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American Airlines conducts first public Boeing 737 Max test flight after ban
American Airlines is gearing up to become the first US airline to resume commercial passenger flights with the Boeing 737 Max after the plane’s 20-month ban was lifted. The company has completed a test flight with media onboard — a short 45-minute trip from Dallas, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma — as part of a public relations campaign before it resumes commercial flights on December 29th. Boeing’s 737 Max planes were grounded around the world in March 2019 following two fatal crashes within a span of five months.
FAA says the Boeing 737 Max can fly again
The FAA has approved the Boeing 737 Max's return to service after a long-in-the-making software fix — if also at a time when few people are flying.
EU regulator says Boeing 737 Max is safe to fly
A software-based safety upgrade may not be ready for another two years, however.
Boeing is reportedly ending production of its 747 jumbo jet
Boeing is apparently ending a long chapter in jumbo jets with plans to end 747 production in two years.
Boeing successfully tests Starliner's parachutes ahead of second flight attempt
Boeing has a lot to prove before Starliner can make its second attempt to reach the ISS. One of the tests it has recently conducted focused on parachute reliability — in particular, the company wanted validate that the vehicle’s parachute system can deploy under an adverse set of environmental factors. The aerospace giant’s main objective was to ensure that the parachutes would inflate correctly even if an abort occurs early into launch.
Boeing poised to start crucial 737 Max flight safety tests tomorrow
Boeing and the FAA are reportedly due to test-fly the 737 Max on June 29th after months of delays.
COVID-19 killed the era of 'big' flying
The A380 and Dreamliner were large luxury liners built for an era of mass travel. COVID-19 has put an end to that.
Senate bill offers more incentives for private spaceflight
The Senate's proposed American Space Commerce Act would give private spaceflight companies more incentives, including tax breaks.
Boeing finds two more 737 Max software flaws
Boeing has identified two more software flaws in its 737 Max aircraft, Reuters reports. The planemaker is working to fix one issue that involves “hypothetical faults” in the flight control computer microprocessor.
Boeing will send Starliner on another uncrewed test flight
Boeing will fly another uncrewed Starliner flight after the first one failed.
Hitting the Books: Disney's influence on America's first stealth planes
Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
British Airways breaks the New York to London subsonic flight record
British Airways just set a new record for subsonic flight -- with some help from nature. The airline has confirmed Flightradar24 data showing that one of its Boeing 747s completed a New York to London flight in just 4 hours and 56 minutes, handily beating the previous best of 5 hours and 13 minutes set by Norwegian in 2018. A typical version of this flight takes 6 hours and 13 minutes, Flightradar24 said. The aircraft was helped by a stronger-than-usual (200MPH-plus) jet stream that took the 747 up to 825MPH -- technically faster than the speed of sound, but not supersonic as the winds would have prevented the aircraft from breaking the sound barrier.
NASA wants to review Boeing’s Starliner work after setbacks
Boeing just can't catch a break. Currently amid a lengthy controversy surrounding the company's grounded 737 Max aircraft, the aerospace manufacturer is now facing scrutiny from NASA. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crew capsule was supposed to dock with the International Space Station during its inaugural test flight in December. However, a software error prevented the craft from reaching the correct orbit. Now, a second -- and more dangerous -- glitch has been uncovered. According to SpaceNews, NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel member Paul Hill said, "...if it had gone uncorrected, it would have led to erroneous thruster firings and uncontrolled motion...with the potential for a catastrophic spacecraft failure," during a teleconference. Boeing and NASA were hoping to follow up December's test with a manned flight, but after finding multiple problems with Boeing's work, the space agency is calling for a review of the company's software verification processes before proceeding.
Boeing found another software bug on the 737 Max
Boeing is working to fix yet another software bug on its 737 Max, Bloomberg reports. The glitch involves an indicator light for the "stabilizer trim system," which helps raise and lower the plane's nose. The light was turning on when it wasn't supposed to. Boeing is already resolving the problem, and it still expects the 737 Max to resume flying by mid-2020.
Autonomous flying taxi Cora set for passenger trials in New Zealand
Companies have been saying for years that flying taxis are on the agenda. Now it looks like they're finally set to take flight. Wisk -- a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk -- has signed a memorandum of understanding with the New Zealand government to begin passenger trials of its electric, autonomous aircraft Cora. The trials are set to take place in the Canterbury region of the country, although it's not clear exactly when they'll start.
Boeing completes test flight for the world's largest twin-engine jet
Boeing is still grappling with the consequences of its safety mistakes, but it does have something to crow about at the moment. The company has completed the first test flight of the 777X, believed to be the largest twin-engine jet aircraft to date at roughly 252 feet long (in the 777-9 trim you see here) and over 235 feet across when its wingtips are extended for flight. The shakedown flight saw the 777X fly across Washington state for three hours and 51 minutes before it returned to Boeing Field in Seattle.
Boeing doesn't expect the 737 Max to resume flying before mid-2020
There were signs Boeing would once again have to push back the 737 Max's expected return to the skies, and it just confirmed as much. The aircraft maker now expects the troubled aircraft to start the "ungrounding" process in mid-2020 based on its "experience to date with the certification process." While this still isn't set in stone, it suggests you'll have to wait at least a few months before the 737 Max is cleared to resume flights -- and that's assuming there are no further complications.
Boeing finds another software flaw that might delay 737 Max's return
Boeing is dealing with another 737 Max software flaw that could prevent the troubled aircraft from returning to the skies, but this time it's not a safety issue. The company has confirmed that it's fixing a flaw preventing the 737 Max's flight control computers from starting up and verifying that they're ready for flight -- in other words, the airliner couldn't even take off. A spokesperson said Boeing was "working with the FAA" on submitting the fix and was informing partners, but didn't say when the updated software would be ready.
Boeing employees called designers of flawed Max 737 jets 'clowns'
In October of 2018, a Boeing 737 Max jet crashed into the Java Sea, killing everyone on board. Five months later, another crashed in Ethiopia, taking the lives of all passengers and crew. The tragedies caused aviation authorities across the globe to ground all 737 Max jets, and both Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration began investigations into how these accidents occurred. The Washington Post and The New York Times obtained over 100 pages of email and chat transcripts that were handed over to Congress as part of its investigation. The documents show that employees mocked the planes' designers, calling them "clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys," and had major concerns over the safety of the planes. Even before the first crash, one employee asked, "Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft?" "No," a colleague replied.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg out as 737 Max fallout continues
Following the months-long fallout from the two fatal 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg is stepping down from his position as the top executive at the aerospace manufacturer. Boeing announced the change in a press release on Monday. Muilenburg will be replaced by David Calhoun, the company's current chairman of the board, on January 13th, with CFO Greg Smith leading the company during the short interim period. From the wording in Boeing's press release, it sounds like Muilenburg resigned after it became clear that the board no longer had confidence in his leadership.
