Plane

With a view to servicing regional routes, Swedish startup Heart Aerospace is developing an all-electric aircraft designed for short trips that simply aren't economically feasible for conventional planes – and United Airlines has got on board.

As it edges towards the first flights for its Alice aircraft, Eviation has finally unveiled what it says is the production version of its all-electric nine-seater, with the first test flights now slated for later in the year.

There are more than a few ifs, buts and maybes hanging over the development of Boom's Overture supersonic airliner, but if the company can jump through the necessary hoops United Airlines will be ready to grab a slice of the action.

Honda Aircraft has taken the wraps off its latest business jet, the HondaJet Elite S. The upgraded version of the Elite has an increased takeoff weight of 200 lb, allowing for an additional passenger or an extra 120 nm of range.

Aviation startup Aerion Supersonic is reportedly shutting down operations, ending ambitious plans to bring a supersonic business jet to market later this decade.

Washington-based company Eviation is preparing for the first test flights of its gorgeous Alice, an all-electric 9-seat luxury plane with an impressive 440 nautical mile (506-mile, 814-km) range from a single charge of its huge 820-kWh battery pack.

Two years on from its maiden flight, the world's largest aircraft is back in action. The monstrous 385-ft-wide Stratolaunch Roc performed a series of flight maneuvers, including a low approach over the runway, during its second successful test flight.

Canada's Horizon Aircraft has popped up out of stealth mode with a gorgeous and innovative 5-seat hybrid eVTOL design using a wicked-cool split-wing mechanism to transition between VTOL and horizontal flight, and a totally unique path to market.

Shifting to alternative propulsion technologies could go a long way toward cleaning up the pollution created by the aviation sector, and a new design by MIT scientists could cut as much as 95 percent of a plane’s harmful nitrogen oxide emissions.

Aviation startup Boom Supersonic has unveiled a fully assembled version of its XB-1 demonstrator. Built to break the sound barrier, the sleek aircraft is a one-third-scale prototype of what the company hopes will become the world’s fastest airliner.

Last year we caught wind of an interesting airplane concept called the Flying V. The project has now progressed from renders of a futuristic aircraft to a flight-capable scale model, which was recently shown in action for the very first time.

Otto Aviation claims its bizarre-looking Celera 500L "bullet plane" offers the performance of a small jet using just 1/8th the fuel, for around 1/6th the running costs. The company wants to make private air travel cost as much as an airline ticket.