Search Results for: vfr

NextGen satellite technology will go online in the Gulf of Mexico in December, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at a news conference on Monday. The ADS-B system will cover 240,000 square miles. Helicopters that provide services to more than 9,000 oil rigs in the Gulf now must operate VFR only when they fly more than […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, we asked AVweb readers for their opinion on the FAA’s proposed revisions to the Hudson River Exclusion Area (EA). AOPA and NBAA have already expressed approval of the FAA recommendations, and now a whopping majority of AVweb readers add their voices to the chorus: […]

The FAA’s reaction to the fatal midair collision that on Aug. 8 killed all nine aboard both a Piper Saratoga and Eurocopter is receiving support from both AOPA and NATCA. “I believe that the FAA’s task force recommendations meet or exceed the NTSB’s on every issue,” wrote Eddie Kragh, NATCA representative to the task force […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, we asked if more manufacturers should be granted the same latitude as Boeing to self-certify parts and processes – or perhaps even wider powers of self-certification. Judging by the response to last week’s Question, reader opinions on this subject run the gamut. A narrow […]

The FAA is proposing restructuring the low-level VFR airspace around Manhattan in reaction to last month’s collision between a sightseeing helicopter and a PA32 over the Hudson River. The agency says it wants to separate traffic flying over the river from aircraft flying to and from heliports and seaplane bases by altitude. This will include […]

Continuing its let’s-really-jump-the-gun-on-this-one response to the Hudson River midair collision on August 8th, the board last week issued a set of recommendations to the FAA. This was done well before any conclusions about the cause of the accident have been reached, making me wonder if the board has become more politically charged than it used […]

The NTSB Thursday recommended (among other things) that the FAA create a special flight rules area (with vertical separation for heli and fixed wing traffic) and pilot training specific to what is currently the Hudson River class B exclusion area (a.k.a. VFR corridor). The NTSB issued five operational changes delivered in the form of safety […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Following the midair collision of a helicopter and a Piper Saratoga, calls have gone out for tighter regulation in New York City’s Hudson River VFR corridor. Last Thursday, we asked AVweb readers for their opinion. Your answers were neck-and-neck, with 45% of those who responded saying […]

The FAA has convened a New York Airspace Working Group that will review current operating procedures in the VFR corridor over the Hudson and East Rivers and recommend safety improvements to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt by the end of next week. FAA air traffic and safety experts will make up the panel. They will solicit […]

Each week, we run a sampling of the letters received to our editorial inbox here in AVmail. One letter that’s particularly relevant, informative, or otherwise compelling will headline this section as our “Letter of the Week,” and we’ll send the author an official AVweb baseball cap as a “thank you” for interacting with us (and […]