FAA and Regs

The FAA Thursday released its UAS Roadmap and Comprehensive Plan to integrate unmanned aerial systems, or UAS (also known as UAVs or drones) in the national airspace. The release addresses current and future policies, regulations, technologies and procedures that will allow operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in the nations airspace with emphasis on extensive integration. […]

The FAAs processes combined with financial constraints have created a bottleneck that has held up roughly 1,000 certifications, industry representatives told a House aviation subcommittee last month – and it could get worse, they said. In the past year alone, the certification office lost resources due to the sequester, instituted a hiring freeze, and had […]

The FAA is providing airlines with implementation guidance to expand passenger use of portable electronic devices during all phases of flight, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said Thursday, but there will be restrictions. The FAA was advised by a committee, which determined that the effects of electronic devices not operating via WiFi or cell tower posed […]

The office that creates over a thousand nautical charts turned some heads in aviation when it announced on Oct. 22 that the end will come for paper nautical charts on April 13 and thereafter nautical charts will only be available through various methods of electronic distribution and print on demand. In response to the announcement, […]

New rest rules for pilots approved by the European Parliament Wednesday and now seeking approval of the EU Council of Ministers may face another hurdle — BALPA, a British pilots union, says it is preparing a legal challenge, Express.co.uk reported Thursday. BALPA believes the new rules could create circumstances that would allow for pilots to […]

The cost of fuel is a constant concern for pilots, and Jack Pelton told AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli at AOPA Summit this week that EAA will do what it can to help control those costs and keep airplanes flying. Pelton also discussed EAA’s conflict with FAA over paying for controller staff at AirVenture. Duration: File Size: […]

Legislation that would update FAR Part 23 and streamline aircraft certification, the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013, has now passed through the Senate and will go back to the House of Representatives where it is expected to pass (again). The House passed its version of the bill back in July with a 411-0 vote […]

Aircraft sales can’t be completed during the government’s partial shutdown because the FAA’s registry office is not considered an essential function and has been closed, the Wichita Eagle reported Friday. The Eagle says the General Aircraft Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has polled its members and deliveries of 12 new airplanes scheduled for the first two days […]

Furlough of FAA aviation safety inspectors and NTSB accident investigators may put the country in default of its obligations under an aviation treaty that sets standards for safety for ICAO, former FAA lawyer Loretta Alkalay told Forbes magazine this week. The U.S. failure to approve a federal budget and subsequent partial government shutdown has furloughed […]

The NTSB Thursday announced it has issued a Final Rule applicable to the aviation certificate enforcement appeals process and that it is also issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to extend one of that rule’s benefits to pilots involved in emergency enforcement cases. The Final Rule allows pilots subjected to certificate enforcement to appeal to […]