Aviation technology analysis with Vector. Electric aircraft, avionics advances, eVTOL certification, satellite connectivity, and the engineering innovations shaping the future of flight.
Air-launch drops a rocket from a jet at 40,000 feet to skip thick air - but orbit is a speed problem, and that's why the idea stalled.
Boom's XB-1 broke the sound barrier over Mojave, and a 'boomless cruise' breakthrough could end the 50-year overland supersonic ban.
Electra's hybrid-electric EL9 uses blown lift and eight motors to take off and land in about 150 feet, promising 500-mile regional range.
Garmin Smart Glide is a one-button emergency tool that finds the nearest reachable airport and manages workload when your engine quits.
Joby's S4 eVTOL flew ~1,400 test flights before its piloted demo - here's why certifying an air taxi is harder than building one.
Your cockpit datalink radar can be 15-20 minutes older than the sky, even when the timestamp says two - here's why, and how to fly it safely.
ADS-B Out broadcasts your tail number in the clear once a second - here's how the FAA's PIA and LADD programs try to give privacy back.
How Aireon's 66 satellites brought space-based ADS-B to the oceans, ending aviation's oldest blind spot and tightening North Atlantic separation.
Why Archer's 12-rotor Midnight eVTOL chose a heavier lift-plus-cruise design over the tiltrotor - and why that bet is about certification, not speed.
How Auto-GCAS quietly monitors an F-16's flight path and takes control at the last recoverable instant to save pilots who have blacked out.
How Sierra Space's Dream Chaser launches vertically on a rocket and glides home to a runway like an airliner - and why it still hasn't flown.
JetZero's blended wing body aims to cut airliner fuel burn up to 50% - here's whether the claim and timeline hold up.
Otto Aviation's Celera 500L bets an entire fuselage can hold laminar flow - here's why the physics is real but the certification road is brutal.
How the Stormscope finds hidden thunderstorms by passively listening to the radio static from lightning - and where it fits alongside radar and datalink today.
Radio Hangar explores Airbus Fly-By-Wire, Flight Envelope Protection, and the Control Laws That Decide How Much the Computer Will Let You Do.
Electra's hybrid-electric EL9 uses blown lift to take off and land in 150 feet, aiming to replace helicopters on short regional routes.
Radio Hangar explores The Avidyne IFD Five Forty, the Slide-In Navigator That Dared to Challenge Garmin's Grip on the Panel.
Why the U.S. runs ADS-B on two frequencies - 978 and 1090 MHz - and how ground stations bridge the gap for pilots.
The North American X-15 flew to Mach 6.7 and the edge of space, pioneering the hypersonic and reentry technology behind every spacecraft that followed.
How WAAS turns ordinary GPS into a precision approach system that brings ILS-like minimums to thousands of airports with no ground equipment.