Aircraft
From autonomous flying-taxis to experimental hypersonic aircraft, check out what's new in the world of aviation.
Top News
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It was set to be the world's first flight test for an aerospike rocket engine, but the MIRA I prototype crashed on takeoff before the most innovative part of its propulsion system could fire. Undeterred, Polaris is building two bigger prototypes.
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Boom's XB-1 supersonic jet took its fifth test flight last week setting a few new records. The XB-1 is the one-third scale platform that Boom is using for its eventual Overture program aiming to bring back commercial supersonic passenger flight.
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The world's first flight test for an aerospike rocket engine ended in disaster, but Polaris Aerospace is back on track, preparing to fly second- and third-generation prototypes for its MIRA supersonic/hypersonic aircraft platform within weeks.
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Latest News
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February 04, 2025 | Joe SalasThe latest in crazy impressive drone technology isn't from DJI (or "research drones" approved by the FAA), it's from the University of Hong Kong. And it's called the "safety-assured high-speed aerial robot," also known as SUPER. Is it really super though?
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January 28, 2025 | David SzondyBoom Supersonic has gone, well, supersonic, its XB-1 prototype breaking the sound barrier today in the skies over the Mojave Air & Space Port in California. With Chief Test Pilot Tristan Brandenburg at the controls, it reached a speed of Mach 1.122.
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January 27, 2025 | David SzondyAfter 10 months of flight testing, Boom Supersonic has announced that it will make the first supersonic flight of its XB-1 prototype tomorrow at 7:45 am PST in the skies over the Mojave Desert in California. Here's how to watch.
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January 25, 2025 | David SzondyIndra Group has taken multitasking to the next level, signing an agreement with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS that has the company providing air traffic control for 23 Norwegian airports from one central location in Bodø, Norway.
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January 14, 2025 | David SzondyIf you've ever ridden in a car that can park itself at the push of a button, you'll appreciate the achievement of Skyryse, which has made a fully-conforming production helicopter that can hover with the swipe of a finger.
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January 14, 2025 | Joe SalasThe aviation industry has long been in pursuit of technological efficiency and sustainability. In a recent collaboration, Turbotech, Safran, and Air Liquide teamed up to validate the feasibility of using liquid hydrogen to power a turbine engine.
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January 14, 2025 | David SzondyCommercial supersonic flight sped closer to returning as the Boom Supersonic XB-1 prototype reached a transonic speed of Mach 0.95 during Test Flight 11 on January 10, 2025, in the skies over the Mojave Desert in California.
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January 12, 2025 | David SzondyIf air taxi services ever take off, you might want to hold onto your hat very firmly. A new FAA report looking at various eVTOL prototypes shows that when they take off and land they have a downwash from rotors equivalent to hurricane-force wind.
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January 05, 2025 | David SzondyWhen we last looked at air taxi startup Lilium, it was in administration and had laid off most of its employees on December 20. Now it seems there was a Christmas miracle on December 24, with investors throwing out a US$206 million lifeline.
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January 02, 2025 | David SzondyOn the heels of eVTOL startup Lilium shutting down, air taxi builder Volocopter may close its doors having filed for insolvency due to lack of funds. On December 26, 2024, the Karlsruhe Local Court in Germany placed the company in administration.
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December 25, 2024 | David SzondySome historic aircraft seem like a barrel for holding superlatives. One of these, the H-4 Hercules, goes one better because it's also at the center of one of the strangest stories involving possibly the 20th century's strangest man – Howard Hughes.
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December 24, 2024 | Abhimanyu GhoshalGerman eVTOL startup Lilium has ceased operations as of this week – sunsetting a decade-long effort funded with over $1 billion to build electric air taxis, with nary a single aircraft delivered.
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December 21, 2024 | Ben CoxworthBAE Systems has announced that STRIX, a new type of VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft, made its first flight in late October. The flight was reportedly successful, paving the way for production of the unique aircraft.
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December 20, 2024 | Joe SalasChinese "Space Transportation" company, Lingkong Tianxing Technology, has successfully tested its new JinDou400, also known as JinDouyun, ramjet detonation engine nearly twice the altitude of commercial passenger planes and more than doubling the Concorde's fastest speeds during its test.
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December 20, 2024 | Paul RiddenWhile Australia's Airspeeder is yet to race its sporty eVTOLs with pilots at the controls, Jetson's founder and CTO Tomasz Patan has taken its One flyer to the air for what's been billed as the birth of the world's first eVTOL air racing.
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