B-21 Raider Has Flown For The First Time

On Friday, November 10, the US Air Force B-21 Raider took off from Palmdale Plant 42, taking its first flight. A video showed the B-21, with its landing gear down, along with a F-16 chase plane. (www.thedrive.com) More...

SpaceX clears final hurdle for second Starship test flight

SpaceX has received clearance from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to launch its huge Starship rocket on a much-anticipated second test flight. The agency granted SpaceX a launch license for the company's next-generation rocket on Wednesday, after a first launch attempt in April ended in a fiery explosion. “The FAA has given license authorization for the second launch of the @SpaceX Starship Super Heavy vehicle,” the FAA said in a statement on the social media platform X. “The FAA… (www.nbcnews.com) More...

New airport opens in Texas

CONROE, Texas — Chennault Airfield (25TX), which will be the new home of Chennault Aviation Academy, is hosting its grand opening Nov. 16, 2023. The public is invited to the event and to tour the airfield, which is nearly completed with phase one of its development. (generalaviationnews.com) More...

Frank Borman, commander of the first mission to orbit the Moon, has died

Frank Borman, an Air Force test pilot, astronaut, and accomplished businessman who led the first crew to fly to the Moon in 1968, died Tuesday in Montana, NASA said Thursday. He was 95 years old. “Today we remember one of NASA’s best," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. "Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero. Among his many accomplishments, he served as the commander of the Apollo 8 mission, humanity’s first mission around the Moon in 1968." (arstechnica.com) More...

Turkish Airlines inaugural Detroit flight

Earlier today, November 15th 2023, Turkish Airlines flew its inaugural flight to Detroit metro, DTW. TC-LLU, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operating Turkish airlines flight 205, would depart from Istanbul, Turkey around 4:30PM local time. After an almost 10.5 hour flight, just before 7pm eastern time, the flight would arrive at Detroit, welcomed by a water cannon salute from Wayne County Airport Authorities Fire and Rescue as it pulled into its gate at the Evans terminal. After about 3.5 hours on… (www.youtube.com) More...

Dutch Back Down in JetBlue Flap That Risked KLM Ouster at JFK

The Netherlands abandoned a plan to reduce capacity at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, bowing to pressure from the US, which threatened to retaliate over JetBlue Airways Corp.’s expulsion, and the European Union. The Dutch government will no longer implement an experimental regulation which would have reduced the number of flights at Schiphol by 8% for the 2024 summer season, Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers said in a letter sent to parliament on Tuesday. (www.msn.com) More...

Hanwha Aerospace moves engine business to Connecticut and seeks closer ties with Pratt and GE

To forge closer ties with suppliers and with prime customers Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and GE Aerospace, South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace has moved the headquarters of its International Engine Business to Connecticut (www.flightglobal.com) More...

flydubai Orders 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Its First Widebody Airplanes

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and flydubai announced today an agreement to purchase 30 787-9 Dreamliners as the airline diversifies its fleet with the introduction of widebody jets. In a signing ceremony at the Dubai Airshow, the Dubai-based carrier said it plans to use the efficient 787 to open new routes and grow capacity on existing routes. (www.prnewswire.com) More...