After quitting the Cold War, US Navy captain William Heronemus and a scrappy crew from @umassamherst.bsky.social built an experimental wind turbine based on helicopter rotor engineering and the rear axel of a truck. Their work birthed the modern wind energy industry.

SCOOP: The FAA is close to picking Air Space Intelligence to build its AI-powered air traffic management tool, passing over Palantir and Thales. Story here on @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/air-traffic-...

“What I’ve been saying to politicians for the last 12 months is: Do we want this industry still in Europe or no? Do we want this in Germany or no? And luckily, finally, the answer is yes.” How ERC is continuing to keep Germany's eVTOL dreams alive: theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev...

Helios Horizon pushes the boundaries of battery tech in crewed electric flight theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

Helios Horizon claims to have made "the first flight of a human-piloted electric plane powered by solid-state batteries." Some battery experts would quibble with their definition, but it's still an impressive achievement, as I report for @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

Well look at that: @theaircurrent.com's app is now on Android. play.google.com/store/apps/d...

This story is really f***ing interesting.

Yesterday Mach Industries alluded to a DIU contract award for runway-independent strike aircraft. Today they revealed they're working with Whisper Aero on the program, leveraging Whisper's "stall-proof" JetFoil tech. My deep dive for @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/technology/w...

Beta confirmed today that Duffy flew in both the CTOL and VTOL versions of its Alia aircraft: www.linkedin.com/posts/us-dep...

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy went for a flight with Beta Technologies CEO Kyle Clark in one of the company's electric Alia CTOL aircraft — I expect them to say more about this soon. (Pro subscribers to The Air Current get more details & video preview: theaircurrent.com/intel/transp...)

FAA expects commercial eVTOL ops under integration pilot program theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

NEWS: The FAA quietly released its official responses to all of the NTSB's D.C. midair crash recommendations yesterday. The agency said it has addressed six recs & plans to fully address "more than half" by EOY. via @theaircurrent.com w/ no paywall: theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf...

Really enjoyed joining the folks at @slate.com to talk about the fall of Spirit Airlines. Take a listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/0KrG...

I won. Boutique Airlines sued me & AIN over 2 yrs ago. They called me a liar and a thief. I won in trial court. I just won in Appeals court. I expect it will be a nightmare to get my legal fees back. But I proved that the work was my own. I proved I wrote the truth. I am a good reporter. I won.

Great read! Via @elanhead.com

Highly recommend this story for anyone working in an industry they believe is transformative. So much to learn from Igor Sikorsky about trying to usher in a paradigm shift. Excellent work as always from @elanhead.com via @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/historical-c...

This must read piece from @elanhead.com is so wonderful. We are known for our breaking news and our deep dives, but this is a magnificent dose of historical context that just ties it all together.

We’ve dropped the paywall on last week’s deep dive from @theaircurrent.com as Spirit Airlines approached the end. Even with the demise of the carrier there’s insight here to understand what’s next. theaircurrent.com/airlines/spi... (via @willguisbond.com @juliejohnsson.bsky.social and yours truly)

Vertical Aerospace’s piloted transition flight is a technical and business milestone theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

SCOOP: The FAA is quietly developing a new AI-powered software tool for air traffic management that could fundamentally change how the U.S. airspace system operates. Palantir, Thales, Airspace Intelligence all bidding. via @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/air-traffic-...

Being part of an amazing team is the best thing about working at @theaircurrent.com — and that team is now expanding with the addition of @juliejohnsson.bsky.social, the phenomenal aviation reporter who joins us from Bloomberg. Welcome, Julie! theaircurrent.com/product-anno...

I recently interviewed Joby Aviation's Jon Wagner for @spectrum.ieee.org. Formerly senior director of battery engineering at Tesla, he's spent the past 8+ years helping Joby perfect its eVTOL powertrain. No paywall! spectrum.ieee.org/amp/joby-air...

Adding more helicopter-style ops to busy Class B airports probably isn't a good idea today, but that doesn't rule out safe eVTOL airport shuttles in the future. For @theaircurrent.com, I wrote about how the FAA is laying the groundwork for them: theaircurrent.com/air-traffic-...

