By Garth Calitz Airbus has officially put its newest freighter into the air, with the first A350F completing its maiden flight from Toulouse on 29 September 2026. It is a significant moment not only for Airbus but for the entire heavy air-cargo market, where Boeing has enjoyed something approaching squatter’s rights for decades. The 747 Freighter became an icon, the 777F has been enormously successful, and Airbus has never really managed to loosen Boeing’s grip on the upper e

Embraer’s C-390 Millennium has added another flag to its growing list of international operators, with Uzbekistan taking delivery of its first aircraft on 25 September. The handover, conducted at Embraer’s facility in Gavião Peixoto, Brazil, makes Uzbekistan the first C-390 operator in Central Asia and represents another significant step in the Brazilian manufacturer’s increasingly successful assault on the medium military transport market. The aircraft was formally handed ov

By Garth Calitz Cape Winelands Airport is being designed to do something rather more ambitious than simply provide another runway and terminal for the Western Cape. Buried within the airport’s long-term development plans is an idea that could prove considerably more important to aviation than the passenger terminal itself: a dedicated “sky corridor” designed to accommodate drones, VTOL aircraft and other emerging forms of aviation. The concept is still in its initial phase an

By Garth Calitz Long before the lights go out and 22 Formula 1 cars charge towards Turn One, an enormous aviation and logistics operation has already been underway for days. Cargo aircraft, helicopters, airports, trucks, medical crews and airspace managers all play their part in getting Formula 1 from one circuit to the next. For Formula 1 fans, the Grand Prix weekend appears to begin when the teams roll out of their garages on Friday morning. The reality is rather different.

Air cargo connectivity between China and Africa has received another boost with the restart of Astral Aviation's dedicated freighter service linking Haikou, China, with Johannesburg, South Africa. The renewed operation, launched in partnership with Fly Noor Aviation Services, is expected to strengthen one of the world's fastest-growing trade corridors while supporting the continued expansion of e-commerce and high-value freight between the two regions. The agreement was forma

By Garth Calitz 30 June 2026 marks 58 years since one of the most ambitious aircraft ever built first took to the skies. On 30 June 1968, the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy made its maiden flight from Lockheed's production facility in Marietta, Georgia, introducing a military transport aircraft unlike anything the world had seen before. At the controls was Lockheed chief engineering test pilot Leo Sullivan, who guided the massive prototype through a successful 84-minute first flight. F

By Garth Calitz For as long as pilots and aviation enthusiasts have been gathering around coffee pots at airfields, there have been a few certainties. Someone will insist that taildraggers are superior, that Steel aircraft are better than tupperware and someone else will proudly assert that blended-wing aircraft are the future. The first argument has been raging since the invention of the nosewheel. The second has been going on since composite materials took to the air in the

Textron Aviation has completed a major expansion of its flight test facilities at its East Wichita Campus, a move aimed at supporting growing global demand for the versatile Cessna SkyCourier and advancing development programmes across its turboprop aircraft portfolio. The expansion adds 57,000 square feet to the existing flight test hangar complex, including six new hangar bays on the northern side of the facility. The additional capacity will primarily support flight test o

Airbus has revealed new details about one of the most ambitious engineering features of its upcoming A350F freighter programme, the largest main deck cargo door ever fitted to a commercial aircraft. Designed to improve freight handling efficiency while supporting the aviation industry’s shift toward lower emissions, the innovative cargo door represents a major leap forward in widebody freighter design. At the heart of the A350F programme is a clear objective: create a next-ge

The Royal Air Force has demonstrated its growing Arctic operational capability after an RAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III successfully landed at Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert, the northernmost permanently inhabited settlement on Earth. Situated approximately 1,100 miles inside the Arctic Circle at 82.5 degrees north, the remote outpost plays a vital role in NATO’s northern security network and climate research activities. The mission formed part of Exercise Polar Puma un