aviation

This paper introduces Pre-Flight, an open-source benchmark of 300 multiple choice questions designed to evaluate large language models on aviation operational knowledge, covering international regulations and ground operations. Results show even the best models in 2026 score 82.7%, significantly below the expert reference of ~95%, highlighting a persistent reliability gap.

The FAA has proposed allowing supersonic airliners to fly over US cities if they meet quiet noise standards, with NASA and companies like Boom Supersonic developing quieter supersonic aircraft.

The Trump administration is moving to replace a 50-year ban on supersonic flight over US land with a noise-based limit, citing technological advances that could eliminate the sonic boom. The FAA has proposed a new rule, aiming to finalize it by mid-2027, which would allow aircraft like Boom Supersonic's to fly faster than Mach 1 over land while keeping noise below a set threshold.

The FAA has announced rulemaking to legalize supersonic flight, including the Boomless Cruise approach demonstrated on XB-1, marking a major step toward a supersonic renaissance.

NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft completed its first supersonic flight, aiming to replace loud sonic booms with quieter thumps, potentially informing future supersonic airliner designs.

Paul Graham reminisces about the day Boom Supersonic's XB-1 aircraft achieved supersonic flight.

Electric air taxi companies Joby and Archer are locked in legal battles over espionage and patent infringement, threatening the industry's progress and investor confidence.

Tinfoil Pigeons is a product that displays aircraft flying overhead on a retro-styled radar scope.

An exploration of how reliable automation leads to human complacency and skill decay, using aviation as a case study, and offering deliberate countermeasures.

A United Airlines flight was forced to turn back to Newark after a passenger's Bluetooth speaker was named with a four-letter word (likely 'bomb'), triggering a security response and evacuation.

NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is preparing for its first supersonic flight tests, aiming to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight over communities.

38 airlines have partnered with SpaceX to bring Starlink to their fleets, with over 6,300 commercial aircraft already installed or under contract.

The NTSB temporarily removed public access to its docket system after AI tools were used to reconstruct cockpit audio from a UPS plane crash, recreating the voices of deceased pilots from a spectrogram and transcript.

NASA announces a Reddit AMA with X-59 test pilots to discuss flying their quiet supersonic aircraft.

An opinion piece argues that the F-35 fighter jet is designed for a type of warfare that may no longer match modern military conflicts.