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...

Vertical Aerospace wants the stock market to take it seriously theaircurrent.com/industry-str... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

The big Sunday read from @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/industry-str...

Why Eve turned to a competitor for its eVTOL pusher motors theaircurrent.com/industry-str... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

Why would eVTOL developer Eve Air Mobility tap a competitor, Beta, for a critical component? The short answer is that Beta has the technology Eve needs. I spoke with Eve's CTO and Beta's CEO to unpack the rationale and strategy behind the deal: theaircurrent.com/industry-str...

If you're curious about how I got into aviation (or seek assurance that I really do have an aviation background), (yes, some folks continue to suggest my high-time pilot husband is the person who really writes this stuff) (sigh), here's a new profile from @adn.com. /1 www.adn.com/arts/books/2...

Saudi Arabia brings a critical eye to appraising eVTOL readiness theaircurrent.com/industry-str... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

Investors have pumped millions of dollars into the eVTOL industry in pursuit of "flying cars". We're still waiting on electric air taxis, but in the meantime some of that investment is now benefiting defense tech. More in my latest story for @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/defense/arch...

Also out today: part 4 of 5 of @garius.bsky.social's remarkable history of the California Clipper, the feat of commercial aviation that brought a Pan Am flying boat the wrong way around the world from Auckland to LaGuardia. This time: it's Christmas in Sri Lanka. theupfront.media/christmas-in...

I asked lawmakers about the political feasibility of proposals to exempt FAA from the effects of future shutdowns. Many were supportive. Few were optimistic about it happening. Seeking a solution to aviation’s government shutdown problem (via @theaircurrent.com): theaircurrent.com/aviation-pol...

Honda announced its eVTOL concept four years ago, then the program went into stealth mode. Now Honda R&D is at the Dubai Airshow to share an update on its progress. Full details in my latest story for @theaircurrent.com: theaircurrent.com/aircraft-dev...

Hey look what we built... apps.apple.com/us/app/the-a...

In 1941, Pan Am's California Clipper had to do something no commercial flight had done before: circumnavigate the world. In Part 3 of our series looking at her journey, the crew must work out, mid-air, how to fly her on regular gasoline. Something her Wright Cyclone engines were never designed for.

I embedded with a helicopter medevac unit in Afghanistan in 2008. I think that era of warfare may be gone forever. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/m...

Part 2 of our history of the remarkable flight of the California Clipper in WW2 is now available. To get back to the US after Pearl Harbor, Ford and his crew are asked by Pan Am to do something no commercial aircrew or passenger plane has done before: Circumnavigate the world. #history #aviation

"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."

Existing development assurance processes have been used for decades to help assure that aircraft are safe. With AI/ML entering the picture, should aviation stick to these tried-and-tested methods or embrace new ones? The industry is divided on the subject: theaircurrent.com/technology/s...

Special Report: Why the aviation industry can’t agree on how to certify AI theaircurrent.com/technology/s... (via @elanhead.com) #staycurrent

FAA chief Bryan Bedford says this will affect 40 “high traffic” airports. The full list will be released tomorrow.