FAA and Regs

Faced with an ultimatum from the FAA, EAA Chairman Jack Pelton says his organization will pay the $500,000 fee requested by the FAA if that’s the only way to guarantee that EAA’s AirVenture 2013 is fully staffed regarding air traffic controllers. According to Pelton, the FAA’s negotiations amounted to a demand for the funds and […]

Surf Air, which aims to offer private air travel in PC-12s among four California cities for a flat monthly fee, has received FAA approval to start flying. Flights will start June 12, with service between San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles. The company also said it has closed on a round of funding […]

Eleven aviation advocacy groups Wednesday cosigned a letter to the House Appropriations Committee seeking financial support for the FAA contract tower program through 2014. Signatories included AOPA’s Craig Fuller, NBAA’s Ed Bolen, and leading members of the National Air Transport Association, Air Carrier Association of America, Regional Airline Association and others. Currently 251 airports participate […]

EAA has been put on notice by the FAA that it wants the organization to cover the extra costs of controllers for the annual extravaganza. What do you think? Who should foot the ATC bill at AirVenture? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results Want to see the current breakdown of responses? Take a moment […]

In an open letter to the general aviation community sent just before the Memorial Day weekend, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta asked each pilot to “make sure you’re ready — really ready — to fly.” The letter (PDF) noted that GA accident rates have remained “stubbornly flat” in recent years and asked everyone in the GA […]

One of two A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” close ground support attack jets Wednesday downed two protective static cables above power lines that cross Stockton Lake, Missouri, the Air Force Reserve has confirmed. Neither pilot was injured and both jets returned safely to the base. The single-seat twin-engine jets were operated by the Reserve’s 442nd Fighter […]

In a study of amateur-built aircraft completed last year, the NTSB cited a need for transition training to help new owners safely fly their airplanes, and this week Sonex said it has developed a training program for its fleet. Sonex said the FAA has authorized the company to provide flight training for pilots who are […]

With the busy summer flying season upon us, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta on Tuesday met with leaders from EAA, AOPA, GAMA, NBAA and others in the general aviation community to discuss actions to enhance safety and reduce accidents. The GA fatal accident rate has remained flat over the past five years, Huerta noted. “We cannot […]

Flyers’ Rights, an advocacy group for airline passengers, said on Tuesday the FAA should restrict 787 flights to within two hours of an airport “until the safety of its lithium-ion batteries is proven.” The restriction wouldn’t affect flights over the continental U.S. or most flights to Europe, but trans-Pacific and transpolar routes would be off […]

Comments have closed on the FCC’s proposal to phase out 121.5 MHz ELTs but a group of senators has made it a political issue. Five members of the Senate GA Caucus, led by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., have written the head of the FCC, Julius Genachowski, urging him to drop the plan. The senators argue […]