Administration Remembers Those Lost Along The Way

NASA's Day Of Remembrance is this Thursday, on January 27th. The day is the time to reflect on the sacrifices of those lost in space exploration, and this year marks 55 years to the day since the Apollo 1 tragedy. Bill Nelson, administrator, will lead an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, starting with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Separate observances for the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia crews will follow, and later in the day deputy admin Pam Melroy, and associate admin Bob Cabana will moderate a panel discussion on safety. Their panel will air on the NASA channel, website, and app at 15:30 EST, focusing on the lessons learned from loss.

Signs Training Deal for Pilot, Maintenance Instruction

JetPack Aviation, the manufacturer of the small VTOL Speeder aircraft, has signed a landmark deal with an unnamed military customer in Southeast Asia for pilot and maintenance training. The Speeder is a small, turbine-powered, fully stabilized VTOL "flying motorcycle". The end result is hoped to be a variable manned/unmanned combat scout and courier, similar in function to terrestrial motorcycles in military trim. The company notes that the deal legitimizes the hoverbike industry, one still plagued by vaporware and promises. The training agreement came alongside an $800,000 order for 2 JB12 JetPacks, as well as initial training services for 2 pilots and 2 maintenance technicians at its California factory, with options for more.

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The Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has sent a letter to dealers and representatives, announcing the end of continuous operations. The company has apparently seen lean times lately, and its owners have directed the company to declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Enstrom will leave behind nearly 1,500 unsupported aircraft around the world, unless the assets are bought out. Dornier Seawings has purchased the Flywhale seaplane program from its German parent, Uniplanes GmbH, in a package that includes all intellectual property, production assets, design data, drawings, manuals, tooling, and molds. The acquisition positions the Flywhale FW650 as a future Dornier product in line with the company's Seawings and Seastar CD2 aircraft as the DS-2C. The battle for market supremacy in space continues, and a new front is seeing competition: Entertainment studios in low-Earth orbit. Space

Also: Where Is The Flight Instruction Community Right Now... And Why?

ANN is proud to work with some of the best in the industry... in a number of disciplines... but only a few folks have the pedigree boasted by Ace CFI, Rod Machado. A prolific speaker, author, presenter, and all-around funny guy, Rod has built up an immense following in the flight instruction community for just a few primary reasons... he's one of the best in the field, he is a master communicator and writer, and he knows how to put forth an engaging and often humorous take on aviation's most complex topics. Rod is an Airline Transport Pilot with all fixed wing-flight powered instructor ratings. He started instructing student pilots full-time in 1973 and taught ground schools (often to classrooms of 200) starting in 1975. Machado has taught hundreds to fly from the right seat as a Certified Flight Instructor, even more thousands as a classroom instructor, some 350,000+ via 400+ aviation

Also: Where Is The Flight Instruction Community Right Now... And Why?

ANN is proud to work with some of the best in the industry... in a number of disciplines... but only a few folks have the pedigree boasted by Ace CFI, Rod Machado. A prolific speaker, author, presenter and all-around funny guy, Rod has build up an immense following in the flight instruction community for just a few primary reasons... he's one of the best in the field, he is a master communicator and writer, and he knows how to put forth an engaging and often humorous take on aviation's most complex topics. Rod is an Airline Transport Pilot with all fixed wing-flight powered instructor ratings. He started instructing student pilots full time in 1973, and taught grounds schools (often to classrooms of 200) starting in 1975. Machado has taught hundreds to fly from the right seat as a Certified Flight Instructor, even more thousands as a classroom instructor, some 350,000+ via 400+

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The first prosecution of an airman operating without a certificate has been filed, with the filing of indictments for wire fraud and uncertificated airmanship. Matthew Jones of Spanish Fork, Utah, is accused of falsely presenting himself as the owner and operator of Noctem Aviation and a Certified Flight Instructor for fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Jones stands accused of defrauding prospective students by presenting himself through text messages and Instagram posts to be a capable and legal instructor for the purposes of obtaining funding for his daily living expenses. Delta Airlines has notified prospective pilot candidates that the company has reduced its minimum hiring requirements. The reception was mixed, with more than a few non-industry commenters decrying the decline in standards. Those in the pilot career pipeline should be excited,

Fuselage, Wing Shipped Over the Road For Reassembly At Boeing

A technically vintage B-52H bomber fuselage, formerly named "Damage Inc. II" has made its way to the Boeing facility in Oklahoma City, where it will be reassembled to act as the testbed for the sorely needed B-52 replacement engine program. The donor aircraft was pulled from the boneyard at Pima, Arizona, where it was separated into separate sections for use throughout the Commercial Engine Replacement Program. The left wing and fuselage, now in Oklahoma, will be used in designing and integrating the prospective new engines as well as the Radar Modernization Program.

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EHang holdings announced that one of the bigger Japanese air mobility companies, AirX, has placed a pre-order for 50 units of their EH216 AAV, making it the biggest order ever received in-country. Japan sees the improvement in transportation and freight transport as key to serve their aging population in the coming decades. The pre-order is meant to facilitate AirX's Urban Air Mobility projects in the works, predominately in air taxi service at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. Czech sustainable aviation manufacturer-to-be, Zuri, has announced the first evolution of its aircraft. The new Zuri in the works is currently designated within the company as ZURI 2.0, with a dedicated freight version, the Zuri 2.0 CARGO. The concept takes the original hybrid VTOL aircraft and adds recent developmental experiences gleaned since last summer's tech demonstrations

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Zeva has completed the first untethered flight test for its Zero flying wing airframe, where the aircraft took off and flew under its 8 electric propellers. With the first flight completed, the Zero now boasts the bragging rights of being a functional, real aircraft, with flight time in its logbook in an industry rife with ground demonstrators and digital renders. The flight is an important milestone in the airworthiness certification process, proving the unmanned demonstrator could take off and maintain position in a controlled hover, as well as taxi, climb, and maneuver at low altitude. As the eVTOL industry moves onwards, investments and promises abound, building hype for an imminent future where the everyday convenience of automotive ride share apps will meet the limitless freedom of aerial mobility. The Markets and Markets Company released their forecast for the ae

Springtime Food and Drink Tasting Party Postponed to Next Year

The annual event, originally to be held on March 12 at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has been cancelled. Attendees were notified that all tickets will be refunded. The event is normally a chance to enjoy beverages and food, specifically the work of local master brewers, microbrews, and more with live music. The proceeds from the event help underwrite the cost of museum activities throughout the year, including free aviation education programs for young people. Hops & Props has brought out some of the best of the local aviation community, bringing dozens of volunteers together to put in hundreds of hours of work for a good cause, like the 2020 donation of over 500 pounds of food to Feeding America.