AVweb’s search of what’s new in aviation found a milestone for Rolls-Royce engines, this year’s Spirit of Flight Award winner, a new marketplace for drones and a new startup company for pilot training devices. Rolls-Royce AE civil engines have powered the Embraer ERJ series of regional jets, Embraer Legacy 600 and 650 corporate jets, Saab 2000, and Cessna Citation X series of corporate jets over the past 20 years. These Rolls-Royce AE civil engine products recently surpassed 60 million flight hours of operation, commemorating one of the most successful programs in the company’s history. The National Aviation Hall of Fame has awarded its 2015 Milton Caniff Spirit of Flight Award to the “Pioneers of Stealth” in recognition of its contributions to the early development of low observables (“stealth”) technology. The Pioneers are a cadre of government and contractor personnel who collectively pioneered the revolutionary discipline of “low observable” aircraft design, development, test, production, operations and sustainment. Their work was instrumental to the successful development of the B-2, F-117, F-22, F-35 and other aircraft and systems relying on stealth technology.
After a year and a half of development, Drone-Classifieds was activated and is scheduled for full release on Jan. 1. Drone-Classifieds provides a free platform for individuals, new developers and marketers around the world to sell their new or used equipment or their latest unmanned developments, making them immediately available to anyone with an internet-connected device. This advance listing portal allows the user virtually unlimited space to present their products including any number of images, video links, technical documents and sales sheets. ICARUS Devices will soon introduce a pilot training device that will fundamentally change the way pilots train for instrument flight. ICARUS, which stands for Instrument Conditions Awareness Recognition and Understanding System, will replace clumsy, ineffective hoods and foggles that all pilots use during training. The company is partnered with Newovo plastics and Aeromotive Harnesses of Elgin, Illinois, to produce the first ICARUS models and has launched a Kickstarter for pre-seed funding.
