Textron announced the acquisition of Pipistrel, who is working on interesting electric cargo plane designs, the Nuuva series. Does this move make sense for Textron? Plus, we discuss the recent 737 crash in China and the trial of Mark Forkner ov

EP95 – Boeing CEO Pay, Joby Crash News & Is Russia Stealing Leased Planes?

Mar 17th, 2022 42m 47s

Vladimir Putin signed a law that allows Russia to nationalize planes, effectively keeping the planes and breaking the ownership contracts. We also discuss Boeing CEO pay, and how CEO pay is rationalized in general. There is news on JOBY's S4 cr

EP94 – The Boeing 737 MAX Documentary – Was it Fair?

Mar 10th, 2022 42m 10s

Allen and Dan discuss the Netflix documentary about Boeing - did it accurately represent the facts in the 737 MAX crashes? Plus, they discuss the PR implications of showing off EVTOL aircraft in public spaces and how that will affect the future

EP93 – A Joby S4 Crashes – What Now? And, DARPA Flies and Unmanned Black Hawk

Mar 3rd, 2022 31m 56s

A Joby Aviation S4 crashed - Will They Still Be Able to Certify? Plus, DARPA is pushing the limits with an unmanned Black Hawk flight. We also discuss Boeing 787 certification issues, F-35 lightning protection solutions, and the flying car safe

EP92 – Flying Through Thunderstorms? With Tom Warner

Feb 24th, 2022 24m 32s

Tom Warner, a lightning researcher, flew the T28 Storm Penetrating aircraft into thunderstorms in the hopes of gathering data and learning more about lightning strikes. Listen in as he share stories from his career as a pilot, atmospheric scien

EP91 – 747-Sized Remotely-Piloted Cargo Planes?

Feb 17th, 2022 29m 4s

Natilus is pitching the idea of remotely-piloted cargo aircraft, hoping to disrupt the industry and reduce issues with pilot shortages and current jet designs. But, is it a realistic vision? We also discuss a recent opinion on COVID restriction

EP90 – Eviation Says their Alice Plane is Ready for Commercial Flight…Is It?

Feb 10th, 2022 33m 4s

Airbus mentioned the possibility of building their own engines for a future fleet of hydrogen planes--will they really forgo Pratt & Whitney, GE or Rolls Royce and build them in-house? Plus, we discuss Delta's push for a USA-wide no-fly list to

EP89 – Beta Technologies Partners with US Army – A Big Deal?

Feb 4th, 2022 34m 31s

Fedex is asking the FAA to put anti-missile lasers on their cargo planes - is this necessary? The Qatar v Airbus fight continues, with Qatar Airways placing a large order with rival Boeing. And, Beta Technologies has partnered with the US Army

EP88 – Wisk Gets $450MM From Boeing: What’s Next?

Jan 27th, 2022 32m 53s

Plus, Ehang gets an order from AirX in Japan, the Airbus and Qatar Airways fight continues to heat up, the 5G rollout in America continues to be a debacle, and more.Learn more about Weather Guard StrikeTape segmented lightning diverters

EP87 – Ehang Intelligent EVTOL Center? Plus, the A380 is Back?

Jan 20th, 2022 36m 4s

Ehang shares it's new intelligent EVTOL center - are they closing in on launching their aircraft to the public? Plus, we discuss the Airbus A380 returning to service, Airbus vs Boeing 2021 deliveries, Ehang's intelligent EVTOL center, China's C

EP86 – Joby Doubles Flight Testing Capacity – Is the Finish Line Close?

Jan 13th, 2022 35m 37s

Joby has completed a second aircraft prototype for flight testing; this one will go to the Air Force--does this bring Joby closer to the finish line for certification? Plus, Qatar Airways sues Airbus over lightning protection skin damage, a pro

EP85 – Drone Swarms for Plane Inspections? Plus, Amazon Invests in Beta Technologies’ EVTOL.

Jan 6th, 2022 32m 42s

Korean Air is using drone swarms to inspect planes - will this work as well as human inspections? The Boeing 777 is getting new directives resulting from their early 2021 engine problems on a United flight from Denver, and Amazon invest in Beta

EP84 – Aerospace Executives Facing Jail time? Plus, 737 MAX Test Pilot a Scapegoat?

Dec 30th, 2021 32m 15s

Six aerospace executives have been indicted on labor collusion charges - will they stick? Plus, a new report shows that the FAA has approached prosecutors, explaining that Mark Forkner, former test pilot for Boeing, is being made a scapegoat in

EP83 – A Supersonic EVTOL? And, is the EHang 216 Ready for Certification?

