Flight Tests

Jetman pilot Vince Reffet takes off from the ground before soaring off into the distance in a world-first transition from VTOL to winged flight

Aircraft

Transition to winged flight marks another world-first for Jetman

Another stunning milestone for the Jetman team, as pilot Vince Reffet demonstrates the new ability to take off from the ground, then hit the gas on the carbon jet wing's four turbine engines and soar away into the sky.

The VSR700 first flew as a pilot-optional demonstrator in 2017 but the cockpit has since been converted to a mission payload bay

Military

Airbus' VSR700 drone copter prototype makes maiden flight

Airbus Helicopters' VSR700 unmanned naval helicopter prototype recently successfully completed its maiden flight. On November 8, 2019, at a drone test center in the south of France, the aircraft carried out a series of tethered flights.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s four launch abort engines and several orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters ignite in the company’s Pad Abort Test

Space

Boeing Starliner spacecraft passes pad abort test

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule passed a major milestone today as it successfully completed a launch pad abort test. At the White Sands Missile Range, the unmanned spacecraft lifted off under its own power and executed a 95-second flight.

Space

Virgin Galactic might reach space on next flight

Virgin Galactic may finally reach space tomorrow, with the company's VSS Unity spacecraft currently being prepared for its fourth powered test flight. If weather and technical issues permit, the spaceplane will reach supersonic speeds on a suborbital trajectory to reach an altitude of about 62 mi.

$This version of the ApusDuo is just a fraction of the planned final craft, which will have a 91.9 ft wingspan and be able to stay aloft for up to a year$

Aircraft

Autonomous high-altitude aircraft nails new flight tests

We’re a step closer to having high-altitude, long-endurance, autonomous aircraft soaring through the skies. UAVOS has now announced that a prototype of the company’s High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) ApusDuo aircraft has completed the first stage of flight tests.

NASA has tested three new technologies to reduce airframe noise as planes come in for landing

Aircraft

Experimental NASA noise-reduction tech could make for quieter airports

NASA has tested three new noise reduction technologies on a series of Acoustic Research Measurement (ARM) flights, and managed to cut airframe noise during landing by more than 70 percent.

Aircraft

High-altitude, autonomous, solar-powered aircraft flexes wings to ace flight tests

Autonomous aerial vehicles known as High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS) can soar at the edges of space for long periods of time. Now, UAVOS has conducted test flights of its ApusDuo prototype, an autonomous, solar-powered aircraft with flexible wings that bend and bounce to keep it aloft.

The current design is unmanned but allows for a future variant to include a crew of up to seven

Space

Dream Chaser spaceplane hauled aloft in first captive carry flight test

After years of development the latest Dream Chaser spaceplane has completed its first captive carry flight test. Hoisted up by a Chinook helicopter, the Dream Chaser will undertake one more captive carry flight test in the near future before embarking upon its first free flight later this year.

One of the archival videos uploaded shows the wingless M2-F1 (seen above) being towed by a souped up 1963 Pontiac convertible

Aircraft

NASA uploads hundreds of historic experimental flight videos to YouTube

Fans of experimental aircraft from the 20th century are in for a treat. NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center has begun uploading its entire historical archive to YouTube, making hundreds of videos highlighting different test flights and strange planes from the past 70 years easily accessible.

An artist impression of the full-scale design

Aircraft

DARPA’s sub-scale VTOL X-Plane prototype completes flight testing

After several years of development DARPA has successfully completed flight-testing of one of the most novel, and odd-looking, aircraft designs we've seen in some time – the sub-scale electric X-Plane.

Aircraft

AW609 tiltrotor climbs towards 2018 certification

After resuming flight testing last April following a fatal crash, the third AW609 tiltrotor aircraft prototype went through several weeks of ground testing and flight trials in Italy. The aircraft has now been shipped to the US, where icing trials are set to take place through winter.

The Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range (ER) Long Wing has a flight endurance of over 40 hours

Aircraft

Long-endurance Predator drone spreads its wings

In the latest of a long series of upgrades, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has announced the maiden flight of the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range (ER) Long Wing.