United CEO is skeptical of eVTOL airport taxis, but FAA has a more nuanced take theaircurrent.com/air-traffic-... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

SCOOP: A year before the two recent evacuations of D.C.'s ATC center, a previously unreported incident caused smoke to enter the control room but did not result in an evacuation. Controllers lost their medical certificates. via @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

New: Decades of aircraft and ground vehicle near misses at LGA preceded fatal crash, public safety databases show (via @theaircurrent -- no paywall): theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

The big read: What the heck is taking the eVTOL companies so long? theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev... (via @elanhead.com)

“Just as Ukraine was a wake-up call for the entire world...I think Iran is a second wake-up call in that we’re seeing the most well-capitalized, best organized militaries in the world run out of some things pretty quickly." theaircurrent.com/defense/dron...

Drone tech company Swarmer expands focus beyond Ukraine with sensational IPO theaircurrent.com/defense/dron... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

New favorite Probable Cause (no injuries in this accident). They were trying to net an elk (I have no idea why - assume for some sort of wildlife tracking purposes). I'm thinking the elk ran away laughing.

Understanding U.S. eVTOL developers’ long trudge through certification theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

A next-gen collision avoidance tool known as ACAS X could help prevent a future midair collision, but will have to make its way through Congress first. The collision avoidance tool that could help prevent the next midair disaster (via @theaircurrent.com): theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf...

And here are the eight proposals selected for the program, not limited to eVTOLs: www.transportation.gov/briefing-roo...

Lots of buzz around the eIPP today, including Beta Technologies kicking off its Q4 earnings call with an eIPP rap to the tune of O.P.P. (yeah you know me) 🎤 From August, here's my feature for @theaircurrent.com on how the eIPP came to be: theaircurrent.com/aviation-pol...

We’ve made this free to all readers, too! ⬇️

SCOOP w/ @jonostrower.com: NTSB board member J. Todd Inman abruptly departs safety watchdog (via @theaircurrent.com): theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

Hyundai eVTOL subsidiary Supernal lays off most of its staff in major retrenchment theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

This episode of @theairshowpodcast.com was a little different this week. We welcome Nomadic’s Steve Giordano of Cockpit Casual fame to the show and got to ask him about The Rehearsal and flying with Nathan Fielder. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

"An interceptor drone was an effective device in good meteorological conditions — not in -20°, not in snow, not in rain. This merits attention," Anatolii Khrapchynsky, an aviation expert and reservist in the Ukrainian Air Force, told the Kyiv Independent.

The Sahara Desert Hasn’t Always Been a Dry, Desolate Landscape. Some Scientists See Signs It May Be Greening Again. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu... @thesundaylongread.bsky.social

NEW from me: Clashes between FAA chief Bryan Bedford and Transpo. Sec. Sean Duffy have intensified a year of turmoil at the U.S. aviation regulator. Tons of details on the 1DOT move and internal re-org in here, too: More on @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/regulation/b...

Xcert AI wants to save human experts time, not replace them theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

Via @thedewline.bsky.social, a Marine Corps Osprey made an emergency landing on Feb. 3 due to a gearbox crack: aviationweek.com/defense/budg... Context: theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf...

Newcomer ERC, now flight testing, keeps Germany’s eVTOL dreams alive theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

The Air Current is always looking for great journalists to expand our coverage of aviation, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, and everything adjacent. If you're curious what that might look and feel like for your next act, please reach out.

How a Solar Impulse spinoff cleared a major battery certification hurdle theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

The electric aviation industry has downplayed the challenges associated with certifying large lithium propulsion batteries, but it’s been a topic of intense negotiation behind the scenes. A milestone announced this week by H55 moves the entire industry forward: theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev...

Newsletter is out - this one on air ambulance operator Guardian Flight. I'm working on a lot of DCA midair and FAA stuff but we talk way too little about medevac, which is Part 135, and so I spent some time on these accidents. colleenmondor.substack.com/p/40-guardia...

For more than six years, the NTSB has recommended that the FAA develop guidance to help pilots identify intoxicated passengers like the one whose actions precipitated the fatal FlyNYON helicopter crash in New York City in 2018. Now the FAA is passing the buck: verticalmag.com/news/urged-t...

If you only read one article on the D.C. midair collision one year ago today (and oh boy are there some you shouldn't read) this is the one. From the inimitable @willguisbond.com theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf...