50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

United States aviation news

Boom Is Serious About Building the Supersonic Passenger Jet of the Future

Already made up of a number of heavy-hitters in the aerospace industry, Boom just signed a deal with Virgin to make affordable supersonic travel a reality. It's been twelve-and-a-half years since the Concorde retired, and we haven't seen a viable supersonic passenger jet since, though not for want of trying. Many outlandish concepts have been proposed, and some feasible designs supporte...

Atlanta airport evacuated after bomb scare

The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was briefly evacuated Wednesday morning over a suspicious package that turned out to be a false alarm, though officials said they are continuing to work with law enforcement to monitor the situation. An unattended bag at the busy Atlanta airport received a “positive hit” from a canine explosives team around&nbs...

Amazon Has Spent Nearly $10 Million Lobbying for Drone Delivery

Amazon wants a future where drones will drop off practically anything you order within 30 minutes. To push legislation that will ensure the skies are filled with its autonomous, flying delivery robots, the e-commerce giant has ramped up its lobbying strategy in Washington, D.C. Amazon spent $9.4 million on lobbying in 2015, almost twice the total from the year before, according to records from...

The American Concordes that never flew

In November 1962, the British and French governments announced a deal that caused great distress in the boardrooms of American planemakers. The two countries announced plans to jointly build a new airliner, one that would be able to fly at more than twice the speed of sound. The aircraft – to be called ‘Concorde’ – would be the most advanced civilian aircraft in the worl...

Former colleague of FlyDubai captain tells of clues to crash

A German pilot who worked alongside the captain of Flight FZ981 has spoken of his shock at news of the crash in Russia, and his fears for former colleagues at FlyDubai after Saturday’s tragedy. The 39-year-old has been flying jets since 1998 and received his lead position command for a commercial airliner in 2005. He worked with the experienced Cypriot captain, Aristos Sokratous, for an a...

Updated Business Aviation Fatigue Management Guide Endorsed by ICAO

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recently endorsed a business aviation fatigue management guide that contains recommendations originally made by NBAA and the Flight Safety Foundation. In the most recent version of the Fatigue Management Guide for General Aviation Operators of Large and Turbojet Aeroplanes, several groups, including ICAO, the International Business Aviat...

First Airbus aircraft produced in the U.S. takes flight

The first Airbus aircraft produced in the U.S. Manufacturing Facility has flown for the first time. The A321, destined for JetBlue took off from the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley in Mobile, Alabama, at 9:36 a.m., performed its test sequences, and landed safely at 1:02 p.m.  The aircraft was flown by Test Pilots Mark McCullins and Bruce Macdonald. They were accompanied on the flight by Flight...

Eisenhower's Granddaughter Visits His Air Force One in Arizona

The nation's first Air Force One, which sat abandoned in the Arizona desert for more than a decade, is almost ready to take flight again. Columbine II, a Lockheed VC-121 Constellation 48-610, which once ushered President Dwight D. Eisenhower, received a VIP farewell reception Friday night. Among the attendees was the president's granddaughter, Mary Jean Eisenhower, who was born in Wa...

StandardAero Authorized as Major Maintenance Provider for Honeywell HTF7000 Turbofan Engines

 StandardAero has been authorized by Honeywell Aerospace as major maintenance provider for repair and overhaul services (MRO) for the Honeywell HTF7000 family of turbofan engines, powering Bombardier Challenger 300/350, Embraer Legacy 450/500, Gulfstream G280 and the recently announced Cessna Citation Longitude business jets. StandardAero will also own and maintain HTF7000 rental bank engi...

In Alabama, Airbus plants seeds of a new aerospace cluster

The first American-made Airbus jet built in the new final-assembly plant in Mobile, Ala., is expected to make its maiden flight this week and be delivered to JetBlue soon after. Boeing’s main competitor sees this beachhead in the U.S. as just the beginning. Airbus once hoped it would assemble a refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force in this Gulf Coast city. Even when it lost that job in...

Alaska Airlines Passenger's Phone Catches Fire Mid-Flight

An Alaska Airlines passenger's phone burst into flames on a flight en route to Hawaii, and the airline and the FAA say they are investigating. Anna Crail, a college sophomore, was watching a movie on her flight to spring break when flames began shooting out of her iPhone 6, she told ABC affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle. "When it started I thought we were going down," Crail, 18, tol...

2 teens walk away from airplane after it crashes on Kansas golf course

Two teenagers were able to walk away from a rented airplane that one of them was piloting when it crashed onto a Kansas golf course, narrowly missing nearby homes. A 17-year-old boy was flying the 1966 single-engine Mooney on Friday afternoon when it came down on the 14th hole at the Tallgrass Country Club, Wichita police said. An 18-year-old woman also was aboard. Nikki Womack, who lives ne...