Aviation technology analysis with Vector. Electric aircraft, avionics advances, eVTOL certification, satellite connectivity, and the engineering innovations shaping the future of flight.
SureFly's electronic ignition is finally replacing the century-old aircraft magneto - here's how it works and whether it's worth it.
How experimental homebuilt aircraft became the lab that made modern glass panels and autopilots cheap - then pushed them into certified cockpits.
How WAAS turns free GPS into a precision LPV approach that brings ILS-quality minimums to small airports that never had an instrument landing system.
NASA's X-57 Maxwell never flew, but its 14-motor wing proved distributed electric propulsion and reshaped today's eVTOL and air taxi designs.
How Dynon's Approved Model List STC brought cheap, solid-state glass panels from the experimental world into certified cockpits.
How G100UL, Swift's UL94, and the EAGLE initiative are ending leaded avgas - and what the transition means for piston pilots.
Garmin Smart Glide is a one-button system that pitches for best glide, finds a reachable airport, and tunes 121.5 after engine failure.
Radio Hangar explores Synthetic Vision, the Terrain Database, and the Cockpit Display That Paints the Mountain You Cannot See.
How the engineless Airbus Perlan 2 glider rode stratospheric mountain waves to a record 76,124 feet on the edge of space.
How digital attitude-based autopilots and GPSS roll steering gave 1970s Cessnas and Pipers capability that once belonged to turbine aircraft.
Why US ADS-B uses two frequencies (978 and 1090 MHz), how TIS-B relays traffic between them, and why ghost targets appear.
How Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP) quietly pushes back on the controls to prevent loss-of-control accidents in general aviation.
Radio Hangar explores ForeFlight, the iPad, and How the Electronic Flight Bag Rewired the General Aviation Cockpit.
Radio Hangar explores Hydrogen and the Fuel Cell Airplane - Why the Zero-Emission Bet Keeps Showing Up in the Oshkosh Innovation Hangars.
How hydrogen fuel cells and combustion could power zero-emission flight - and the weight, volume, and infrastructure hurdles still in the way.
How SpaceShipOne, a homebuilt-derived experimental aircraft from Mojave, flew to space and won the Ansari X Prize in 2004.
An angle of attack (AOA) indicator measures how close your wing is to stalling directly, and the experimental fleet made it affordable for certified aircraft.
Van's RV-15 is the company's first high-wing kit, a backcountry bet unveiled at Oshkosh after surviving Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
How uAvionix's skyBeacon hid a full ADS-B Out system inside a wingtip light and cut compliance costs from $6,000 to around $2,000.
Airbus DragonFly is an A350 demonstrator that can divert and land itself if both pilots are incapacitated - here's how it works and what's next.