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Aircraft Development

Eviation zaps its uncharacteristically candid founder

Jon Ostrower·February 14, 2022

His public comments at recent events — including an interview with The Air Current — have provided a previously unseen glimpse at Alice’s design and Eviation’s technical assumptions, nuances and operational necessities that accompany the world’s first all-electric commercial aircraft — including a begrudging acknowledgement of the slow pace of battery innovation.

FAA not giving an inch as Boeing big jet programs face slide

Jon Ostrower·February 7, 2022

Influential customer has “hard time seeing” 787 deliveries resuming before July, 777X certification likely to slip past 2023.

Once an afterthought, new Boeing & Airbus freighters get tailored in pandemic era

Jon Ostrower·January 31, 2022

In a bid to reconstitute twin-aisle jet production, Airbus and Boeing create bespoke airplanes in the A350F and 777-8F for the world’s cargo haulers.

Approaching first flight, Eviation’s Alice readies to test FAA

Jon Ostrower and Elan Head·January 20, 2022

Eviation’s progress as the first all-new passenger commercial airplane exclusively powered by batteries is being closely watched as a technical, economic and regulatory pathfinder for the wider adoption of electric flight.

Focus is on its factory, but A220-500 on Airbus’s agenda

Jon Ostrower and Howard Slutsken·December 13, 2021

Now the A220, Airbus’s journey has been one of integration since the deal was finalized in July 2018; accelerating production, while retooling its supply chain and factory operations to reduce the cost of production. The jet’s customers are formalizing their ask of the plane maker, a stretched A220 — a model 500 — that would find itself in a spot once occupied by the sunsetting A320ceo, an airplane seating about 150 in two-classes.

Airbus tees up early A350 freighter orders with Air Lease

Jon Ostrower·November 14, 2021

Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateNovember 14, 2021Airbus tees up early A350 freighter orders with Air LeasePurchase...

MA700 turboprop resurfaces in China with chatter about a secret first flight

Jon Ostrower·October 8, 2021

Yet, over the past week, chatter across a cadre of Chinese aviation watchers and social media postings suggested that the prototype MA700 had made its maiden flight around Sept. 23 or 24 from the the Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s (Avic) manufacturing plant at Yanliang Air Base in Xian, where China produces many of its military aircraft. The new April 2021 footage was the first public appearance of any MA700 progress since March 2020 when Avic and Xian rolled-out the first static test airframe. Chinese state media had reported in early 2020 that MA700 was slated to fly before the end of that year.

Gulfstream loads G800 and G400 into its product pipeline

Jon Ostrower·September 30, 2021

With a red-hot market for business aircraft, Gulfstream plans two-front assault and bombardment on French and Canadian rivals.

Embraer has to design an airplane today for the propulsion of tomorrow

Jon Ostrower·September 3, 2021

With this evaluation for its turboprop concept, Embraer is scratching at an entirely new strategic consideration for a multi-decade aircraft program. While large aircraft design has relied on the same fundamental type of fuel, coupled with successive generations of ever-improving engines, Embraer views its new 90-seater airframe as propulsion agnostic and a halfway step toward hydrogen. Positioning the engines on the rear of the aircraft might not produce the single most optimized design in 2027, but, in Embraer’s view, that deliberate non-optimization allows room for future evolution and growth.

Embraer makes its case for an American turboprop

Jon Ostrower·August 23, 2021

Fundamentally, even with this new shape, Embraer’s tentatively designated TPNG 70 and TPNG 90 (Turboprop Next Generation) haven’t changed in their overall mission. The aircraft is still a 70 to 90-seat turboprop with a range “a little bit more than 800 nautical miles” but optimized for flights between 250 and 300 nautical miles and flown at speeds “faster than an ATR, but not as fast as the Dash 8-400,” said Souza, putting its cruising speed between 300 and 360 knots. Embraer’s goal is a 15% to 20% improvement in cash operating costs for its bigger TPNG 90 compared to the ATR 72-600.

Airbus pivots A350 to cargo to fix its freighter fortunes

Jon Ostrower·June 23, 2021

Seeing an opening with uncertain Boeing product strategy, Airbus advances toward an A350 freighter. Possible buyers urge consideration of an engine from GE.

United wagers environmental and technical credibility in supersonic bet

Jon Ostrower·June 3, 2021

United Airlines wants to fly supersonic with Boom's Overture. "We are pushing the boundaries of what we can do here in commercial aviation.”