FAA and Regs

Only a few days after losing yet another round in the legal slugfest that continues over Santa Monica Airport, opponents of the airport are turning up the political pressure on the city council, according to the Santa Monica Lookout. Municipal elections are coming this fall and the well-organized anti-airport forces are making it clear to […]

The FAA has established 12 Centers of Excellence to pursue research into safety, alternative fuels, airport operations and other aviation topics, and now the agency has announced its next COE will focus on training the next generation of aviation professionals. Teams from the University of Oklahoma and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will lead the new Air […]

The FAA has issued its final rule on the controversial airworthiness directive that will require the replacement of cylinders on 6,200 high-displacement Continental engines. It takes effect on Sept. 15. The AD, which scraps thousands of aftermarket cylinders made by ECi, was initially proposed in 2013 for 520, 550 and some 470 model Continentals that […]

The International Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (IAOPA) is pressing the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to adopt the so-called driver’s license medical as the standard for all private pilots. At the recent World Assembly held in Chicago just before AirVenture 2016, the 63 delegates from 28 member nations passed the following resolution: “The IAOPA […]

The FAA administrator comes to EAA AirVenture just about every summer, and as a rule the main thrust of the current officeholder’s speech is pretty predictable — whoever is in the job will talk about how great GA is and how much they support it, but how hard and slow it is to change any […]

When the FAA changed its certification process in April to include TSA security vetting, one unintended consequence was that the tradition of student pilots flying their first solo on their birthday fell by the wayside — until today. Acting on a request from GA advocates including AOPA and EAA, the FAA said today it has […]

Small piston aircraft were exempted from today’s “endangerment finding” issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but the finding means new regulations will be forthcoming to target greenhouse-gas emissions from many jet engines, the agency said. “Aircraft are the third largest contributor to GHG emissions in the U.S. transportation sector, and these emissions are expected […]

The FAA has developed new protocols for ATC to use when telling pilots about runway conditions that might affect their landing. The new standards, which take effect Oct. 1, are meant to reduce the risk of runway overrun accidents and incidents due to runway contamination caused by weather and other factors, the FAA said. The […]

Third-class medical reform was signed into law today after Congress approved the changes earlier this week as part of the FAA’s short-term authorization bill. GA organizations including EAA and AOPA have updated their outreach efforts to explain the upcoming changes, which aren’t expected to take effect for a year to give the FAA time to […]

Third-class medical reform is on its way to becoming law after the Senate voted this afternoon to approve the measure as part of a short-term funding bill for the FAA. The legislation, which won House approval on Monday, is expected to be signed by President Obama before the FAA’s current authorization expires on Friday. Many […]