Boeing weighs reviving pre-2007 goals for 787 production rate increase

Prospects for abundant and inexpensive natural gas have aircraft manufacturers reassessing the options for future fuels, particularly for the military where both energy security and affordability could trump any desire to reduce emissions by moving away from fossil fuels.

ITEP Turboshaft A new 3,000-shp engine would reduce specific fuel consumption by 25% while increasing power by 50% in helicopters now powered by General Electric T700 turboshafts. A high priority for the U.S. Army, the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) is planned to get underway this year, with the powerplant expected to be available by 2019. Competing demonstrator engines are already running: General Electric's GE3000 and the Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney HPW3000.

Liberalization may not be for everyone. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) seems to be accepting a bigger role for private airlines while looking less favorably on a carrier that is partly foreign owned.

The final report on the September 2010 crash of a UPS Boeing 747-400 freighter in Dubai has reignited the long-standing feud between the NTSB and FAA over the need for video recorders in airliner cockpits.

While budget worries are clouding the future of the FAA's NextGen program, the agency is making significant progress in deploying an automation system that will be a crucial foundation of the modernization effort.

Airbus pursues shorter-range A330 and A350 versions.

Abundant gas could slow Pentagon drive toward sustainable fuels