Munificently Securing Aviation’s Future

The Ray Foundation, a Florida-based organization supportive of aerospace-based educational initiatives and a long-time patron of EAA’s youth programs, has established a $600,000 matching grant. Through 31 July 2024, the Foundation will match every dollar committed to the EAA’s Education Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

F-35 Controversy Rages On

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)—a U.S. nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the waste, fraud, mismanagement, and abuse with which the United States’ federal government is demonstrably rife—has released a new brief titled The F-35 Does Not Need an Alternate Engine. The work was co-authored by CAGW president Tom Schatz and Director of Research Sean Kennedy. The brief presents compelling evidence contradicting the assertions of numerous Capitol Hill lawmakers maintaining collectively that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is in need of an alternate engine. Messrs. Schatz and Kennedy contend such and undertaking occasions a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Red Planet Caravan

During a video conference at the International Astronautical Congress in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, Elon Musk stated with confidence that SpaceX is well-positioned to make a successful landing on Mars within four-years. Musk contended SpaceX's Starship—the largest, most powerful rocket yet conceived of by humankind, has “a decent chance” of reaching orbit on its second test flight. The spacecraft’s first orbital test flight, which took place in April 2023, fell somewhat short of resounding success.

Emergent Powerplant Elevated to TRL-7

Northwest UAV’s newest heavy-fuel UAV engine, the NW-230, has made its first successful in-field flight. The sortie saw a Hybrid Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HVTOL) aircraft operated by an undisclosed Northwest UAV customer attain sustained, unaided flight. Moreover, the successful flight facilitated the elevation of the NW-230 engine system to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of seven for flying in an operational environment under end-user mission control.

Also: Vertical Aviation Technologies, Young Eagles Milestone, Axe eVTOL, LODA NPRM

A couple of years ago, new ownership bought the Rotorway helicopter kit operation and rebranded it as Rotor X. Over the course of many months, we received numerous complaints about Rotor X, with reports of dozens of customers who claim to have bought helicopter kits or sub kits not gotten what they paid for. Some have paid in full, with amounts exceeding well in excess of $100,000, and received little or nothing (so far) in return. As expected, the FAA has extended the comment period 90 days for its NPRM titled “Modernization of Special Airworthiness C

39th Ornament Series Features Aeronca Champ

Sporty’s, proprietor of the famed pilot shop and steward of the Ohio academy, has released the 39th in its series of Crystal Christmas Ornaments, thereby keeping alive an annual tradition enjoyed by pilots, FBOs, flight-schools and aviation enthusiasts alike. 2023’s ornament features the classic Aeronca Champ—known affectionately by its admirers as the Airknocker.

From 2015 (YouTube Version): The Stunning Technology Behind What Keeps Much Of The Aero-World Flying

In this video we have the pleasure of meeting, J.J. Frigge, the Executive Vice President for Hartzell Propeller, and we receive a personal guided tour of the Hartzell production facility. The Hartzell Propeller Company goes back to the early days of aviation when they were innovators in airplane propeller research and development. The spirit of those days has not been lost on the modern company. The video takes us through the production process of Hartzell propellers that are found on some of the highest performance propeller-driven airplanes.

Pilot Incapacitation Presumed

The NTSB has released its final report on a 06 May 2022 accident in which a Cirrus SR22, registration N24LA, was substantially damaged and its 67-year-old Private Pilot (and sole occupant) suffered fatal injuries during an IFR flight from South Carolina’s Lexington County Airport (SC99) to the Palmetto State’s Barnwell Regional Airport (BNL). The accident-aircraft was operated as a personal flight under Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

A Mystery Half-Solved

The NTSB has released its final report on a 31 October 2021 accident in which a Vans RV4, registration N479JJ, was destroyed and its 79-year-old Private Pilot suffered fatal injuries during a cross-country flight from Florida’s Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) to Alabama’s Monroe County Airport (MVC). The accident-aircraft was operated as a private flight under Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

Aero Linx: International Aviation Fire Protection Association

IAFPA was first formed in 2000 by a group of airport fire officers in the UK.  From the initial UK site, the work of IAFPA spread throughout the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.  In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world and affected almost all economies on the world stage especially aviation and the hospitality industry. With this major impact, the Council decided that to be relevant in the fast changing times and to be mission ready in the post-Covid era, IAFPA needed to restructure itself going forward.  On 28 Sep 2020, the IAFPA Executive Council took a major decision to merge IAFPA UK and IAFPA Asia into

Mach Technique [ICAO] Describes a control technique used by air traffic control whereby turbojet aircraft operating successively along suitable routes are cleared to maintain appropriate MACH numbers for a relevant portion of the en route phase of flight. The principle objective is to achieve improved utilization of the airspace and to ensure that separation between successive aircraft does not decrease below the established minima. 

“Many aspiring pilots fall short of their goal due to the cost of flight-training, so EAA working with the Ray Foundation helps relieve some of the financial pressure and make the goal of becoming a pilot even more accessible for future generations. The high completion rate of our scholars demonstrates how this program has a direct impact on growing the aviation community.”   Source: From a statement by EAA vice-president of communities and member programming Rick Larsen, discussing the Ray Foundatuion's donations to improving the pilot population.