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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90-seat Elysian airliner: 800-1,000-km range on batteries alone
January 11, 2024A Dutch startup says everyone's hugely underestimating the potential of battery-electric aircraft – that it's possible to build large battery-electric airliners covering distances most assume we'll need hydrogen for. Elysian plans to prove it. -
World's first liquid-hydrogen eVTOL aircraft promises 1,150-mile range
January 10, 2024The Sirius Jet will fly up to 1,150 miles (1,851 km) at speeds up to 323 mph (520 km/h) on a clean liquid-hydrogen powertrain. It'll rise vertically off a pad thanks to a deflected vectored thrust system using 20 smallish electric ducted fans. -
Supernal unveils its second-gen eVTOL air taxi at CES
January 09, 2024Hyundai's electric aircraft spinout has presented the eVTOL air taxi design it believes will "set the gold standard for Advanced Air Mobility." Supernal pulled the covers off its handsome S-A2 prototype at CES, built on a new airframe architecture. -
DARPA okays construction of X-65 plane with air jet flight controls
January 04, 2024DARPA has awarded a contract to Aurora Flight Sciences to build a full-scale aircraft called the X-65. It will test a new technology that replaces moving control surfaces with Active Flow Control (AFC) actuators that use jets of air for control. -
Full-scale Overair Butterfly eVTOL prototype is set for first test flights
December 19, 2023eVTOLs are one of those things that many groups announce their plans to create, but fail to produce in physical form. Such is not the case with Overair's Butterfly, however, the just-unveiled prototype of which should soon begin flight testing. -
Airbus's EcoPulse aircraft makes maiden all-hybrid flight
December 14, 2023Airbus' EcoPulse hybrid-electric distributed propulsion demonstrator aircraft has completed its maiden flight using its complete powertrain of ePropellers, high-density batteries, and a turbogenerator in support of aviation's decarbonization. -
Uncrewed Cessna cargo plane takes to Californian skies
December 14, 2023A Cessna 208B Caravan kitted out with an autonomous flight system from Reliable Robotics recently took to the skies north of Hollister in California, without any humans onboard – though the aircraft was supervised remotely by a pilot on the ground. -
Hybrid Electric Eel aircraft claims flight endurance record
December 12, 2023Hybrids could have almost as much potential in the air as they do on the ground. Ampaire says the clever first-gen hybrid powertrain in its Electric Eel demonstrator cuts fuel consumption by 50-70%, and it's just logged a world record for endurance. -
Active turbulence cancellation makes bumpy flights 80% smoother
December 11, 2023Austrian company Turbulence Solutions claims it's already flight-testing a system that can detect and neutralize air turbulence, reducing the forces felt by passengers by up to 80% – and reducing fuel burn by up to 10%. It's set to launch in 2024. -
Rotor R550X: A full-size autonomous helicopter anyone can buy
December 07, 2023Rotor Technologies is now in production on a full-size unmanned helicopter for civilian use. Based on the Robinson R44 Raven II, the R550X flies for more than three hours, at speeds up to 150 mph (241 km/h), carrying up to 1,200 lb (550 kg) of cargo. -
Modular kit turns Airbus A400M transports into firefighting aircraft
December 07, 2023Airbus has flight tested the latest prototype of its A400M Roll-on/Roll-off modular kit that turns a standard Airbus A400M turboprop military transport aircraft into a firefighting bomber to drop water and retardants on conflagrations. -
World's largest plane carries fueled hypersonic test vehicle into the skies
December 05, 2023California's Stratolaunch has announced the successful completion of its 12th test flight, where its six-engine, 385-ft wingspan Roc carrier aircraft took to the air for a captive carry test of a Talon-A hypersonic vehicle hauling live propellant. -
Airbus' FlightLab flies itself while pilot rides shotgun with a tablet
November 29, 2023Having shown off simplified copter controls, Airbus Helicopters' FlightLab has completed a fully automated flight testing a new simplified tablet-based human machine interface (HMI) designed to reduce pilot workloads and increase safety. -
Autonomous air-to-air refueling system will radically boost endurance
November 26, 2023Airbus innovation division UpNext is testing its next-gen autonomous systems for air-to-air in-flight refueling, which could be a revolutionary leap forward for a variety of military and civil aircraft, safely extending range and endurance. -
Gravity tests head-tracking, shoulder-mounted firearms on its jet suit
November 23, 2023In a video posted to TikTok, Gravity Industries founder Richard Browning has shown off what appears to be live-fire aerial testing of a shoulder-mounted, head-tracking weapons system for the Iron Man-style jet suit he's been flying since 2017.
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