Rice University has developed a break-through discovery in graphene nanoribbons. This thin coating in epoxy has been tested and shown to be remarkably effective at being able to melt the ice on a helicopter blade. Developed by Rice lab chemist James Tour, the American Chemical Society Journal reports that this coating has been back tested and is a real-time solution as a de-icer for virtually any surface having exposure to extreme winter elements such as transmission lines, wind turbines, and most importantly the aircraft itself. The lab laboriously and meticulously tested the thin coating in minus-4 degree weather. Examples of tests include applying it on a static helicopter rotor blade and amazingly when the coating came into contact with a small electrical voltage it produced Joule heating which is an electrothermal heat that instantaneously melted the ice. Read more >>

The Boeing Company, the American multinational corporation which is among the largest global aircraft manufacturers, has recently received a patent for a strange and unique airplane design. The design features an airplane which is capable of lowering onto shipping containers, at which point, the aircraft then locks the containers into place. The unorthodox design is equipped with a broad fuselage which opens underneath the airplane for the shipping containers to slot into. The landing gear of this unique design is wider than the shipping containers. Read more >>

The Bahrain International Airshow was abuzz with news on Thursday about Gulf Air’s order for 17 Airbus A321neos and 12 Airbus A320neos. Appearing alongside Bahraini government officials and Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier, Gulf Air CEO Maher Salman Al Musallam made the order announcement and spoke about simplifying the airline’s fleet structure with the procurement of these additional aircrafts. The airline’s current fleet consist of 6 A330-200s and 22 A320s and the acquisition of 29 new aircrafts are meant to fit seamlessly into this fleet. In his statement concerning the deal Al Mussallam went on to state that Read more >>

Rolls-Royce announced that the company is ready to invest over half a billion dollars in order to transform and upgrade their Indianapolis facilities. With the amount of funds to invest, the plant will be completely modernized. Read more >>

Delta Air Lines is set to buy a 3.55% stake in China Eastern for $450 million, in hopes of taking a minority position in overseas carriers. Read more >>

On June 16, 2015, Korean Air announced the airline’s intent to purchase 30 737 MAXs and two additional 777-300ER jetliners, with options for an additional 20 737 MAXs. At current list prices the agreement is valued at $3.9 billion. Once the order is finalized, the order will be posted to the Order & Deliveries website. The agreement reflects Korean Air’s commitment to its fleet modernization program. Read more >>

The CSeries’ showing at the Paris Air Show impressed Swiss, which is owned by Lufthansa, to convert 10 of their orders for CS100s into CS300s. Originally, Swiss had ordered 30 of the 100 series aircraft back in 2009. Swiss officials were perhaps persuaded by the price and the diversity the 300 series could bring to their fleet. Read more >>

The new G500 from Gulfstream has been in development since 2008. On May 18, 2015, it finally logged its first test flight. The G500 took off from Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport. Scott Martin and Kevin Claffy piloted the aircraft during its 2 hour and 16 minute flight. Read more >>

Founded in 1987 in Colorado, AMI Industries has earned a lasting reputation for excellence in aircraft seating and interior safety solutions across both commercial and military aviation. The company first operated under the Goodrich Corporation’s Interiors Division as part of its Special Seating Systems group and currently stands as a subsidiary of Collins Aerospace and RTX, formerly Raytheon Technologies. Read more >>

In the first week of May 2015, Airbus Group announced that they have finalized an agreement with Avianca, the national airline and flag carrier of Colombia, in which they will purchase 100 of Airbus’ A320neo family aircraft for approximately USD$11 billion. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the deal, which is said to be the largest in Latin America’s aviation history. Read more >>