Merlin Labs and the autonomous flight software retrofitting into aircraft that already exist
Merlin Labs is retrofitting existing aircraft with autonomous flight software instead of building new airframes from scratch.
Cleared Direct
Aviation technology analysis with Vector. Electric aircraft, avionics advances, eVTOL certification, satellite connectivity, and the engineering innovations shaping the future of flight.
The Bose A30 aviation headset and the noise cancellation war reshaping what pilots hear in the cockpit
The Bose A30 aviation headset delivers measurable noise cancellation gains over the A20, but Lightspeed's Delta Zulu brings CO detection to the fight.
The Eviation Alice and the all-electric commuter that finally left the ground
The Eviation Alice is an all-electric commuter aircraft with real flights, real customers, and a credible path to FAA certification by the late 2020s.
Eviation Alice and the all-electric commuter airplane that finally left the ground
Eviation's Alice is a nine-passenger all-electric commuter airplane targeting short regional routes with dramatically lower operating costs.
Hermeus and the Mach five hypersonic airplane that wants to make New York to London a ninety-minute commute
Hermeus is building a reusable Mach 5 aircraft using a turbine-based combined cycle engine, starting with military applications before targeting commercial travel.
Pyka and the autonomous electric crop duster that quietly became a cargo airline
Pyka built an autonomous electric crop duster, logged tens of thousands of commercial flights, and is now scaling into cargo aviation.
The Pratt and Whitney GTF Advantage engine and the metallurgy fix that could end the narrowbody grounding crisis
Pratt & Whitney's GTF Advantage engine aims to resolve the powder metal crisis that grounded hundreds of narrowbody jets and cost RTX over $7 billion.
The uAvionix AV-thirty-C and the two-thousand-dollar display that broke the certified avionics monopoly
The uAvionix AV-30-C is a $2,000 certified solid-state attitude indicator that replaces vacuum gyros in standard instrument holes.
Archer Aviation and the Midnight air taxi racing Joby to your first commercial eVTOL ride
Archer Aviation's Midnight eVTOL is racing toward FAA certification with a pragmatic design built for transit, not aviation as usual.
Reliable Robotics and the autonomous Cessna Caravan hauling cargo with an empty cockpit
Reliable Robotics is retrofitting Cessna Caravans for fully autonomous cargo flights, targeting commercial operations by 2027-2028.
The Garmin GI 275 and the round-gauge replacement reshaping every legacy cockpit in general aviation
The Garmin GI 275 is the most practical avionics upgrade for legacy GA aircraft, replacing vacuum gauges one hole at a time.
Reliable Robotics and the autonomous Cessna Caravan that wants to fly cargo without a pilot on board
Reliable Robotics is pursuing FAA certification to fly Cessna Caravans autonomously for cargo, backed by FedEx investment.
Skyryse and the FlightOS system that wants to make flying a helicopter as simple as driving a car
Skyryse's FlightOS replaces conventional helicopter controls with a simplified fly-by-wire system that could reshape rotorcraft safety and accessibility.
The CFM RISE open rotor engine and the return of the propfan that failed forty years ago
CFM's RISE open rotor engine promises 20% fuel savings over current turbofans by eliminating the nacelle entirely.
Boom Supersonic's Overture and the twenty-year bet on bringing back supersonic commercial flight
Boom Supersonic's Overture aims to revive supersonic commercial flight, but the clean-sheet Symphony engine remains its biggest risk.
Pivotal Helix and the single-seat electric aircraft you can buy and fly without a pilot certificate
The Pivotal Helix is a single-seat electric VTOL aircraft you can buy and fly today with no pilot certificate under FAA Part 103.
The Garmin GFC 500 autopilot and the digital brain retrofitting into legacy airplanes it was never designed for
The Garmin GFC 500 brings digital autopilot capability and envelope protection to dozens of legacy piston aircraft.
The Honeywell Anthem flight deck and the cloud-connected avionics suite designed for aircraft that do not exist yet
Honeywell's Anthem is a software-defined avionics platform designed to scale from eVTOLs to autonomous cargo drones.
The Supernal S-A2 and Hyundai's bet that cars and air taxis are built the same way
Hyundai's Supernal S-A2 leverages automotive manufacturing scale to tackle eVTOL's hardest problem — building air taxis affordably.
Heart Aerospace and the ES-thirty hybrid-electric regional airliner being built in Sweden
Heart Aerospace's ES-30 hybrid-electric airliner could cut regional airline fuel costs by up to 70% with entry into service targeted around 2028-2029.