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...

Member Graham: "There will be some times where individual errors may be noted throughout the course of the day in relation to this accident. But I want to make it crystal clear any individual shortcomings were set up for failure by the systems around them."

Follow along here and on @theaircurrent.com today as the investigation into one of the worst aviation tragedies in years comes to an end. I’ll be live blogging from the hearing room all day.

The accountability problem exposed by the first Garmin Autoland deployment theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

New from me: Jeppesen ForeFlight CEO cites automation and AI in justification for layoffs A tumultuous week for a company many pilots know very well. Read more on @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

In UPS crash, NTSB probing MD-11 engine mount issue first identified by Boeing in 2011 theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc... (via @willguisbond.com & @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

BREAKING: FAA officially warns operators of risks associated with falling debris from faulty space launches, something it says “could significantly reduce safety.” via @theaircurrent.com theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

FAA delays release of safety continuum for eVTOL aircraft theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

This 2,500-word feature article — and all our writing on disability and accessibility in air travel — is open to all for free on @theupfront.media. An enormous thank you to our subscribers for funding our work. theupfront.media/disabled-pas...

This was an awesome read and reporting like this is why I shell out for @theaircurrent.com, something I swear @jonostrower.com isn't giving me any kickbacks for saying.

Special Report: The night everything at DCA finally went wrong theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf... (via @willguisbond.com) #staycurrent

For the last few months, I've been working on a story about January's crash near Washington, D.C. What I learned was that it was simply an accident waiting to happen. Special Report: The night everything at DCA finally went wrong (via @theaircurrent.com) theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf...

Almost 16 years to the day since the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing has finally flown an all-new commercial aircraft — this one with four passenger seats and no pilot. A bigger take from @theaircurrent.com on what this milestone means for the 797. Spoiler: A lot.

V-22 Ospreys have serious unresolved safety risks, NAVAIR review confirms theaircurrent.com/aviation-saf... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

So, what do you all think of the new @theaircurrent.com app? Keen to hear your feedback. apps.apple.com/us/app/the-a...

Why are helicopter folks so skeptical of eVTOL developers' projected certification timelines? In part, it's because the 🚁 industry has struggled to get even basic safety upgrades certified by the FAA in recent years, as I wrote about for Vertical Magazine: verticalmag.com/features/tra...

Exclusive: A group of bipartisan lawmakers have introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would reinstate an aviation-specific SAF tax credit repealed by the One Big Beautiful Bill in July (via @theaircurrent.com): theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

The final part of this incredible long-read from @garius.bsky.social is genuinely epic. Out now for all to read for free — but you can support our work bringing you more incredible stories like this by subscribing for the price of a couple of coffees a month! theupfront.media/bringing-her...

Everyone loves an underdog — until it's time to invest in one. With Vertical Aerospace poised to unveil its new eVTOL design tomorrow, I wrote about its complicated relationship with the stock market and the catch-22 of its weak balance sheet: theaircurrent.com/industry-str...