Newest Crop of Hall of Famers Includes Martha King, Australian Pioneer, and U-2 Pilot

Women in Aviation International (WAI) has announced its upcoming crop of 2023 inductees for its International Pioneer Hall of Fame. These trailblazers will be honored at the 34th Annual Women in Aviation International Conference, where they'll be honored with a ceremony and celebration dinner. Included in the newest group of pioneers will be Nancy Bird, the 1st Australian woman to use a commercial pilot's license. Bird was the founder of the Australian Women Pilots Association, and later went on to be an integral part of opening an aerial ambulance service in New South Wales during the 1970s.

Action in the Pre-Midnight Hour

Archer Aviation, the California-based designer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has announced that its Maker eVTOL made its first full-transition to wing-borne flight on 29 November 2022. The accomplishment marks a milestone in Maker’s flight-testing program and underscores the sincerity of Archer’s ambition to be the first company to have its eVTOL platform type-certified by the FAA.

Autopsy Report Negative for Drugs-Alcohol

On 29 July 2022, while serving as Second In Command (SIC) aboard a CASA-212 (N497CA), Charles Hew Crooks fell from the aircraft. He was found dead approximately thirty-miles south of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in the city of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. On or about 01 December 2022, a Raleigh, North Carolina television station obtained a copy of Mr. Crooks’s autopsy file.

Also: ANN Turkey Day!, ALPA v Pilot Shortage, Eco Caravan, New Petrel XP

Tamarack Aerospace has submitted a claim this week to the NAA and the European FAI for two city-pair flight records. The first—a 15 October, non-stop 2,033-nautical-mile flight from Spokane, Washington (GEG) to Orlando, Florida (MCO) in a King Air 350 retrofitted with Tamarack’s innovative Performance SMARTWING technology—was completed in a brisk 7-hours and 46-minutes. porty's unveiled the newest rendition of their handheld radio systems with their PJ2+, improving upon the portable backup with more usability than ever before. The new model features 6 watts of peak tran

Angolan Operator First to Fly Bell 505 in West Africa

The delivery marks the beginning of the 505's service in the region under operator BESTFLY, passed to company hands at Bell's Mirabel, Canada facility. Bestfly has grown to become Angola’s largest private aviation company, carrying out the usual range of services from aircraft management to charters. The company anticipates a second 505 will be on the way sometime next year.

With Regulatory Clouds Gathering on the Horizon, Brands Giddy Up on Decarbonization

Airbus and Neste have signed a Memorandum of Understanding supporting the production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) throughout the aviation industry. The companies have joined hands to "accelerate the aviation sector’s transition to SAF," aiming to bolster the use of the new fuel through increased production, distribution, and awareness.

From 2017 (YouTube Version): 'For Credit' Flight Testing Starting Soon…

Enstrom Helicopter's TH180 training helicopter program suffered a setback in February of 2016 when the prototype aircraft went down. Fortunately, the pilots on board were uninjured, but the flight test program was halted until late May of that same year. At Heli-EXPO in Dallas this year, Bill Taylor, Test Pilot and Senior Technical Fellow for Enstrom Helicopter, told ANN CEO and Editor in Chief Jim Campbell that now, Enstrom has submitted all of the design data for the TH180 to the FAA, and it is currently doing stress analysis reports. 

Buttigieg Lauds Supply Chains

Federal, state, local, and business leaders gathered to acknowledge the completion of 3.3 million-square-feet of de-icing pads at Memphis International Airport (MEM), FedEx’s primary hub and home to the company’s largest air-cargo sorting facility. The pads, which are sufficiently large to contemporaneously de-ice a dozen wide-body cargo aircraft, promise to keep FedEx’s freighters ice-free, thereby ensuring their cargo absolutely positively arrive safely at their respective destinations.

Alliance Aviation Services Expands Facilities at Fort Worth Alliance Airport

Alliance Aviation Services is nearly finished with the construction of their nifty new FBO at Perot Field, or the Fort Worth Alliance Airport. Recent growth at the Alliance Airport has brought increased traffic and demand for better, comfier facilities for crews and guests. 30-year FBO veteran Alliance saw a chance to step in and fill the niche with a brand new 20,000 square foot location.

Engine Was Running, And The Aircraft Descended In A Nose-Low Attitude Until Impact

On November 5, 2022, about 0811 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, an Airborne Windsports Edge XT-912-L weight shift control light sport aircraft, N444EZ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Mokuleia, Hawaii. The flight instructor and initial/introductory flight training student were fatally injured. The aircraft was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.

Recruiters Look to Virtual Flight to Entice Would-Be Airmen

Amid a larger dearth of recruiting across all branches of military service, the Air Force is leveraging students' natural video gaming instincts to achieve a competitive edge in cultivating future airmen. The Air Force's Recruiting Service Detachment 1 took to the suburbs of Detroit to promote its "Aim High Flight Academy" and other U.S. Air Force opportunities geared towards students about to graduate.

Aero Linx: Pilots N Paws Pilots N Paws® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our site is intended to be a meeting place for volunteers engaged in the valuable services of rescuing, sheltering and adopting animals, and volunteer pilots and plane owners willing to assist with animal transportation. The intent of Pilots N Paws is to provide an environment in which volunteers can come together and arrange or schedule rescue flights, overnight foster care or shelter, and all other related activities. Through the Pilots N Paws discussion board, volunteers can exchange information regarding animal transports, coordinate and schedule transports, share rescue stories and recruit volunteers.

Airport Rotating Beacon A visual NAVAID operated at many airports. At civil airports, alternating white and green flashes indicate the location of the airport. At military airports, the beacons flash alternately white and green, but are differentiated from civil beacons by dualpeaked (two quick) white flashes between the green flashes.

"Our 2023 inductees reflect the diversity of careers represented by our members. For the past 30 years, WAI is proud to honor women who have carried the weight of future female aviators on their shoulders as they broke down gender barriers and proved that women could succeed and contribute to aviation in unique ways. Their accomplishments – as individuals or groups-have most certainly helped to change the face of aviation.”  Source: Allison McKay, WAI CEO, lauding the Women in Aviation International (WAI) crop of 2023 inductees for its International Pioneer Hall of Fame.