Transport Aircraft Have New Special Conditions-Exempt Survival Beacon Option

Artex has launched a new Survival Emergency Locator Transmitter that is powered by Non-Lithium batteries - the ARTEX ELT 4000S. The company touts the ELT as the "first survival beacon to offer a cost-effective, lithium-free solution for commercial airliners and transport aircraft across the world." The use of alternative battery tech brings an array of benefits that may not be apparent at first glance to the average operator, but they will stand out to those in the transport category or commercial OEMS. First, the 4000S is exempt from FAA Non-Rechargeable Lithium Battery special conditions, eliminating hazmat shipping, and lowering replacement costs.

P-8 Poseidon Competes for Multi-Mission Aircraft, Anti-Sub, Intel Mission

Boeing has announced its entry into the running for the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft  project to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet of CP-140 Aurora aircraft and enhance its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. It's horse in the race is the venerable P-8 Poseidon, a common selection for long-range maritime patrol aircraft. The P-8 has logged nearly half a million mishap free flight-hours over its service life so far, flying for the U.S., the Commonwealth, India, Norway, South Korea, and Germany. Its development on the Boeing 737NG platform brings superb parts commonality with a widespread, rel

Bolen: "The Energy and Excitement...is Off the Charts" 

The NBAA completed its sold-out Professional Development Program, packing hundreds of attendees into its networking sessions and speeches at the 2022 Leadership Conference. This year, a theme of "Return to Service" was front and center as an industry looks to bounce back and leap beyond its pre-2020 state. Discussions at the event focused on improved thinking, positive examples in leadership, motivating workers, and ensuring organizational health and safety. The conference followed the first NBAA event of the year, a Regional Forum held at Miami-Opa Locka Executive which brought in almost 2,500 attendees to the sold-out exhibit floor.

Program Seeks High-Speed VTOL Concept Development to Guide Future USAF Aircraft Design 

Jaunt Air Mobility is one of 11 companies that won a United States Air Force and Special Operations Command investment that hopes to crowdsource development of high-speed, vertical takeoff vehicles for use in austere, rugged environments often encountered by the branches. The high-speed VTOL, or HSVTOL challenge, is hoped to provide a range of demonstrations to help the Air Force Research Laboratory to "understand how to build a new class of air vehicles." The contract with jaunt will see 2 concepts of the initial proposed aircraft which will evolve into the Multi-Mission Air Vehicle MAV 55. The aircraft is said to combine the speed and lifting capabi

From 2019: One-On-One With The Founder Of One Of The Best-Known Aviation Products Companies

Sporty's started out as "Sportsman's Market Incorporated" ... but according to founder Hal Shevers, "that was a mouthful" and people were simply referring to the company as "Sporty's". And that's what the company has been called ever since. Hal founded Sporty’s over 50 years ago as a young flight instructor, and he’s been flying and teaching aviation ever since. In the mid-1960s, he pioneered the three day ground school, and spent

Black Eagle 50H Combines Elements of Gas and Battery Powered UAVs

Singapore UAV manufacturer Steadicopter has released the specifications of its Black Eagle 50H, the first of its Rotary UAS family. The helicopter is designed for the usual range of missions, capable of anything from law enforcement, maritime surveillance, civilian survey, and special low profile missions. The Black Eagle is a hybrid featuring elements of the company's all-electric 50E and its gas-powered 50, resulting in a cost-effective, long-legged platform. Steadicopter says the Black Eagle can fly up to 5 hours at a time, far in excess of the standard for rotary VTOL platforms.

Airplane Suddenly Veered To The Left And Simultaneously Entered A Near Vertical Climb

On January 29, 2022, about 1503 Pacific daylight time, a Beechcraft K35 Bonanza, N9530R, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident in, Salem, OR. The private pilot and the passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to preliminary air traffic control (ATC) data, the airplane departed McNary Field Airport (SLE), Salem, Oregon, for a day visual flight rules (VFR) departure. The pilot requested to stay in the traffic pattern, and the tower controller informed the pilot to remain in left closed traffic and cleared the pilot for takeoff from runway 34.

AD 2022-03-04 Requires Incorporating Into Maintenance Records New Or Revised Life Limits...

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 80-13-10, AD 80-13-12 R1, and AD 2008-03-01, which applied to certain de Havilland (type certificate now held by Viking Air Limited) Model DHC-6-1, DHC-6-100, DHC-6-200, and DHC-6-300 airplanes. AD 80-13-10 required repetitively inspecting the main landing gear (MLG) legs for cracks and corrosion. AD 80-13-12 R1 required repetitively inspecting each engine nacelle lower longeron for cracks and buckling. AD 2008-03-01 required incorporating inspections, modifications, and life limits of certain structural components into the aircraft maintenance program. Since the FAA issued those ADs, new and more restrict

AD 2022-03-09 Requires Replacing Affected GPS Receivers

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Model S-76D helicopters. This AD was prompted by reports that certain Thales global positioning system (GPS) satellite based augmentation system (SBAS) receivers provided, under certain conditions, erroneous outputs on aircraft positions. This AD requires replacing affected GPS receivers and prohibits installing those GPS receivers. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective March 17, 2022.

Aero Linx: Iowa Public Airports Association (IPAA) The nonprofit Iowa Public Airports Association (IPAA) was founded in 1984 — an outgrowth of the Iowa Airport Executives Association. Membership is open to all public use airports in Iowa, as well as associates with an interest in Iowa’s aviation system and the industry that supports it. The association is under the direction of a 14-member volunteer board of directors.

Negative Contact Used by pilots to inform ATC that: Previously issued traffic is not in sight. It may be followed by the pilot’s request for the controller to provide assistance in avoiding the traffic. They were unable to contact ATC on a particular frequency.

“Harnessing 30 years of ARTEX automatic fixed ELT expertise and based on our proven ELT 4000 system, the development of the ELT 4000S highlights ARTEX’s commitment to respond to the requirements of our customers with innovative solutions. The installation of ELT 4000 on many different aircraft has already proved the robustness of a 406 MHz alkaline-powered beacon in the harsh environment of an in-service aircraft. Now, there is a growing confidence and demand in the industry to capitalize on the benefits of alkaline battery systems that we can answer with our ELT 4000S."  Source: Marc Medeiros, Vice President of ARTEX, explaining the background behind their latest developments in their ELT program.