Dream Chaser, Tenacity, and the Winged Spaceplane Sierra Space Wants to Land on a Runway Like an Airliner
Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane, first vehicle Tenacity, aims to land from orbit on a runway like an airliner.
Cleared Direct
Aviation technology analysis with Vector. Electric aircraft, avionics advances, eVTOL certification, satellite connectivity, and the engineering innovations shaping the future of flight.
Electra's EL9, Blown Lift, and the Hybrid-Electric Airplane That Wants to Land in a Hundred and Fifty Feet
Electra's hybrid-electric EL9 uses blown lift and eight electric motors to take off and land in as little as 150 feet.
JetZero, the Blended Wing Body, and the Airliner Shaped Like a Manta Ray That Wants to Cut Fuel Burn in Half
JetZero's blended wing body promises up to 50% less fuel burn, but certification - not aerodynamics - is the real hurdle before it carries passengers.
Joby Aviation, the S Four Tilt-Rotor, and Whether the Electric Air Taxi Can Actually Survive Contact With the Real World
Joby's S4 eVTOL is a real, flying aircraft - but battery physics, FAA certification, and pilot economics will decide if air taxis survive the real world.
Starlink Aero, the Phased-Array Antenna, and Whether Low-Earth-Orbit Broadband Finally Fixes the Miserable Airplane Wi-Fi Problem
Why airplane Wi-Fi was bad for 20 years and how Starlink's low-Earth-orbit satellites and phased-array antennas finally fixed it.
V NAV, the Autopilot Mode That Flies the Descent, and Why Coming Down Is the Hardest Thing in the Cockpit to Automate
Radio Hangar explores V NAV, the Autopilot Mode That Flies the Descent, and Why Coming Down Is the Hardest Thing in the Cockpit to Automate.
Beta Technologies, the ALIA, and the Electric Aircraft Company That Decided to Build the Chargers Before the Airplanes
Why Beta Technologies built electric aircraft chargers before its ALIA airplanes were even certified - and why that bet may define electric aviation.
Dynon's SkyView HDX, the Certified STC, and the Day the Experimental Panel Was Allowed Into a Cessna That Actually Needed a Logbook
How Dynon's 2016 SkyView STC and the FAA's Part 23 rewrite opened certified cockpits to affordable experimental-grade glass panels.
NASA's X-57 Maxwell, the Distributed-Electric Demonstrator With Fourteen Motors That Never Flew, and What It Taught Us Anyway
NASA's X-57 Maxwell never flew, but its 14-motor electric design retired the hard risks that today's electric aircraft industry builds on.
Pathfinder One, LTA Research's Electric Airship, and Whether the Rigid Dirigible Actually Belongs in the Future of Flight
Pathfinder One is LTA Research's 400-foot electric rigid airship - here's what it can actually do and where it makes sense.
Stratolaunch's Roc, the Three-Hundred-Eighty-Five-Foot Twin-Fuselage Airplane Built to Air-Launch to Space and Now Flying America's Fastest Test Vehicles
How Stratolaunch's Roc, the world's largest airplane, pivoted from orbital rockets to launching America's fastest hypersonic test vehicles.
TCAS, the Resolution Advisory, and the Automated Voice That Overrules Air Traffic Control When Two Airplanes Are Thirty Seconds From Hitting
Radio Hangar explores TCAS, the Resolution Advisory, and the Automated Voice That Overrules Air Traffic Control When Two Airplanes Are Thirty Seconds From Hitting.
Ten Ninety Versus Nine Seventy-Eight, the Two-Frequency ADS-B System America Built That No One Else Copied
Why the U.S. built ADS-B on two frequencies - 978 MHz and 1090 MHz - and what every pilot must know about traffic coverage.
The NASA X-59 and the Quiet Supersonic Bet to Turn the Sonic Boom Into a Thump
NASA's X-59 aims to soften the sonic boom into a quiet 'thump' and overturn the 1973 ban on overland supersonic flight.
Aireon, Space-Based ADS-B, and the Iridium Satellites That Finally Put Eyes on the Ocean Nobody Was Watching
How Aireon's ADS-B receivers on Iridium satellites finally gave controllers real-time surveillance over the oceans that ground radar never covered.
Don Bateman, the Ground Proximity Warning System, and the Automated Voice That Taught Airplanes to Say 'Pull Up'
Radio Hangar explores Don Bateman, the Ground Proximity Warning System, and the Automated Voice That Taught Airplanes to Say 'Pull Up'.
Enhanced Flight Vision Systems, the Infrared Camera and Head-Up Display That Let a Crew Fly an Approach Down to a Runway Their Own Eyes Still Can't See
How EFVS uses an infrared camera and head-up display to let crews legally fly an approach to touchdown in weather their own eyes can't penetrate.
The CFM RISE Open Fan, the Unducted Engine Aviation Tried and Abandoned in the Eighties, and the Twenty Percent Fuel Bet Coming Back to the Single-Aisle Jet
CFM's RISE open fan engine promises 20% better fuel burn and could power the next single-aisle jet around 2035.
The FAA's Space Data Integrator, the Real-Time Feed That Is Shrinking the Giant Blocks of Airspace Rocket Launches Steal From the Rest of Us
The FAA's Space Data Integrator feeds live rocket telemetry to air traffic control, shrinking hours-long airspace closures to minutes.
The Garmin G F C Five Hundred, the Retrofit Digital Autopilot That Put Envelope Protection and a Straight-and-Level Button Into Fifty-Year-Old Airplanes
How the Garmin GFC 500 retrofit autopilot brought envelope protection and a level button to legacy aircraft - and why certification mattered as much as the hardware.