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July 31, 2020

Airborne Unlimited For the Week of 07.31.20

GarmiGeddon Update: $10M Ransomware Hack Reported, Av Services Affected Daher HomeSafe System Certified For TBM 940 FAA Approved: ARTEX ELT 345 Sponsored By... King Schools Pipist

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NTSB Prelim: Bell UH1H

Helicopter Was Transporting Supplies Using A Long Line For A Hotshot Firefighting Crew

On July 7, 2020, about 1213 mountain standard time, a Bell/Garlick UH-1H helicopter, N623PB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Payson, Arizona. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 external load flight. The helicopter was owned by Airwest Helicopters LLC and operated by the United States Forest Service at the time of the accident. According to witnesses, the helicopter was transporting supplies using a long line for a hotshot firefighting crew that were repositioning on the ground. The pilot transported three loads to the new destination uneventfully prior to the accide

Aero Linx: Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance Welcome to AWAM!! We provide tools for the aviation maintenance community to thrive by staying engaged and connected. Our website is now interactive for our Corporate, Educational and Individual members. Benefits include jobs board, peer-to-peer forums, interests groups and searchable membership directory. All the while, we remain the same organization established in 1997 helping to promote education, networking opportunities, and scholarships for the aviation maintenance community.

Feathered Propeller A propeller whose blades have been rotated so that the leading and trailing edges are nearly parallel with the aircraft flight path to stop or minimize drag and engine rotation. Normally used to indicate shutdown of a reciprocating or turboprop engine due to malfunction.

"Jezero Crater is the perfect place to search for signs of ancient life. Perseverance is going to make discoveries that cause us to rethink our questions about what Mars was like and how we understand it today. As our instruments investigate rocks along an ancient lake bottom and select samples to return to Earth, we may very well be reaching back in time to get the information scientists need to say that life has existed elsewhere in the universe." Source: Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington, discussing the mission of the Mars Perseverance program, which launched Thursday.

Also: XPONENTIAL Goes Virtual, Hurricane Hunters, ALPA: FedEx Hong Kong Pilots, FCC Fines Hobbyking $2.8M

The FAA has confirmed that severe issues of an unspecified nature are causing them to force as many as several hundred pilots to be retested for checkrides they may have taken over the course of some 11 years. The FAA states, "This notice provides current guidance to FAA aviation safety inspectors (ASI) on program policies and procedures for reexamining individuals holding pilot certificates with various ratings who were tested by Michael A. Puehler of Cincinnati, Ohio. The reexamination will ensure that these individuals meet the standards of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 61 to hold their certificates and/or ratings." The Commemorative

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Airborne 07.27.20: Massive Garmin Hack, Daher HomeSafe, ARTEX ELT 345

Also: Emergency AD-Boeing 737, First US-Based Global 5500, EPA Proposes Standards, NASA Stratospheric Balloon

A number of computer media reports are providing details behind the massive Garmin ransomware attack that appears to have started last Thursday and brought many of their aviation services to a standstill. The most recent reports assert that Garmin is being hit up for a $10M Ransom via a ransomware strategy known as 'WastedLocker.' Media publication, 'BleepingComputer' has reported contacts with a Garmin staffer confirming the severity of the attack, the amount of ransom, and providing details th

Former FAA Staffer/DPE Is Cause For 11 Years-Worth Of Pilot Retests

To be honest, we had a hard time believing this the first time we heard about it, but documentation now published by the FAA confirms that severe issues of an as yet unspecified nature is causing the FAA to force as many as several hundred pilots to be retested for checkrides they may have taken over the course of some 11 years. The document states, "This notice provides current guidance to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspectors (ASI) on program policies and procedures for reexamining individuals holding pilot certificates with various ratings who were tested by Michael A. Puehler of Cincinnati, Ohio. The reexamination will ensure that these ind

Basic Tests Passed In Fourth Test Flight

HAPSMobile has completed the fourth successful test flight of its “Sunglider” solar-powered high-altitude platform system (HAPS). The flight took place on July 23, 2020 at Spaceport America in New Mexico. With all basic aircraft tests for the UAS now complete, HAPSMobile will proceed with preparations for stratospheric test flights. In this test flight, Sunglider, the newly renamed UAS designed for stratospheric telecommunications platforms, reached altitudes higher than those of previous flights and maintained high altitudes for a long duration.

First Of Six PC-24s For The Swedish Air Ambulance Organisation

The first of six PC-24s for the Swedish Air Ambulance Organisation took off from Buochs Airport for its maiden flight on 22 July 2020. Sporting the national colours of Sweden – blue and yellow – the Super Versatile Jet will cut a dash across Swedish skies. Less than a year after the agreement between the Kommunalförbundet Svenskt Ambulansflyg (KSA) and Pilatus was signed, the maiden flight of the first Swedish medevac PC-24 marks an important milestone in the programme.

The Spacecraft Is Perfectly On Course To Mars

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is on its way to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples to send back to Earth. Humanity's most sophisticated rover launched with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at 7:50 a.m. EDT (4:50 a.m. PDT) Friday on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. "With the launch of Perseverance, we begin another historic mission of exploration," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Contract Is Part Of A Larger $4.5 Billion Modernization Program

Boeing and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) recently signed a Direct Commercial Sale agreement to support upgrades to Japan’s F-15J fleet. The contract is part of a larger $4.5 billion modernization program, announced by the US Government in October 2019. The upgrades will introduce state-of-the-art electronic warfare and weapons. An all-new advanced cockpit system, running on the world’s most advanced mission computer, will deliver pilots enhanced situational awareness.

Classic Aero-TV: From ePlanes to eVTOLS--Pipistrel Leads The Electric Revolution

From 2019: Updates On Electric Aircraft And eVTOL Programs

Pipistrel has had a great year in terms of new airplane orders and in the flight training arena. That was the message expressed by Michael Coates, Master Distributor for Pipistrel USA, when he spoke with Aero-New Editor-in-Chief Jim Campbell at AirVenture 2019. When it comes to the electric airplane segment, Coates says the U.S. is "dragging its feet a little bit" in the certification of such aircraft. Such aircraft have been accepted and are flying in other countries, and Coates feels they would be ideal for the U.S. Flight Training market

Textron Aviation Revenues Of $747 Million, Were Down $376 Million

With various companies reporting results from their second quarter, this year's batch has given few corporate boards much to be happy about. Textron Aviation is no exception. Revenues at Textron Aviation of $747 million were down $376 million from the second quarter of 2019, primarily due to lower Citation jet volume of $178 million, reflecting a decline in demand related to the pandemic and to a lesser extent, delays in the acceptance of aircraft related to COVID-19 travel restrictions, and lower aftermarket volume of $120 million, reflecting lower aircraft utilization.

'Due To Public Health Risks Associated With COVID-19'

The Navy has confirmned this year's cancellation of the 2020 Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana Air Show originally scheduled for Sept. 19 - 20 due to public health risks associated with COVID-19. The NAS Oceana Air Show is the Navy’s premier aviation event in North America, drawing more than 250,000 spectators each year. The last time the air show was canceled was in 2013 due to budget shortfalls from sequestration.