Jessica Cox’s Ercoupe Blasted By Private Jet’s About-Face on Ramp at JFK

A model-C Ercoupe, N26R, owned and operated by Jessica Cox of ‘RightFooted International’  and motivational documentary ‘RightFooted’, was almost destroyed in the brief minutes it sat on the ramp at the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. The source of the destructive force was a business jet performing a 360-degree turn in the vicinity of the Ercoupe. Ms. Cox had arrived at JFK earlier that day, having previously made arrangements to facilitate the logistics of arrival and parking in preparation for an outreach event, only to discover upon marshaling to parking and shutdown that no tiedowns were available in the designated area.

Also: Honor Flight 250,000th, USMC Aviation Plan, United's Green Fuel, Oshkosh 2022!

That incredibly foolish Red Bull Skydive-and-switch-planes-in-midair stunt that went so bad last month has  resulted in both pilot/skydivers losing their certificates. Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington received nationwide attention for the poorly planned and executed stunt. The result is this... both of them have to surrender their tickets immediately and Aikins is facing an additional financial penalty in the form of a nearly $5000 fine. An individual with allegedly no prior flying experience had a chance to live many a pilot’s dream/nightmare, by landing a small airplane after the pilot became incapacitated. The Cessna 208 Caravan, a fixed-gear single-engine turbo-prop airplane, was being operated by a single pilot from Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas to Ft. Pierce Florida when one of the passengers noticed that the pilot was not responsive. Recognizing th

Also: ACR Takes On Blue Sky Network, New ACE Director, Ingenuity Phones Home, Virgin Orbit

ANN has learned that the 2022 DeLand Sport Aviation Showcase is NOT going to happen, according to Airport Manager John Eiff, who noted that, "hopefully, we can do  something next year..." in response to questions about the event's future as we learned that Event Boss Jana Filip had left her position with the city. Filip was well-known to be the backbone of the event, after creating it to pick up where she left off after departing a similar event in Sebring, FL, which went AWOL thereafter. Filip had kept the DSAS event alive despite two years of pandemic related issues as well as lackluster support from the city government... Textron Aviation celebrated the delivery of its first Cessna SkyCourier to Federal Express (FedEx). The SkyCourier is a high-wing twin-engine utility turbo-prop aircraft, and is expected to be the first of 50 such aircraft for whic

Also: FAA Funds Airport Improvements, WAI Membership Changes, USCG On Launches, United Airlines

Chuck Surack, founder of Surack Enterprises, has announced that he has purchased The Enstrom Helicopter Corporation of Menominee, Michigan, to rebuild the Enstrom brand into one of the leading American-made helicopter manufacturers as it once was. In a letter to the Enstrom leadership team, Surack shared his appreciation to the employees for their devotion and dedication over the years and particularly during the last few difficult months. For some time, Republic Airways has enjoyed a not so favorable opinion in the “Low Time” flying community due to reports of it allegedly engaging in second-in-command (SIC) operations on its single-pilot fleet, and those SIC’s later discovering that their ‘logged time’ is invalid and cannot be applied to flight experience for their Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating. Well, those woes m

VirtualFly Targets Enthusiasts & Flight Schools with Cessna & Diamond Simulators

VirtualFly North America is a flight simulation manufacturer and a resurgent development center that creates everything from a yoke and throttle quadrant for home simulation enthusiasts up to replicas of aircraft. Basic Aviation Training Devices (BATD) and Advanced Aviation Training Devices (AATD) certified simulators, Cessna (172) replicas, and Caravans. We now have Diamond DA40s with Middle Tennessee State University, and simulators at universities like Hawaii, Cyprus University (in Los Angeles, California) so they're getting there.

An Amazing Experience Awaits The Chosen Few...

Oshkosh, to us, seems the perfect place to get started on watching aviation recover the past couple of years... and so ANN is putting EXTRA effort and resources into our coverage of Oshkosh 2022... just a little over 70 days hence. We are now starting the process to seek talented stringers to help us present Oshkosh and the sport and general aviation community to the world around us. If you ever thought about joining us, this is THE year to do it.

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Eric Crump’s storied history in aviation reaches new heights with his appointment as Director of the Aerospace Center Excellence (ACE), beginning 1 June 2022. Mr. Crump was founder/director of the Polk State College Aerospace Program in since 2012, and grown the aviation program from scratch to a student body of almost 300. Additionally, he was the driving force behind making Polk State College in Florida the first to offer a BS degree in Aerospace Sciences. In an interesting twist that Virgin Atlantic referred to as a ‘rostering error, an international flight that has just departed Heathrow Airport (LHR) in the United Kingdom bound for JFK did an about face and returned to base. Some 30+ minutes into the flight, it was discovered that the First Officer (FO) had not completed a ‘final flight assessment.’ Late last year, two Training and A

Also: Pentagon Cooks Drones, Paper Wings, Wingcopter 198, Joby Testing Noise

Recognizing the importance of keeping abreast of the technological developments in the industry, the FAA is reconsidering its approach to the certification of eVTOLs. On 16 December 2016, the FAA published the final rule representing an overhaul of airworthiness standards for GA airplanes, specifically in an attempt to enable faster adoption of “innovative safety-enhancing technologies into small airplanes, while reducing costs for the aviation industry.” DJI recently launched its DJI Mini 3 Pro, a palm-able device weighing a tad over 0.5 lbs, featuring tri-directional obstacle sensing, true vertical shooting, focus track, and 4K HDR video. DJI promises extended flight time of just over 30 minutes, however, with the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus, you may expect a bit above 45 minutes. The Hawaiian fishing community is awaiting the outcome of Governor David

Canada 'Needs to Secure Immediate Return' of Wrongfully Imprisoned Canadians in the Dominican Republic

ALPA, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); and Unifor have launched a public campaign calling on the government of Canada to secure the safe return of five Canadians who have been arbitrarily imprisoned in the Dominican Republic after reporting a crime they were not involved in. For more than 40 days, a Canadian aircrew—including two CUPE members, one ALPA member, and one Unifor member—have been arbitrarily detained, threatened, and prosecuted after discovering and reporting 200 kg of narcotics to the police.

US Technology Finally Catching Up...

A USAF B-52H Stratofortress successfully released an AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, off the Southern California coast, May 14. Following separation from the aircraft, the ARRW’s booster ignited and burned for expected duration, achieving hypersonic speeds five times greater than the speed of sound. “This was a major accomplishment by the ARRW team, for the weapons enterprise, and our Air Force,” said Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, Air Force Program Executive Officer for Weapons.