Desperation’s Weird Wages

Ural Airlines appears to be preparing to undertake what—if successful—would amount to the heroically unlikely retrieval of an Airbus A320 stranded in a Siberian field following a 12 September 2023 emergency landing. Aviation industry pundits posit Ural’s intention to retrieve the ill-fated A320 evinces the paucity of functional aircraft available to Russian airlines in the wake of wartime sanctions imposed upon the nation following Moscow’s February 2022 move against Ukraine.

Sins of the Holly Hill Town Council

The town council of Holly Hill, a 1,277-resident hamlet in south-central South Carolina’s Orangeburg County, has promulgated an ordinance prohibiting operations of 'ultralight' aircraft massing less-than six-hundred-pounds at Holly Hill Airport (5J5). Handed down on Monday, 18 September 2023, the council’s rash, conceivably legally-indefensible fiat was predicated largely upon two aircraft accidents, both of which involved aircraft that did not meet the legal definition of an ultralight, transpired at the Holly Hill airport during the preceding 24-months.

1974-2024

Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (stylized SUN 'n FUN) is a Lakeland, Florida-based nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. The organization is best known for its annual fly-in—which pilots and aviation aficionados broadly consider the opening event of the yearly air-show season and early spring’s premier aviation and aerospace hootenanny. 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the SUN ‘n FUN fly in. The 09 through 14 April event will strive to honor the pioneers and volunteers by whose industry and expertise the organization has grown from a small local gathering of pilots and aircraft owners to one of the world’s preeminent celebrations of all things aeronautical.

Autumnal Applicators Making Seed Drops in Turn from Usual Sprays

The National Agricultural Aviation Association shined a light on the increasing use of airborne seeding services among the usual crop dusting community, as airdropping cover crops gains popularity. The crops - generally grasses, grains, and particularly suited strains of legumes - allow farmers to help enhance the soil quality of certain fields while enjoying a low-maintenance, simple planting process. Hardy top cover breeds can help to rejuvenate tired soils by rotation, rehydrate the ground, recycle nutrients, and add fresh organic matter to the ground below them. Aerial seeding has made an impressive dent in the amount of work needed to plant them. The NAAA says that the method is gaining in popularity, which makes sense given the seemingly warm fall this year.

"Resurrected" Mystery Meat Helo Could Pollute the Market with Garbage Parts

An interesting investigation by the Miami FSDO unveiled a little bit of hoodwinkery when a Bell 206B, number N536T, turned out to be the spitting image of an existing N536T - the only difference? The real one was in pieces in Texas, while the newly registered one was imported from Venezuela. The skullduggery took place when a hotline complaint tipped off the office as to a Foreign registered aircraft being re-badged and mocked up to become a domestic salvage aircraft. N536T had been lying in pieces in Texas for years, with part of the wreckage purchased in 2018. The donor aircraft's data plate, airworthiness certificate, and registration all ended up applied to the Venezuelan helo, suspected to have been registered as YV2100 before its stateside surgery. Now, with the data plate surrendered, its parts are on the loose.

DOT Inspector General Issues Notice of Audit

On 14 September 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General forwarded a memorandum comprising an audit announcement pertaining to the FAA’s oversight of SkyWest Airlines’ maintenance program. Subject memo, as penned by DOT Assistant Inspector General for Aviation Audits Nelda Z. Smith read ...

"Plane Simple" Ku-band System Ready for Gulfstream G650 Aircraft

Satcom Direct has obtained their Supplemental Type Certificate for the Plane Simple Ku-band antenna-mount system, for installation on Gulfstream G650 aircraft. They credit the approval with their close work with Gulfstream itself, using an aircraft in service for a 'US-based corporate flight department' as their first installation. The new antenna variant will be available for installation through the factory approved Gulfstream service network starting in October 2023.

American Heritage Museum Vows to Rebuild Nieuport 28 C.1

A Nieuport 28 C.1 biplane went down during a World War I commemorative event staged at Stow, Massachusetts’s American Heritage Museum. The French biplane reportedly suffered loss of engine-power while on approach to the museum’s airfield, touching down with sufficient vertical-speed to collapse its undercarriage and sending the aircraft flipping empennage-over-engine-cowling, coming to rest, inverted, at the runway’s end.

The Motor Glider Impacted The Ground About 77° Nose Down Attitude 

On August 31, 2023, about 1339 mountain daylight time, a Schleicher Alexander Gmbh & Co ASH 26E motor glider, N50FU, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Wellington, Colorado. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The motor glider was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Transmitted flight track data from the International Gliding Commission (IGC) flight recorder showed the self-launching motor glider depart to the northwest from the Owl Canyon Gliderport (4CO2) at 1320. During the climb, several turns were performed and a maximum global positioning system (GPS) altitude of about 7,800 ft was observed at 1330.

Pilot Radioed The LUK Tower About 10 Miles Away From The Airport And Informed Them Of The Engine Trouble

On September 1, 2023, about 2038 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N6868D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in accident near Cincinnati, Ohio. The pilot incurred minor injuries and the three passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, she departed the Cincinnati Municipal Airport/Lunken Field (LUK), Cincinnati, OH, about 2010 for a local flight. During cruise flight, at an altitude of 4,500 ft mean sea level, the engine started to sputter and smell like burning oil.