Aviation technology analysis with Vector. Electric aircraft, avionics advances, eVTOL certification, satellite connectivity, and the engineering innovations shaping the future of flight.
Auto-GCAS is the Air Force system that automatically pulls a fighter jet away from terrain when the pilot is incapacitated - credited with saving at least 10 documented lives since its 2014 deployment.
Boom Supersonic's XB-1 broke Mach 1 on private funding in early 2024, reigniting the case for commercial supersonic travel after the Concorde's 2003 retirement.
Boom Supersonic is closer than any company since Concorde to reviving commercial supersonic travel, but financing gaps and an aggressive 2029 timeline warrant careful scrutiny.
SpaceX's touchscreen-only Crew Dragon flight deck upends decades of cockpit design philosophy, with certified engineering solutions that directly shape aviation's automated future.
How volunteer-built receiver networks use multilateration to fill the surveillance gaps that FAA ADS-B infrastructure alone cannot cover.
ZeroAvia's hydrogen fuel cell powertrain program is the most documented attempt to overcome the 300-nautical-mile range ceiling that battery electric aviation cannot break.
The FAA manages both aviation and commercial space launches under one roof - and a rapidly growing launch cadence is creating real operational friction for pilots nationwide.
SVT renders a database-driven terrain picture on your PFD in any weather - how it works, where it falls short, and why the picture is not a window.
The Garmin GFC 500 brings envelope protection and modern GPS integration to legacy piston singles for $8,000–$16,000 installed.
NASA's X-59 QueSST flew for the first time in January 2024, built specifically to generate the acoustic data needed to challenge the FAA's 50-year ban on overland supersonic flight.
The Pipistrel Velis Electro became the world's first fully type-certified electric aircraft in June 2020, setting lasting regulatory precedent for electric aviation worldwide.
GPS spoofing is actively corrupting ADS-B surveillance data in live certificated airspace, creating false position pictures that controllers and pilots may have no immediate way to detect.
Electra Aero is engineering a hybrid eSTOL aircraft using blown lift technology targeting 150-foot ground rolls, with a credible path to restoring air service to thousands of underserved communities.
China's EHang EH216-S became the world's first type-certificated eVTOL in October 2023 - a fully autonomous, pilotless aircraft already carrying passengers commercially.
The FAA's Privacy ICAO Address program scrambles database lookups to obscure aircraft identity, but the unencrypted 1090 MHz signal remains visible to anyone with a $25 receiver.
Every winds aloft forecast pilots rely on traces back to a global network of 900 balloon-launched radiosondes that measure the atmosphere twice daily from surface to near-space.
The 2002 Überlingen collision killed 71 people when one crew followed ATC instead of their TCAS RA - a failure of training, not technology.
ZeroAvia flew a hydrogen fuel cell-powered Dornier 228 in January 2023, marking the most significant step yet toward zero-emission regional aviation.
Archer Aviation's Midnight eVTOL has secured a conditional purchase agreement for up to 200 aircraft from United Airlines, the most substantive airline commitment in the eVTOL industry.
Dream Chaser is the first orbital spacecraft designed to land at a conventional airport runway, blurring the line between spaceflight and aviation infrastructure.