Task force set up to make recommendations for registration of small unmanned aircraft sets minimum size at 0.55 lb., potentially bringing toy drones under the FAA’s new rule.

Carriers may be left to their own devices to fight lithium-ion battery fires as ICAO contemplates pseudo-solutions.

Given the huge number of lithium-ion batteries being shipped by air, some will eventually short-circuit and go into thermal runaway. Industry and regulators are considering some box-level solutions.

Shape-adaptive morphing structures could follow the adoption path that have made winglets the rule, rather than the exception, on new aircraft

The planned ramp-up will see more than 250 C Series in service by 2020, when the program is expected to begin generating positive cash flow, and is “balanced, manageable and achievable,” says Bombardier Commercial Aircraft President Fred Cromer.

The small lithium-metal and lithium-ion batteries we use everyday can pose big safety problems on aircraft, especially when carried as bulk cargo. This video shows the intensity of those fires when just a few batteries enter a state known as thermal runaway. FAA engineers at the William J. Hughes Technical Center have quantified the risks and are now testing methods to potentially mitigate them.

Pratt & Whitney is poised to realize its decades-long goal of introducing the geared turbofan into commercial service, with certification of the PW1100G-powered Airbus A320neo achieved on November 24, and the PW1500G-powered Bombardier CSeries expected to follow within weeks.

Bombardier has unveiled a five-year transformation plan intended to boost earnings and cash flow that have suffered as the company invests heavily in new product development.