Aviation Week's Guy Norris recently had the rare opportunity to fly in ‘Ed Force One’, Iron Maiden’s chartered Boeing 747-400 with lead pilot and band front man Bruce Dickinson.

Flight simulators need to be upgraded to train pilots to deal with stalls, but upgrading them won’t be easy or inexpensive.

Airlander airship approved to fly; NASA to validate RTCA’s UAS standards; Darpa tests drop-in sense-and-avoid; Armadillo’s Stig returns as Sarge; Rocket Lab moves closer to launch.

National Research of Canada says two new ice-particle detection technologies are ready for transition to industry to tackle the threat of high-altitude ice crystals causing engine rollback or flameout.

European airline consolidation has been relatively minor compared to the U.S., and Lufthansa’s move to take on Brussels Airlines is a typical “tiny step.”

United’s deal with AltAir signals a new level of maturity for the biofuels industry, but advancing biofuels to commercial scale calls for strategic intervention.

Legislation would allow Pentagon to focus on threats; an FAA official prepared to take on the role; and an Air Force general supports the concept.

As Senior Space Editor Frank Morring says, companies are looking for "pots of gold" in space. That gold could come from commercial efforts that would extend the life of the International Space Station or to mine water from the Moon. Civilian space agencies might benefit as well—working with each other to reach the Moon and ultimately charting a path to Mars. Frank joins Mark Carreau and Jen DiMascio at the annual space symposium in Colorado Springs and discuss the latest efforts to explore—and profit from—outer space.