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The FAA seems intent on challenging long-established norms in terms of staffing levels, work hours and overtime management in many of its facilities as it copes with the “retirement bubble” of controllers hired in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan fired thousands of striking controllers. According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the agency […]

Even if youre still not convinced that diesels are the piston engine of the future for light aircraft, enough people apparently are that you might want to consider adding Thielert to your stock portfolio. The company recorded an impressive 60-percent increase in sales in the first quarter over the same period last year, and thats […]

The Cape Air Cessna 402 normally carries passengers to various Massachusetts and Florida locations, but the twin was to have arrived in Anchorage on Sunday to deliver a conservation message to the International Whaling Commissions annual meeting there. On board the Whale Plane, which is painted in a whale motif, are 50 drawings by children […]

Vero Beach and Indian River County voters may have the final say on whether Piper Aircraft stays in the community. On May 8, city and county officials agreed to split a $50 million incentive package aimed at keeping the aircraft manufacturer in town and building its PiperJet factory there. But it would appear the civic […]

The Defense Department is calling for proposals for a 1,000-pound aircraft that can stay aloft continuously for five years with a 99-percent probability. According to Government Executives Tech Insider blog, the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) issued a solicitation call last Wednesday for the project its calling the Vulture, after the energy-conserving bird that […]

While controllers in the U.S. often complain about the decades-old equipment they use, imagine if they had to work without radar. Thats the situation in Argentina, where the countrys only radar, near Buenos Aires, was hit by lightning on March 1 and hasnt been repaired. The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations says controllers […]

Barrington Irving, the 23-year-old Miami pilot whos trying to become the youngest pilot ever to circumnavigate the world, was, at this writing, in Calcutta and about half way through the trip. He left Miami on March 26 and had hoped to be back by now but weather and maintenance checks on his Columbia 400 have […]

Mexico and Canada have agreed to implement the FAAs vision for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) in concert with the U.S. to create a seamless continent-wide, space-based air traffic management system. At a North American Aviation Trilateral meeting in Quebec last week, all three nations agreed to proceed with implementation of required navigation […]

Operators of Cessna Caravans and Grand Caravans who want to fly them in known icing conditions will have to equip them with a “low airspeed awareness alert system” by Sept. 20, according to an Airworthiness Directive (AD) the FAA published last week. The system, developed by Cessna, costs about $8,200 per airplane to install and […]

Quiz #120: Something Old, Something NewAs the tsunami of change washes over the FAA, leaving it groping for a user-fee lifeline, pilots know to surf the crest, riding old terms, new ways and hope into aviation’s future.