 2026 ecoDemonstrator Explorer airplane. This Boeing 787-9 is scheduled to be delivered...

Bombardier Global 8000 sets new speed record between Los Angeles and Farnborough, UK

Bombardier Global 8000 business jet set a new speed record on a mission departing from Los Angeles and landing in Farnborough, UK. The aircraft completed the city pair in 8 hours and 46 minutes. In setting the record, the Global 8000 flight crew was able to overcome unfavorable tailwinds, reaching a top speed of Mach 0.93. This new speed record is also 2.2% faster than a previous re...