Airborne 02.23.17: Sonaca 200, Yuneec H920 Plus, SpaceX Delays Mars Mission
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Also: NextGen Blimps, AEA/HAI Coverage, L-39 Suit, Drone User Group, Red Arrows Pilot Inquest, 2nd T-50A, Steve Fossett Honored Sonaca Aircraft is getting ready to start certification tests for the Sonaca 200, with the beginning of 2017 devoted to the assembly of the first two aircraft intended for the ground and flight tests of the single-engine two-seater. The first aircraft will be entirely dedicated to ground tests. A second plane will be used for the flight tests which are scheduled this April. Yuneec International has announced significant upgrades to its H920 airframe -- creating the H920 Plus and an improved ProAction handheld grip. The H920 Plus includes the ST16 Pro Ground Station, operating on an Android platform with an integrated transmitter, flight controls and large 7-inch display with a HD 720p video downlink. Users can also utilize video and image playback on the ST16 Pro and download aerial maps. SpaceX has pushed its planned launch of an unmanned probe to Mars, two more years into the future. Speaking at a pre-launch briefing at NASA's Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said that the robotic lander dubbed Red Dragon will not be ready in 2018 as the company had planned. Shotwell said that the company needs to "needed to put more resources and focus more heavily on our crew program and our Falcon Heavy program." That is pushing the Mars mission into the "2020 timeframe." That's still better than the original plan which had Red Dragon heading to Mars in 2022. That target had been revised to 2018. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!
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