News

External Tank 94, a 69,000-pound artifact from NASA’s space shuttle program, is en route to a permanent home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The tank, which was one of 138 built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is the last of its kind. ET-94 left its storage site there this […]

Ten aviation advocacy groups submitted a letter to U.S. senators this week, asking them to oppose any changes in the FAA Reauthorization Act that would allow local and state governments to create their own rules about drones. Allowing that kind of “patchwork” of laws could “erode, rather than enhance, air safety,” the letter says. It […]

Advocates converged on Washington this week to push for passage of the Safe Skies Act, which would extend to cargo pilots the same rest requirements mandated for pilots who fly with passengers. “This is not a partisan issue, it’s a science-based, common-sense issue,” said Chesley Sullenberger, who has been advocating for the act, at a […]

The Gustaf III airport at St. Bart’s, in the Caribbean, is well known as a challenging one for pilots and a scenic spot for planespotters, but last week, one enthusiast with a camera was caught on video in a close call. The photographer was focused on shooting a single-engine airplane on approach, when another photographer […]

The FAA today published a final rule that allows student pilots to log up to 20 hours in flight simulators, finally reaching the end of a long and twisted regulatory path. The current rules allow only 10 hours to be logged, although many flight schools had permission from the FAA to log up to 20. […]

As Sun ‘n Fun drew to a close, Aspen Avionics announced yet another encouraging development in the avionics market: compatibility with Garmin’s new line of ADS-B systems. Through a newly approved STC, Aspen’s Evolution-series PFD and MFD retrofit display systems can display ADS-B weather and traffic when connected with Garmin’s GDL88-series dual-band ADS-B receiver. The […]

Cirrus brought a mock-up of their final Vision jet interior to Sun ‘n Fun last week, but if you missed it, that’s because Cirrus, as usual, had no exhibit of their own in Lakeland — the mock-up was hosted at the Whelan tent. “The greatest thing about our jet interior is the modular seating design,” […]

The FAA issued two direct-to-final-rule Airworthiness Directives today that affect general aviation airplanes. A Cessna AD addresses the elevator trim tabs in about 5,000 twin-engine T310Q, 310Q, and 402B aircraft. Textron already has issued a service bulletin, but allows up to a year to make the fix — the FAA said today it is shortening […]

A Denver man was injured Friday when he lost control of his jetpack. Nick Macomber was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries when he fell from about 20 feet to an asphalt parking lot. Macomber is vice president of Jetpack International, which has developed a hydrogen peroxide-fueled device that will keep a man airborne for about 30 […]

Swift Fuels has signed a deal with global aviation fuel wholesaler Avfuel Corporation to distribute its 94 MON unleaded aviation fuel. The company announced the deal Friday during Sun ‘n Fun and says the deal is “a framework agreement to serve as a template allowing equitable distribution processes amongst the major avgas distributors for Swift […]