The Biggest Shindig of the Year to Celebrate an Aviation Milestone

The United States Air Force is set for a great time at EAA's AirVenture Oshkosh 2022 as it joins the world's most diehard aviation fans in celebrating three quarters of a century since its founding. The annual fly-in convention from the Experimental Aircraft Association is every summer's must-attend event for anyone even tangentially affiliated with flight, and 2022 is no exception. Following World War II, the Air Force was established as a standalone, aviation-focused military arm, breaking from previous standing as the Army Air Corps. It was an announcement that cemented military aviation as a serious, professional, and vital role in warfighting, allowing for the Force to retain,

Blue Origin, Nanoracks, Grumman Chosen for the Start of "Commercial ISS" 

NASA has selected 3 winners for its Low-Earth Orbit (LOO) space station program, geared towards establishing a thriving commercial space economy. The awarded contracts amount to over $415 million, with Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman coming up as the lucky recipients of the agency's favor. If successful, the program would result in continuous American presence in space after the International Space Station is phased out of service. The burgeoning commercial space race has stimulated private investment into launch, delivery, and life support systems never before seen in space.

Klyde Can't Make Any Sense of ALL This, Either...

FMI: www.klydemorris.com 

Solid Rocket Launch Systems To Be Used in Artemis and Beyond

NASA has awarded the Booster Production and Operations Contract to Northrop Grumman for the agency's upcoming Space Launch System rockets. The launch system will be the primary system for use in the first 3 Artemis missions, with likely inclusion for the 4th. The contract comes in at a value of $3.19 billion, finalizing a contract awarded in 2020 that authorized Grumman to build the labor-intensive, expensive twin boosters for the next 6 SLS flights. The contract stands through 2031 and includes all the necessary flight materials and support equipment, as well as operations for the SLS. Artemis missions IV-VIII will see benefits of the design, development, testing, and evaluation of

Flyby Technology Hires Newest ATPL Students for Skylift Drone Operations

Skyborne Airline Academy celebrated the achievement of 2 recent ATPL UK graduates joining Flyby Technology as Beyond Line of Visual Sight Drone Operators. The students now put their training to use, supporting flight operations for an NHS trial to evaluate drug delivery for the Isle of Wight.  The graduates, James Kirk and Adam Prince, have begun working on a project with Apian for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, researching the capabilities of drone technology to increase speed of delivery and access to chemotherapy drugs between Portsmouth and the Isle. If promising, the route could save a good deal of time and medication wastage, especially important for intensely e

From Oshkosh 2021: Sam Watrous Speaks With ANN At Oshkosh

Twenty-five years ago at Sun ‘N Fun, Sam Watrous was sitting with his good buddy and wondering what it would be like to have war replicas as a finished kit. The idea never went anywhere until his son’s senior project at Rhode Island School of Design. “He had to come up with a product, company, marketing research, and pitch to professors,” Watrous says. “He said, ‘Hey dad, how about this ScaleBirds design’ so he came up with everything. Once his professors got the pitch they said he had to finish the concept. It’s been six year

First Change Moves Aircraft Departing On Runway 15-Right Further North

Under the usual heavy pressure form folks who have chosen to live too close to airports, the Federal Aviation Administration has implemented air traffic procedure changes for Boston Logan International Airport that will reduce the impact from aircraft overflight noise. The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) and the Massport Community Advisory Committee (MCAC) reportedly requested the procedures. The first change moves aircraft departing on Runway 15-Right further north away from densely populated areas near Hull, Mass. Pilots can use the procedure seven days a week during both day and night hours. This procedure has already been implemented.

Also: Airbus A340 in Antarctica, Red Arrows Gain Newbies, Army Wants More Chinooks, RCAF Honors Heli Pilot

The FAA is proposing to fix a technicality in the Federal Aviation Regulations that prevents pilots flying under BasicMed from operating, in most cases, as safety pilots under simulated instrument conditions. The fix is included in a recently released notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that requires commercial balloon pilots to hold second-class medicals, to fulfill a Congressional mandate implemented after a high-profile accident several years ago. When the FAA created BasicMed in 2017, it directly copied the law passed by Congress that re

The Airplane Was Wobbling, And It Then Began To Bank Left...

On November 12, 2021, about 1414 Pacific standard time, an experimental amateur-built Zenith CH-701, N984LD, was destroyed when it was involved in accident while landing at a back-country airstrip, near Randsburg, California. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airport was located within a 1,500 ft-wide valley, at an elevation of about 2,450 ft. The runway was oriented on a southwest heading, with rising terrain to the north, and a parallel ridgeline to the south which fell away to an open desert playa.

AD 2021-22-25 Requires Revising The Operator's Existing FAA-Approved Minimum Equipment List (MEL)

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A330-200, -200 Freighter, -300, and -900 series airplanes; and Model A340-200, -300, -500, and -600 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report that during the frame of flight test clearance process, a detailed analysis of air data reference (ADR) failure scenarios led to the identification that compliance requirements for loads and handling qualities throughout the flight envelope could be impaired in case of dispatch with one ADR inoperative (master minimum equipment list (MMEL) item 34-10-01) during the maximum interval allowed by the current MMEL. This AD requir

AD 2021-23-02 Prompted By Reports Of Loss Of Hydraulic Fluid And Annunciation Of The Check Fire Detect Light

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited Model DHC-8-401 and -402 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of loss of hydraulic fluid and annunciation of the check fire detect light. This AD requires doing a detailed visual inspection for chafing and proper clearance of the left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) main landing gear (MLG) primary zone advanced pneumatic detector (APD) sensing lines, the hydraulic tube assemblies, and the surrounding structure, and doing all applicable corrective action. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

Aero Linx: Civil Air Navigation Services Organization CANSO is the global voice of the air traffic management industry. As the industry association, we bring the world’s air navigation service providers, leading industry innovators and air traffic management specialists together to share knowledge, develop best practice and shape the future for secure and seamless airspace. Together we are experts, we are innovators and we are the architects of future ATM.

Transponder The airborne radar beacon receiver/transmitter portion of the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) which automatically receives radio signals from interrogators on the ground, and selectively replies with a specific reply pulse or pulse group only to those interrogations being received on the mode to which it is set to respond.

“Our boosters are ready to launch the first flight of the Space Launch System on the Artemis I mission, and we are making great progress producing boosters for the Artemis II, III, and IV missions. Upgrading the booster’s performance ensures we can improve SLS’s ability to send astronauts and cargo to the Moon as well as making our processes more efficient.” Source: Bruce Tiller, NASA's SLS booster manager, via comments made as NASA awarded the Booster Production and Operations Contract to Northrop Grumman for the agency's upcoming Space Launch System rockets. The launch system will be the primary system for use in the first 3 Artemis missions, with likely inclusion for the 4th.