The editors of Business Jet Traveler magazine have assembled a special section on BJTonline.com, where you’ll find variously whimsical, provocative and informative lists of everything from hotels to headphones.

Our staff, freelance contributors and past cover subjects have all contributed to this feature, and I suspect you’ll agree with me that their collective efforts have produced some of the juiciest summer reading out there. Every time I look through these lists, I learn something new or discover something to add to my Master Bucket List of places to visit and things to experience.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to send us your reactions to our lists–and your own lists–via the comment section or by emailing me directly.

Meanwhile, it’s time for me to cross the writing of this message off my list of things to do today–if only I can find that list, which I’m confident is buried somewhere in that big pile of paper on the corner of my desk.

Jennifer Leach English, Editorial Director, Business Jet Traveler and BJTonline.com, email: jenglish@ainonline.com

Observers at the 611 Institute airfield at Chengdu were treated to the first glimpses of the long-predicted second prototype (2002) of the Chengdu J-20 stealthy fighter early this month. In the days that followed the aircraft undertook a number of high-speed taxi trials, culminating in a first flight on May 16.

Days before, the first prototype (2001) is reported to have deployed to the Chinese flight-test establishment at Yanliang near the city of Xian, signaling the beginning of a new phase of flight trials. Once factory trials have been completed, the second aircraft is expected to join the first-born at Yanliang.

The second aircraft exhibits no major differences from prototype 2001, which first flew on January 11 last year, apart from the relocation of the nose pitot probe to the extreme tip of the radome, rather than being mounted above it. At this stage of the program, however, it is unlikely either aircraft has radar installed.

The second prototype also appears to have some undercarriage modifications: all photos of 2001 show it with the doors left open when the main landing gear is deployed, whereas 2002 can close its doors.

On May 4 Boeing flew for the first time an F-16 that the company has converted for pilotless flight under the U.S. Air Force’s Full-Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) program. The flight took place at Cecil Field, near Jacksonville, Florida. A Boeing test pilot took the aircraft up to 41,000 feet during the 66-minute sortie.

In March 2010 Boeing was awarded a multi-year contract to convert surplus F-16s to QF-16 standard for the FSAT mission. The Air Force’s stocks of QF-4 Phantom targets are running low, and the 1970s-vintage F-4 has become increasingly less representative of modern fighter threats. The availability of large numbers of early-variant F-16s made it a natural choice for a fourth-generation FSAT.

FSATs retain full manned controls, and are often flown manned for trials and exercises in which no weapons are employed. Under the QF-16 conversion, however, they are equipped with systems that allow remotely piloted control at the U.S. Air Force’s two missile test ranges at Tyndall AFB, Fla. (Gulf Range Drone Control System) and Holloman AFB, N.M. (Drone Formation Control System, White Sands Missile Range). Boeing holds options to produce up to 126 QF-16s. The first six are scheduled to go to Tyndall AFB for evaluation in October before operations begin at Holloman AFB.

Serbian company UTVA is developing a light attack aircraft, known as the Kobac (Sparrowhawk). It is based on the Lasta-95 piston-powered trainer that has been sold to the Iraqi air force, and was formerly known as the Lasta-TP. Designed by UTVA in conjunction with the military technical institute and Yugoimport-SDPR, the turboprop-powered Kobac is being offered for weapons training and counter-insurgency roles. Serbian defense minister Dragan Sutanovac revealed the existence of the project on April 2 during a ceremony at UTVA’s Pancevo factory, and AIN obtained further details at last week’s Sofex special forces show in Amman, Jordan.

Although the Kobac is based on the Lasta airframe, there are numerous modifications to suit its new roles. The most obvious is the 1,000-shp turboprop engine in a lengthened nose. No details of engine type have been given, but it is likely to be a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A. The rear fuselage is lengthened and a new fin has been designed to handle the increased power. Tip tanks add 420 pounds of fuel to the internal load of 344 pounds, raising endurance to approximately five hours.

While the Lasta-95 has basic armament capability for weapons training, with two hardpoints for gun pods or light bombs, the Kobac is designed for full combat operations. It has five hardpoints for the carriage of more than 1,100 pounds of stores. All four underwing pylons can carry freefall bombs, seven- or 16-tube rocket launchers and gun pods for 0.5-inch or 20-mm weapons. The outer wing pylons can mount air-to-air or air-to-surface missiles, or racks for practice bombs. The centerline hardpoint can carry an electronic warfare pod.

UTVA has redesigned the Kobac’s cockpit area with a new canopy offering better visibility than the Lasta-95. It has been designed ergonomically to be fully compatible with 90 percent of the pilot population and safe-compatible with 99 percent. The rear seat is raised by approximately four inches to give the back-seater good forward vision. Both positions are fitted with Martin-Baker Mk 15B lightweight ejection seats. A modern three-screen cockpit is installed, with a large central multifunction display for tactical displays and sensor imagery. Control of the system is by Hotas (hands on throttle and stick). An attack and navigation system has been devised with sensors mounted in a low-profile pallet under the center fuselage.

Following the unveiling of the Kobac technology demonstrator last month, the aircraft requires further completion work before it can fly. Yugoimport-SDPR says it expects to fly the airplane “within some months.”

Thales will provide its high-performance inertial reference system (HPIRS) and GPS to support all-weather operations by the new Embraer KC-390 military transport. The French avionics manufacturer described the new-generation HPIRS as a “technological breakthrough” in inertial and GPS navigation, combining advantages of a civil-certified product with the performance required for a military aircraft. It is the company’s first HPIRS contract for a military transport aircraft.

“Thales HPIRS and GPS will provide unique capability to the KC-390 and will contribute to the success of the program. After a rigorous selection process, Thales’ solution was clearly the best one for the KC-390,” stated Eduardo Bonini Santos Pinto, Embraer Defense and Security senior vice president of operations.

Thales specializes in ring-laser gyro inertial reference systems and embedded global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. The company is also supplying the air data and inertial reference unit (ADIRU)–a hybrid inertial and GPS solution–of the in-development Airbus A350XWB commercial widebody. The tri-axis laser-gyro technology of the HPIRS is the same as that used for Ariane and Vega rockets as well as for the A350. The Thales TopStar 200 GNSS receiver is used in the multi-mode receiver of the Airbus A320 series and A400M airlifter, as well as the Sikorsky S-76.

Thales said the HPIRS system architecture will provide a significant reduction in life cycle and maintenance costs. Its modular design will be scalable for “a large range” of civil and military aircraft.

Embraer and the Brazilian government launched the KC-390 in April 2009 as a replacement for Brazilian air force C-130s. The aircraft’s flight deck is based on the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite developed for business and regional jets. Embraer is jointly developing the KC-390 with Chile for that country’s air force. Initial flight tests are planned for 2014 and deliveries in 2016.