Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft successfully completed its first flight on January 29, 2016. The Aircraft took off from a rainy tarmac in Renton, Washington and proceeded to take part in flight tests for about three hours before landing at Boeing Field in Seattle. This issue-less flight of the new aircraft marks a step toward the company’s scheduled delivery of approximately 12 737 MAX aircraft by the end of 2017. Read more >>

In Moscow, CityJet announced that it will buy 15 of the SSJ100 planes. SSJ100 is short for Sukhoi Superjet 100. CityJet is an Irish regional airline that planes on potentially purchasing these planes in Russia to Air France, which is considered a French carrier. With this purchase, CityJet will also have the option of purchasing 10 more of the SSJ100 planes sometime later in October 2016. Read more >>

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 >>

In light of its recently lifted sanctions Iran is looking to strengthen its airline fleet and taking first steps towards this goal the country’s officials signed two agreements covering orders of new aircrafts as well as a comprehensive civil aviation co-operation package. The agreements were made known recently during Iranian President, Hassan Rohani’s official visit to France. Iran Air has since signed an agreement with Airbus for the acquisition of a full range of new Airbus aircrafts of which 45 of them are single aisle aircrafts and 73 of them are wide-bodied aircrafts. Also included in this deal are maintenance training and support services meant to help Iran Air get acquainted with commercial aviation services. 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 >>

Honda recently announced that it has begun deliveries of the HondaJet, the worlds most advanced lightweight jet. Honda Aircraft Company made a ceremonial delivery of its first aircraft at its world headquarters in Greensboro, NC. This milestone comes after a December announcement that the company was awarded a type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for the HondaJet an aircraft which Honda claims is that fastest (at 483mph) and most fuel efficient in its class. The company credits the HondaJet's performance and efficiency to its configuration, with engines mounted over natural-laminar flow wings and fuselage made from lightweight composite materials. The jet also includes an “Over The Wing" Engine Mount design that has enabled it to achieve high speeds, superior fuel efficiency, and a more spacious cabin over conventional aircraft in its class. Read more >>

Virgin Atlantic Airways is poised to announce a deal with Airbus Group for 12 A350-1000 jets. The list price of this deal will be approximately $4.3 billion and through this deal Virgin hopes to strengthen its wide-body leisure fleet. Virgin will probably purchase nine of the twin-engine planes directly from Airbus while leasing three from leasing firms, whatever the case the U.K. based airline has its sights set on having more fuel efficient jets such as the Airbus A350 or the Boeing 777 replace the four engine Boeing 747s jumbos that currently form the core of its long-haul leisure fleet. Read more >>

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft closes out the year with a great deal with China Express Airlines. The Airlines increases their purchase of CRJ900 Jetliners with 10 more jetliners which brings them to a total 38 to service the Chinse Express Airlines. Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has successfully delivered 20 of the CRJ900 jetliners up to date. The value of this purchase will approximately cost the Chinese Airlines 462.6 million US. Dollars. Read more >>

A couple of weeks after having received an order for a crewed mission into space by NASA, Boeing is busy ramping up production of its CST-100 Starliner space capsule. This is the second crewed mission that NASA has ordered from Boeing and the aircraft company is working hard to help bring the U.S. space agency one step closer to launching astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil. Read more >>