Flight Training

The pace of technological change can be excruciatingly slow sometimes … we’ve been waiting eons now for battery-powered airplanes that never need maintenance … but it’s relentless. I’m reminded of the college classmate who told me, way back in the last century, that she was making a smart choice studying to be a keypunch operator, […]

A bill now under consideration in the U.S. Senate would provide grants to flight schools to help them recruit veterans to train to become commercial airline pilots. The bipartisan American Aviator Act, introduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and John Hoeven, R-N.D., proposes to authorize up to $5 million per year to fund the program […]

Forget that shiny new octocopter, a Bay-area startup wants to make your Cessna 172 autonomous. XWing says it has created “plug and play” software that can make most light aircraft fly autonomously. Details on how it works have not been released but the technology will revolve around “sensing, reasoning and control,” according to aviation tech […]

The Air Force is hoping to ease its pilot shortage by speeding up the training of new pilots using virtual reality simulators. The first class of 20 Pilot Training Next (PTN) candidates, 15 officers and five enlisted personnel, finished their course on Friday and 13 of the officers passed. Two officers washed out and were […]

AVweb’s weekly news roundup found reports on the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals’ Annual Convention and Career Expo, new scholarships for female helicopter pilots, a warranty extension on Superior Air Parts Millennium Cylinders and a service center network expansion for RAJAY Turbo Products. The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) will be holding its 42nd […]

The Delta Air Lines Foundation has awarded $350,000 in grant money to nine aviation maintenance training programs across the U.S., joining a growing list of major aviation companies that have recently taken steps to address predicted shortages of qualified pilots, crew and aviation maintenance personnel. According to Delta, the grant money will help with curriculum […]

Airbus announced the launch of its ab initio Pilot Cadet Training Program last week. The company says the program is designed to “help meet global demand for pilots over the next 20 years.” Airbus’ partner for the program is Escuela de Aviacion Mexico (EAM), which is located close to the Airbus Mexico Training Center in […]

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has announced a new program to help its members develop flying clubs at their local airports. The Flying Club Initiative includes grant funding for club startup and guidance in a wide variety of club-related areas including obtaining aircraft and establishing bylaws. Clubs founded through the program will operate as nonprofit […]

The FAA will be making some major changes to address delays in pilot practical test scheduling reported by flight training providers across the country, according to the Flight School Association of North America (FSANA). A group led by FSANA met with senior FAA staff in Oklahoma City to discuss solutions to the testing delays last […]

Using your torso to fly a drone is easier and more precise than a joystick, Swiss researchers have found. “It’s immersive, and easy to learn, and gives you the feeling that you are flying,” says Jenifer Miehlbradt, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. The researchers’ aim was to design a control method […]