Flight Completed Taxi, Takeoff, A Full Pattern Circuit, And Landing

ZeroAvia has completed the world first hydrogen fuel cell powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft. The flight took place at the company's R&D facility in Cranfield, England, with the Piper M-class six-seat plane completing taxi, takeoff, a full pattern circuit, and landing. ZeroAvia's achievement is the first step to realising the transformational possibilities of moving from fossil fuels to zero-emission hydrogen as the primary energy source for commercial aviation. Eventually, and without any new fundamental science required, hydrogen-powered aircraft will match the flight distances and payload of the current fossil fuel aircraft.

Also: More Boeing 737-800BCFs, Bell 505 Logs 50,000 Hrs, London's ITPS, Embraer 250th

It's quite the milestone... The 1,000th TBM has rolled out from Daher’s Tarbes, France final assembly line, in this case a TBM 940 version, destined for an owner/operator in the United States. Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Aircraft Division, added: “Looking ahead to the next 1,000 TBMs, we maintain our firm commitment to continue delivering aircraft that provide the optimum combination of speed and operational efficiency for owners and operators, along with the highest levels of safety and protection for pilots, families and passengers.” Airbus has unveiled three concepts for the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft which could enter service by 2035. These concepts each represent a different approach to achieving zero-emission flight. All of these

Also: Sterling Flight Training, National Aviation Academy, Young Eagles Workshops, ERAU Suspensions

One of our favorite training birds is back... and upgraded, to boot! The high demand for single engine training aircraft has led to the return to production of the Diamond DA20-C1, powered by a 125HP Continental IO-240 engine and equipped with new state-of-the-art G500TXi Avionics. With over 1,000 DA20’s already operating worldwide, the strong desire for lower cost new single engine aircraft in training environments continues. The DA20 is proven to be the safest and most efficient aircraft for primary training, and fleet operators are raving about its return to production. A new program could have a significant impact on your access to flight training... CAE has launched a new financing initiative for aspiring pilots in collaboration with financial institutions around the world. With this init

Also: Remote ID Changes?, Amazon Prime Air, Detection & Mitigation, Marine Mammal Rescue

Latin American drone delivery company, Speedbird Aero, announced it has received regulatory approval from Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency, also known as ANAC, to operate two experimental drone delivery routes in Brazil. Speedbird Aero operates a proprietary delivery drone with an integrated ParaZero parachute recovery system, and is now the first company in Latin America to win regulatory approval for a drone delivery operation. A rapid-deployment, packable unmanned aircraft made in USA with (some foreign and US components and labor) has been made available for public safety, municipal, and enterprise uses. UAV manufacturer Autel Robotics is releasing its Autel EVO II Dual Enterprise UAS bundle/package, created for public sector and enterprise use. Under the Autel Enterprise label, Autel Robotics o

"We Are Grateful There Were No Casualties."

Earlier this week, we reported the forced landing of a highly valued B-25 Mitchell bomber, 'Old Glory' that was on its way home from having been shipped back from WWII celebrations in Hawaii... many questions remain and the NTSB has barely had time to look the situation over. Now, however, we've heard from those on board the bird, themselves, via messgaing on the aircraft's home website...

By Jim Campbell, ANN CEO/Editor-n-Chief/Test Pilot (Arrogant, Over-Opinionated Know-It-All/Test Dummy)

ANN E-I-C Note: It’s been a while since I had the chance to sit down and do a flight test report the way that I want to… at least as far as the flight dynamics and writing are concerned. ANN is simply too time-consuming to allow for much in the way of 'extra' projects right now, as we recover from all the added issues that the pandemic has dumped on us. I’ve looked forward to this one a great deal... and it appears that the wait was worth it… In the next 5 (possibly six) parts of this 8000 word magnum opus, we will lay out ALL the nitty-gritty of our flight test and analysis of the Pipistrel Panthera… as well as a few other issues… like the rant that precedes Part One. These things are LOT of work… it takes days to go through the notes, coordinate that with the analysis, stats, and specifications… and then make sure it doesn’t read like an FAA manual. We&rsq

Bill Attempts to Reinforce Human Factors in the A/C Certification Process

Still believing in promoting aviation safety through legislation by a body with little aviation expertise, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), and Rep. Garret Graves (LA-06) have introduced the Human Factors Improvements to Aircraft Certification Act, bipartisan legislation to prioritize the consideration of human factors in the aircraft certification process and support pilots and flight crews as aviation technology advances. “Airplanes are changing rapidly, and the federal government is not keeping pace with those changes. Integrating human factors throughout the aircraft design and certification process will help address systemic issues with increasingly automated aviation systems,” said Larsen.

Based Upon The Robinson R-44 Raven II

Eco Helicopters has launched the EcoMax on-demand urban air mobility, reportedly commencing operations in the second quarter of 2021. A program developed specifically for the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Eco will utilize the all-electric, zero-emissions EcoMax helicopter. Eco CEO Ric Webb has participated in setting numerous world records as the program test pilot. Webb states, "We are launching EcoMax urban air mobility to provide economical transportation, today. Combining our direct booking app with the ultra-efficient, zero-emissions helicopter, we have changed the paradigm of air transportation. Based at multiple locations for ready departure, accessing EcoMax is as simple as ordering a land based rideshare. Just tap and go."

From 2019: An Easy-To-Use Touch Screen Navigator With Full-Color Display Of Moving Map, Many More Features

Avidyne Corporation introduced their new Dzus-mounted Avidyne Atlas  multifunction flight management system for turbine-class aircraft and helicopters at the 2019 NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas. The Avidyne Atlas includes a Satellite-based Augmentation System (SBAS) GPS navigator with Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and Area Navigation (RNAV) capability, including Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV), Lateral Navigation/ Vertical Navigation  (LNAV/VNAV), LNAV-Only, and Approach Procedures with Vertical (APV) approach modes.

Emphasis On Growing The Future of Aviation Through Concentration on 'AFFORDABLE FLYERS'

It's been a number of years since the Latest Edition of Jim Campbell's HUGE SportPlane Resource Guide first saw the light of day. That massive 1100 page book last featured over 800 exciting sport aircraft from all over the SportPlane universe... at a time when the SportPlane industry was still a healthy, thriving enterprise (those were the days...). While there has been some consideration, off and on, toward updating the nearly 5 pound book, the near implosion of the SportPlane and kit industry over the last decade has made such a pursuit an unwieldy one... until now.