The World of Aviation

The first F-35C carrier variant arrived at the US Navy’s test facility at NAS Patuxent River near Washington on November 6. The aircraft, designated CF-1, joins four F-35Bs at Pax River, where it will undergo air-to-air refuelling and performance testing by US Navy test pilots. The aircraft flew non-stop from Fort Worth with its F/A-18B

Virgin Blue has reportedly put a big offer to the Australian Football League to unseat Qantas as the official carrier of the League from next year. According to the Herald Sun, the AFL’s agreement with Qantas, which started in 2002, is due to expire at the end of this year. In response, Virgin is understood

The seven nation Airbus A400M partnership has finally agreed upon a financial package to support the aircraft’s development. The countries – the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium and Turkey – have agreed to pay €3.5bn (A$4.8bn) to continue the A400M’s development, clearing the way ahead for the airlifter. “The A400M is an emblematic

The eruption of Indonesia’s Mt Merapi volcano has forced a number of airlines flying between Asian destinations and Perth to extend their flying times due to a major cloud of ash lingering over the northwest of WA. According to The West Australian, Qantas flights from Singapore have been forced to fly east of Timor before

Melbourne based Sentient has announced its Kestrel Land MTI, a computer vision system for electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) sensors, has been deployed aboard RAAF 5FLT Heron UAVs based at Kandahar in Afghanistan. The system processes imagery in real time and automatically detects and tracks small, moving targets such as dismounts or vehicles within the

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has released its third quarter delivery figures for GA and business aircraft, showing that total volumes of aircraft shipped were down 14.5 per cent, while billings were down 2.5 per cent. The figures show that piston powered aircraft deliveries were down 6.6 per cent to 679, while turboprops dropped