Flight Training

St. Louis University’s Parks College has conferred the first-ever Ph.D. in Aviation in the U.S. to Damon Lercel. The school has been working on establishing the degree for 10 years and the new doctor says it’s an important milestone in aviation education. “The program offered not only an in-depth immersion in research, but also opportunities […]

A new law that will require first officers in regional jets to hold at least an ATP certificate is not yet official, but it’s already affecting aviation careers, Kent Lovelace, chair of the aviation department at the University of North Dakota, told AVweb this week. The law will take effect this August, whether or not […]

Pilots and operators who use SpiderTracks satellite monitoring devices in their aircraft can now register their device with the AFSS system to enable real-time tracking of their flights. In a news release Lockheed Martin, which operated the AFSS system, said by registering their SpiderTracks device, pilots can ensure that their flight progress is monitored from […]

Anyone who has been a flight student in the last two years is invited to take part in an online poll and share their experience and insight, AOPA said recently. The poll deadline is Aug. 9 and is open to all; you don’t need to be an AOPA member to participate. “This unique pilot poll […]

The nonprofit, volunteer-driven, non-emergency air transport organization Angel Flight West is inviting all other volunteer pilot organizations to use its new software and database system at no cost. The system facilitates management of personnel and flight requests and includes debrief capabilities “through a user-friendly, robust filtering system,” according to the group. By offering the system, […]

With major certification rules revisions on the book, Flight Design has decided to reset its certification schedule on the much-watched C4 four-place aircraft, its first venture into the world of certified aircraft. Although Flight Design had initially planned a more aggressive development schedule, revisions to CS23/FAR Part 23 now in the works in the U.S. […]

Diamond has introduced an airline training package for its DA40 that it says will jump-start students into the airliner environment and make the process more efficient. The Advanced Airline Trainer Concept was unveiled at Aero Friedrichshafen 2013 and the company says it will help schools and airlines mitigate the pilot shortage that many agree is […]

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are scheduled for integration into the national airspace system (NAS) in 2015, spurring job growth and a forecast economic impact of $13.6 billion by 2019. But while the growing industry will be adding to the overall workforce, the segment might also be changing the employment landscape for people seeking professional pilot […]

About 300 contract workers, most of whom provide training for air traffic controllers at the FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, have been laid off due to federal budget cuts. The workers are employed by Raytheon and subcontractor ISG, according to local news reports. “This is something that is happening because of the […]

So now that all the towers are closed, what are we to do? Will chaos reign? Have the dogs of doom been loosed? Not quite, but depending on where you fly, there could be some challenges ahead that will be unnerving. And just to put some numbers on it, the FAA-announced closures will shutter 149 […]