Aviation News

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced today (June 12) it has appointed six new members of the FAA Management Advisory Committee (MAC) and reappointed four members of the 13-member complement. The MAC mandate is to advise the FAA’s senior management on policy, spending, long-range planning and regulatory matters, according to a DOT statement. The committee […]

Dozens of NATO fighter pilots congregated last week at Ramstein Air Base in Germany for a U.S.-led exercise designed to hone their dogfighting skills. The first-of-its-kind competition, dubbed “Ramstein 1v1,” challenged combat pilots from the U.S., U.K., Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany. The meeting was assembled in light of Russian ground gains […]

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced today (June 12) the first set of five participants has completed the 2024 New York-area Barrington Irving Technical Training School (BITTS) curriculum. All graduates of program will be accepting positions with local Atlantic and Signature FBOs. The 12-week program was founded by Barrington Irving, who holds a Guinness […]

Archer Aviation announced today it completed the first successful transition flight of its Midnight electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft on June 8. In transitioning from vertical takeoff mode to wing-borne flight, the six front-facing electric motors tilt forward as it picks up speed to power the aircraft like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. As […]

An effort to speed up the transition to unleaded avgas has emerged in a state where elected officials are on record as trying to delay it. In an op-ed published in the Anchorage Daily News, the Alaska Community Action on Toxics says a drop-in replacement for 100LL is available now (G100UL) and two others are […]

The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded a $105 million contract to Merlin to build virtually autonomously operated C-130J Super Hercules transports. Although the description of the resulting aircraft is that they have “reduced aircrew capability,” one of the requirements for the contract is that they be able to fly takeoff to touchdown without […]

The shattered radome and cracked windscreens of an Austrian Airlines A320 got viral coverage Sunday after the plane encountered hail from a cell on approach to Vienna-Scwechat Airport. The flight was on its way from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, when it hit the weather, which the airline said didn’t show up on the crew’s weather […]

An air traffic controller warned the pilot of a Harbour Air DHC2 Beaver floatplane of a potential conflict with a boat as the pilot got ready to take off for a sightseeing trip around Vancouver harbor last Saturday afternoon. The aircraft and boat collided a short time later, injuring three on the boat and heavily […]

WestJet has introduced a bottom-tiered economy fare it calls UltraBasic that, among other things, denies participants a carry-on bag. The new fare class, which has unleashed a storm of online backlash, is an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. “UltraBasic has been designed to both expedite the boarding process and provide our most […]

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space tourism vehicle has been retired after its seventh flight on Saturday, and it will be at least two years before replacement craft are ready. Unity took a pilot and four passengers to an altitude of 54.4 miles, just shy of the Kármán line (62 miles) commonly considered to the be […]