News

No one was seriously injured after the pilot of a hot air balloon was ejected from the basket and the two non-pilot passengers were left on their own. On an otherwise calm evening at an event in Chatsworth, Illinois, Thursday, a 20-30 mph gust of wind tore through a group of balloons getting ready to […]

The Aviation Funding Stability Act (AFSA), introduced by Reps. Peter DeFazio and Rick Larsen, Democrats on the House Aviation Subcommittee, would require Airport and Airway Trust Fund income to be paid over to the FAA, providing the air traffic agency with more direct access to revenue collected from ticket taxes. A key argument in favor […]

The task definition for slow flight in the Airmen Certification Standards (ACS) is changing, again. When the private pilot ACS were finalized in June 2016, the FAA changed the definition of slow flight to maintenance of “an airspeed, approximately 5-10 knots above the 1G stall speed, at which the airplane is capable of maintaining controlled […]

NASA has winnowed a list of over 18,300 applicants down to twelve astronaut candidates—ASCANs in the NASA terminology. “We look forward to the energy and talent of these astronauts fueling our exciting future of discovery,” said acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot. “Between expanding the crew on board the space station to conduct more research than […]

On Tuesday night, a Piper Navajo landing on Runway 7/25 at Orlando Executive Airport struck an alligator. The piston twin suffered damage to the wing, according to Brad Pierce, a pilot who posted information about the accident to Facebook. The 11-foot alligator was killed. While rare, alligator strikes are not a new occurrence. The FAA’s […]

Relations between pilots at Columbia County Airport and the neighboring Meadowsgreen Golf Course in Ghent, New York have been strained since a pilot reported a golfer taking aim and striking an aircraft in flight with a golf ball ten years ago. Earlier this spring, the owner of the golf course, Carmen Nero, escalated the conflict […]

Flexible, twistable wing flaps that may improve flight efficiency were tested by NASA researchers in a recent series of flights. The Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge tests were flown at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, based on knowledge gained from the project’s prior flight tests in 2014 and 2015. “We’re twisting the inboard […]

The aviation community is continuing to respond to the Trump administration’s proposal on Monday to privatize the air traffic control system. FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta released a brief statement, saying he supports “looking at new ways to help us provide stable and sufficient funding to more rapidly modernize our system, while maintaining the highest […]

The FAA on Tuesday published its final Airworthiness Directive for certain NavWorx ADS-B devices, and included lengthy responses to issues raised by AOPA, EAA and others. The final AD (PDF) requires owners to remove, disable or modify the ADS-B unit. Removing or disabling the ADS-B unit, or revising the software, will take about one work […]

Both the FAA and EASA have certified the newest version of the Skyhawk, Textron announced on Tuesday. The Cessna Turbo Skyhawk JT-A features Garmin G1000 NXi avionics and the 155-HP turbodiesel Continental CD-155 engine. The maximum range of 963 nautical miles is a 50 percent increase compared to the standard Skyhawk, and maximum speed is […]