Wittman Tailwind Crashes, Pilot Killed

Carb heat.  At first blush this one looks like it may not belong here.  The plane was a homebuilt and had already logged over 100 hours.  The pilot wasn't doing any envelope expansion or other fancy stuff.  The reason that I think this one is important is because it highlights that it is often the little things, the mundane, everyday things, that represent the lit fuses.  We lost a NASA X-31, for essentially the same reason, and we have lost flight test planes due to mid-airs, CG control mismanagement, and just plain loss of situational awareness.  This one looks like carb icing.  We've got to watch the worm-races when doing flutter clearance, but we also need to do all the little things that we do everyday just as carefully as always.

http://generalaviationnews.com/2013/12/02/test-flight-ends-in-crash-2/

Embraer Legacy 450 First Flight

The brief piece at the link below is really just letting us know that the flight happened and that they returned safely.  The fly-by-wire system really does open up a lot of future options that are harder to add to a hydro-mechanical system, but we will have to wait a while to see what it all leads to.

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Legacy-450-First-Flight221191-1.html

Boeing's Third 787-9 Test Bird Had Maiden Flight in November

Not to be outdone, Boeing is making more news than just union and construction site selection issues.  The link below is to a very short press release that gives a few hints of what is going on in their test program, including the first flight with the GEnx engines.

http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/13/11/n4093832/boeing-flies-third-787-9-dreamliner

Airbus A350-900 Over 20% Into Test Program

The story at the link below is from several weeks ago, and I am trying mightily to catch up on the latest happenings, but it does give a snapshot of Airbus' plans for their test fleet.  Actual test results remain pretty close-hold, but I will watch for more details and get them to you as soon as life gives me a window.

http://ainonline.com/aviation-news/dubai-air-show/2013-11-17/airbus-builds-a350-900-flight-test-hours

CarterCopter Pushing Out the Speed Envelope?

It isn't clear from the story below exactly when this flight took place, but if a small manufacturer's rotary-wing vehicle that is clearly not yet optimized for high speed can push it out to nearly 175 knots, we may have a paradigm-shift coming on the rotary-wing side of the house.  Let's see where this one goes...

http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/helicopters/video-500-mph-helicopter