Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said on Tuesday his company is working on a plan for manned flights to Mars, with the aim of establishing a permanent colony there. Speaking before a crowd at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, he set out a number of parameters and goals for the project, noting that each trip should cost no more than $200,000 -- about the average cost of a house in the U.S. "We want to make Mars seem possible," he said.

Bell Helicopter recently unveiled its new design for an autonomous tiltrotor, the V-247 Vigilant, which will have a 65-foot wing span and will be capable of carrying a payload of up to 6.5 tons of fuel, armament, and sensors. The aircraft, designed for military use, will be able to operate from land or sea, and will be ready to deploy as soon as 2023, according to Bell. The Vigilant will travel at speeds up to 300 knots and can operate within a 250-nm radius.

A study conducted by NBAA has found that 15 percent of flights in business jets begin without a complete flight-control check, the association reported last week. The NTSB suggested a need for the study after its investigation of a fatal 2014 accident involving a Gulfstream G-IV at Hanscom Field, in Bedford, Mass. The safety board found the crew had not performed a flight-control check before takeoff, and as a result, they had no way of knowing the aircraft's gust lock was engaged. The jet ran off the runway and caught fire, killing all seven on board.

Uber is taking a serious look at autonomous VTOL aircraft for urban transport, and could have a fleet flying within a decade, chief products officer Jeff Holden said at a Nantucket conference on Sunday. In an interview with Kara Swisher of Re/code, Holden said the technology "could change cities and how we work and live." Holden said he has been researching the possibilities "so we can someday offer our customers as many options as possible to move around … doing it in a three-dimensional way is an obvious thing to look at."

NavWorx says it is working to resolve an issue with the FAA, which is refusing to process $500 rebate reservations for two models of transceivers the company makes.

The F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter may be the latest example of the U.S. military resurrecting a retired aircraft type.

Three people were killed when two aircraft collided in North Collins, south of Buffalo, Sunday morning.

Golf legend Arnold Palmer, one of business aviation's most prominent cheerleaders, died Sunday in Pittsburgh at the age of 87.

JAX Approach: American 123, airport 11 o'clock, 8 miles. Report in sight ... AA123: (obviously, the co-pilot)The man says he has the airport in sight ... JAX approach: Tell the man he's cleared to the airport, expect a visual runway 8 ... AA123: I'll break it to him gently.

The ground explosion of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Sept. 1 was likely caused by a "large breach" of the helium system, the company said Friday. SpaceX, NASA and the FAA, among others, continue to investigate the cause of the fiery incident at Cape Canaveral that destroyed the rocket and its payload as it stood at Launch Complex 40 during a pre-launch test.

The rapid growth of the commercial satellite-launch industry has the FAA moving ahead to take over some safety oversight duties from the Department of Defense. Someone has to be responsible for overseeing collision avoidance for objects in orbit, and traditionally that has been the military's role. But the FAA and the Pentagon appear to be ready to discuss moving that oversight to civilians, according to a Wall Street Journal report this week.

General aviation accident rates dropped in 2015 amid a rise in flight hours, according to figuresreported by the National Transportation Safety Board Thursday. The preliminary data reported for GA operations added up to 1,209 accidents last year, 229 of those involving 376 fatalities, including three people on the ground.

AVweb's search of news in aviation found announcements from Boeing, King Schools, Future and Active Pilot Advisors and Pacific Propeller International. Boeing has selected Rockwell Collins to provide its industry-leading touchscreen flight displays for all five flight deck displays on the new Boeing 777X. The advanced touchscreen capability will make the flight deck more intuitive for pilots and more efficient for flight operations.

ForeFlight is warning subscribers that it will discontinue support for old iPads and iPhones on Jan. 3, 2017.

Reno racer Thom Richard is glad to be alive after another airplane hit his disabled race plane, narrowly missing the top of his head. "The impact was violent and loud," Richard wrote on YouTube, a fact made clear by the cockpit video clearly showing the incident. Richard had stopped on the runway to check on an engine issue, and had signaled the starters to halt the launch process.