News

While the National Airspace System remains open and accessible to all aircraft, the government shutdown, which began Saturday morning, could affect thousands of owners, operators and pilots if it persists. Air traffic control and all the associated operations are designated as essential services but most of the FAA’s ground-bound services will be shuttered during the […]

Former Major League pitcher Roy Halladay had three drugs in his system when his Icon A5 crashed off the coast of Florida in November. The retired ballplayer had trace amounts of morphine and amphetamine along with an intoxicating level of the sedative zolpidem, commonly known as Ambien, in his bloodstream according to an autopsy report […]

Emirates Airlines has extended the production life of the A380 with a firm order for 20 aircraft and an option for 16 more. Airbus had run out of orders for the aircraft and was threatening to end production by 2020 but the new $16 billion order buys it time to sell airlines on the moneymaking […]

Australian lifeguards used a drone to drop a flotation device to some swimmers in trouble and are claiming a world first for the resulting rescue. Two teenage boys got caught in a riptide off Lennox Head in New South Wales and were being pounded by surf a half mile offshore when lifeguards were alerted on […]

Students of all ages who are working toward a career in aviation can find scholarships available from a wide range of sources. GAMA said last week it is now accepting applications from high school students for its Edward W. Stimpson “Aviation Excellence” Award, named for the organization’s founder. The $2,000 award will go to a […]

Pilots may think that talking to ATC or using ADS-B protects them from midair collisions, but mistakes still can happen, and they can be fatal. AOPA’s Air Safety Institute is taking on the midair threat in a big way, offering in-person seminars at 48 sites across the U.S. this year. “What we hope pilots take […]

Virgin Galactic is ramping up its test-flight program in Mojave, with a goal to bring tourists to space later this year. Late last week, VSS Unity, the passenger-carrying part of Virgin’s space vehicle, completed its seventh glide flight, after a break of several months. During that downtime, Virgin’s engineers worked on testing and analysis, and […]

In 2016, the FAA terminated its certification of certain ELTs manufactured by Ameri-King, and this week, Orolia announced it has developed a new version of its Integra model that has been specially adapted and packaged to make it easy to replace the affected ELTs. The new Kannad Ameri-Fit pack is available through Aircraft Spruce, Mid-Continent […]

The NTSB issued its final report on Tuesday following its investigation of the Bell 525 crash in July 2016 that killed two pilots during a test flight in Texas. The board cited a “severe vibration” of the helicopter, “which was not predicted during development,” as the probable cause of the crash. The vibration led to […]

Anyone can make a paper airplane in just a few seconds, but the meticulous paper model of a Boeing 777-300ER built by designer Luca Iaconi-Stewart took thousands of hours over nearly 10 years. “I really enjoy the sense of calm and mediation that it brings when I really get into the building process,” Iaconi-Stewart told […]