Aviation technology analysis with Vector. Electric aircraft, avionics advances, eVTOL certification, satellite connectivity, and the engineering innovations shaping the future of flight.
The FAA's 2014 policy change made angle of attack indicators far easier to install, yet they remain absent from most GA cockpits despite a clear, affordable safety case.
The Garmin GFC 500 brings transport-category envelope protection and a one-button level mode to aging GA aircraft for a realistic installed cost of $10,000–$15,000.
ADS-B broadcasts your tail number and position to anyone with a $25 receiver - here's what the FAA's LADD and PIA programs actually protect, and where they fall short.
NASA's X-59 QueSST demonstrator targets a 75 PLdB 'shaped boom' to challenge the 50-year FAR 91.817 ban on civil supersonic flight over U.S. land.
In November 2021, the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Innovation set a world electric aircraft speed record of 345.4 mph - here's what that number actually proves about the future of electric flight.
Sierra Space's Dream Chaser revives a 60-year lifting body lineage to solve a modern problem: returning sensitive cargo from orbit gently on a runway.
Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 crashed at Schiphol in 2009 when a faulty radio altimeter triggered an autothrottle mode change the crew didn't catch until they were out of time.
GPS spoofing over the Middle East has repeatedly caused airliners' navigation displays to jump 50–100+ nautical miles, exposing a structural flaw in how ADS-B trusts position data.
Synthetic vision evolved from reactive terrain alarms to real-time 3D terrain rendering - here's the engineering behind it and what it means for GA pilots.
Synthetic Vision Technology builds a live 3D terrain picture in your cockpit using GPS, AHRS, and a terrain database - a direct answer to controlled flight into terrain.
How the 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision exposed a fatal gap in TCAS compliance - and the global rule change that followed to fix it.
The GE Catalyst is the first clean-sheet turboprop design in decades, using 3D-printed components to challenge the PT6's 60-year dominance aboard the Textron Cessna Denali.
The Lilium Jet survived bankruptcy to try again - here's what its 36-fan design reveals about where electric aviation is actually headed.
NASA and Boeing are spending $725 million to fly a strut-braced commercial wing - an old idea that could cut narrowbody fuel burn by 30%.
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is a classified military spaceplane that launches like a satellite and lands like an aircraft - logging missions measured in years, not days.
Air France 447 crashed in 2009 after pitot tube icing caused an autopilot disconnect the crew couldn't recover from - reshaping global pilot training standards.
Aireon's space-based ADS-B network uses 66 Iridium satellites to give air traffic controllers real-time position data over every ocean on earth for the first time in aviation history.
Joby Aviation completed FAA Stage 4 type certification in 2023 for its S4 eVTOL, advancing a five-stage process built largely from scratch for an aircraft category that had no regulatory precedent.
Joby Aviation's S4 eVTOL is navigating an unprecedented FAA certification that will set airworthiness standards for every electric air taxi that follows.
CFM International's RISE program targets over 20% fuel burn reduction using an open fan architecture - no nacelle, exposed blades - with commercial entry into service targeted for mid-2035.