Chasing the Morning Sun – that’s the title of Worcestershire pilot Manuel Queiroz’s attempt to set a new world speed record for a solo round the world flight and it’s underway right now! Manuel, a motor engineer originally from Portugal, departed from Gloucestershire Airport at 7am on 28 February. He expects to take 24 days to fl y over 24,000 miles in his Van’s RV-6 kitplane. He’s due back in the UK on or around 23 March, ... more

London’s Met Police will be the first UK force to operate Eurocopter’s EC 145 when three aircraft it has on order from UK distributor McAlpine Helicopters arrive later this year.Powered by two Turbomeca turbines, the EC 145 can carry one or two pilots and eight or nine passengers. It has a cruise speed of 135kt, a glass cockpit, digital autopilot for both single or dual pilot applications, and an endurance of up to 3.5 hours. The Met� ... more

The flying motorcycle is a reality , thanks to American inventor Larry Neal. “And I’m flying it!” said Neal, president of Oklahoma-based Butterfly LLC.The Super Skycycle received a US patent on 27 December 2005, and the very next day Larry test flew the aircraft with new folding rotors. The patent covers a ‘fl y-drive vehicle’ with a folding rotor shaft and a transmission to power either the rear-mounted propeller or wheels – ... more

A two-seat light helicopter has just had three world records confi rmed – and it wasn’t by a Robinson R22. Last August, French pilot Olivier Gensse set three records in a Cabri G2, the creation of French engineer Bruno Guimbal in 1992 when he was working as a rotor engineer for Eurocopter. Guimbal went on to become head of R&D at Eurocopter, but is now boss of his own helicopter company, Helicopteres Guimbal, producing a de ... more

This photos shows the first flight of the Javelin jet with its retractable undercarriage in the UP position, showing the aircraft’s clean lines. The flight happened at the Javelin’s base in Colorado, USA on 28 February, five months after the aircraft's maiden flight. ATG, the company developing the joint civilian/military jet, said, “The Javelin prototype’s landing gear was cycled as the aircraft maneuvered between 13 ... more

The boom in aviation continues with three ambitious – wacky! – projects announced by American companies. First is a high-speed amphibious aircraft that can cruise at bizjet speed. Harbor Aviation says it has developed technology to allow aircraft to efficiently takeoff and land from water and conventional runways and airstrips.Next is the Aeroscraft, a huge airship more than 600 feet long, now under development at Aeros, a Californian ... more

Two aircraft are in the final three of a competition to find Britain’s favouite design. The Spitfire and Concorde are competing with the London Underground map. Voting ends at midnight on Sunday, 12 March with the winner announced the following Thursday.Design Museum visitors and viewers of BBC Two’s The Culture Show were asked to choose from 25 design icons, which included the Routemaster bus, the Mini and red phone boxes as well as ... more

Sixty years after the end of World War II, former Royal Navy pilot John Moffat was given a true hero’s welcome at RNAS Yeovilton last month.The team at Yeovilton flew John down from his home in Perth in a Jetstream T2, with the promise of a flight in the Sea Harrier sim. It followed an interview with John in LOOP (February 06) in which he revealed his dream to complete a vertical carrier takeoff in a Harrier.John is credited with d ... more