briefs

You’d never guess from meeting the unfailingly polite, soft-spoken and friendly older gentleman that Scott Crossfield was once the hottest stick on the planet. It was 50 years ago last Sunday that “Scotty” took the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket to 1,290 mph and became the first to hit Mach 2. But Crossfield admits there was more […]

As the 100th anniversary of manned flight looms, some navel-gazers are now suggesting the future of flight is with drones. “It’s no longer ‘yes or no.’ The technology and the systems are accepted,” Daryl Davidson, head of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), told CNN. “These things are here to stay and they […]

They’ve cancelled the meals and the movies and dollar-crunching airlines are now targeting airport costs in the struggle to stay in business. Trouble is, the same things that have hurt the carriers are also putting the bite on airports, who pass along their increased costs to the airlines. “The trends are horrible,” Laura Einspanier, who’s […]

If you’re in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4, this might be worth a look. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) will unveil its 70-foot Falcon rocket at a splashy ceremony with a reception to follow at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The rocket will be hauled in on its mobile launcher. However, the launcher […]

Today might not be the best for traveling in Australia. The nation’s airline pilots were threatening to throttle back near airports, ostensibly to prevent colliding with light aircraft they claim have been thrown into their airspace by new airspace designations and regulations, which, incidentally, are modeled after the U.S. system. “People who are probably the […]

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_______COLUMNS CEO of the Cockpit #26: The Most Complicated Airline Procedure — Bidding For ChristmasAVweb’s CEO of the Cockpit has flown his share of Christmas trips. This year he is off for the day but has no shortage of advice to more junior pilots on how to spend the Yuletide at home.

___________________________________________________________________ Reader feedback on AVweb’s news coverage and feature articles: https://avweb.com/avmail/ Reader mail this week about the air tour NPRM, the Washington FRZ/ADIZ, new noise regulations and more.

You know you’re having a bad day when the tail of your helicopter flies past the cockpit. The day gets considerably better when you get to tell the tale to friends and family. An instructor and student walked away without a scratch after they apparently severed the tail of the MD-500 with the chopper’s own […]