Dec 23rd, 2021 39m 46s

The Ehang 216 may be certified in a few months, according to new reports. Is this realistic? Plus, is the idea of a supersonic EVTOL feasible or even remotely reasonable? We also discuss the current pilot shortage in the US, the Jetson One sale

EP82 – Sydney Seaplanes Adds EVTOL Order, Airbus A350 Has Lightning Protection Problems & More

Dec 16th, 2021 33m 24s

Sydney Seaplanes placed a large aircraft order from Eve Urban Air Mobility, a division of Embraer. Will it work out for them? The Airbus A350 has lightning protection issues stemming from expanded metal foils and paint peeling, leading to a con

EP80 – Results of the Celera 500L Test Flights: As Good as Claimed?

Dec 1st, 2021 39m 18s

The Otto Aviation Celera 500L made some big claims on fuel efficiency and laminar flow. After flight testing, how have those claims held up? We also discuss more Boeing 787 manufacturing defects, the GE9X sand ingestion tests, Joby news on cert

EP79 – Is Hyundai Supernal the “Uber-Like” EVTOL Company of the Future?

Nov 25th, 2021 36m 41s

Hyundai has spun off its EVTOL business into Supernal, with an interesting aircraft. And, the company shares a big vision for being a start-to-finish transportation company, with aircraft being on piece of the puzzle along with scooters, cars,

EP78 – Boxwing EVTOL – Can it Work? Plus, Rolls Royce SAF Flight & Volocopter News

Nov 18th, 2021 35m 23s

AMSL Aero has a boxwing EVTOL design with a prototype that's nearly ready to fly - can this interesting design work? Rolls Royce flies successfully using 100% SAF fuel, Volocopter sees big things happening in Rome, and more.Learn more a

EP77 – Jetson One EVTOL, New Hydrogen Backing, and New Air Traffic Control Towers?

Nov 11th, 2021 39m 10s

The U.S. has an aging air traffic control tower problem. How will airports replace 100+ aging towers? Plus, is the Jetson One personal EVTOL the future of fun-to-fly aircraft, with little to no barrier to the skies? And, will Alaska Airlines' b

EP76 – Can the Cyclotech EVTOL Reach Mass Market? Plus, Vaccine Labor Trouble and More

Oct 27th, 2021 36m 10s

The Cyclotech EVTOL is back, with a recent flight vaulting it back into the maintstream media. With a very unorthodox lift system, can it really become airworthy one day and reach mass-market acceptance? We also discuss more of the Forkner char

Struck 75 – Boeing Test Pilot Faces Charges; 787 Still has Parts Problems; Volodrone: Is it the Future?

Oct 21st, 2021 34m 45s

In this episode, we discuss the Volodrone EVTOL cargo-hauling drone - is it going to be a game-changer? Boeing's former test pilot on the 737 MAX project has now been indicted - are the charges fair? The 787 dreamliner has new parts problems, a

Struck 74 – Tetra Buy n Fly EVTOL? Plus, Southwest Woes & Urban Air Infrastructure

Oct 14th, 2021 38m 31s

We discuss the Tetra personal "Buy n Fly" EVTOL, which purports to be a kit experimental aircraft for delivery in 2022. Will this one-seat concept gain mainstream appeal? Southwest Airlines earned a tsunami of bad PR with 1000s of flight cancel

Struck 73 – Ehang Shows VT-30; Will EVTOLS Ever Have Swappable Batteries?

Oct 6th, 2021 37m 36s

The DigiProp program is aiming to bring complex composite propeller designs to life easier and faster - is it working? Plus, we talk about the COVID recovery and a recent report that $201 billion was lost due to the virus' impact on airlines. L

EP72 – Eve EVTOL Partners with Bristow; Is Airbus Back in the Urban Air Mobility Game?

Sep 30th, 2021 41m 35s

Eve Urban Air Mobility, owned by Embraer, has announced an agreement to sell 100 EVTOL aircraft to Bristow, the well-known helicopter operator. What will come of this partnership for the two companies? Airbus is back in the EVTOL hunt, announci

EP71 – Should Boeing Test Pilot Face Charges for the 737 MAX Crashes?

Sep 23rd, 2021 40m 51s

Should a Boeing test pilot face criminal charges for the 737 MAX crashes? Or, is this just the FAA and government looking for a scapegoat in a tragedy? Plus, Boeing faces increasing pressure to sell planes to low-cost carriers at a reduced pric