FAA and Regs

The FAA appears to be ramping up its promotion of ADS-B equipage now that the clock is really ticking on getting the gear. With less than two years to go until the Jan. 1, 2020, mandate, the agency is appealing to pilots’ safety sense to encourage them to get it done. The following video, featuring […]

Current laws limit the ability of the FAA to regulate drone operations, to the detriment of safety, according to a joint letter to Congress released by ALPA, NATCA and Airlines for America on Tuesday. “Small drones are very difficult to visually acquire by pilots in flight or by air traffic controllers in the tower,” the […]

President Trump’s budget plan was released on Monday, including a proposal to privatize the air traffic control system, and aviation advocates were quick to respond. “The idea of handing over the nation’s ATC system to what amounts to an airline cartel … is bad policy,” said NBAA President Ed Bolen. AOPA said the proposal doesn’t […]

Airbus has flown its A3 Vahana autonomous electric VTOL aircraft, completing two short test flights in Oregon last Wednesday and Thursday. The aircraft is the test article for what Airbus hopes will become fleets of pilotless tiltrotors carrying passengers and cargo from point to point. It wants to have a working prototype by 2020 and […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine and is published twice a month. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause in the NTSB’s web site at www.ntsb.gov. Final […]

The FAA has proposed an AD involving 14,653 U.S. Cessna 172, 182, 206 and 210 models after cracks were found in the lower area of the forward cabin doorpost bulkhead. That’s where the wing strut attaches and the AD requires repetitive inspections of the area. After one owner reported finding cracks, more inspections revealed them […]

Aircraft owners who have gone through the process of upgrading for ADS-B, and applied for the FAA’s $500 rebate, must submit all their paperwork by Feb. 15 to complete their claim. After the equipment is installed, the aircraft must be flown in ADS-B-controlled airspace before receiving the rebate. That flight must last at least 30 […]

When an aircraft designer is faced with the problem of tailoring control surface hinge moments as well as the effectiveness of and force required to operate those surfaces, she or he has several available design tools. Two of the most effective are types of aerodynamic balances—the horn and the external-airfoil balance. Horn Balances The horn […]

Michael Huerta, who finished his term as FAA administrator early this month, has joined Macquarie Capital as a senior advisor, the firm has announced. “Michael has an exceptional reputation as a federal administrator in U.S. transportation,” said Nick Butcher, a leader of the Infrastructure and Energy Group at Macquarie.”His deep industry experience, relationships and insights […]

The FAA on Tuesday issued an Airworthiness Directive (PDF) that affects nearly 19,000 Piper PA-28 airplanes, but compliance is fairly simple and cheap. The AD requires aircraft owners to inspect the fuel-tank selector cover to verify the fuel-tank selector placards are located at the proper positions. If not, the placards must be replaced. Piper told […]