Expansion plans at New Jersey Airport Halted Over Skydiving Operations

The FAA has stepped in to pause expansion plans at Lakewood Municipal Airport thanks to the township's distaste for skydiving operations. Lakewood Airport management doesn't like any of their new expansion being earmarked for parachuting, skydiving, and the like, but the airport's receipt of federal dollars in the past means they have to allow a wide range of aeronautical use. Until the FAA gets confirmation that ISkyDive America, a regional skydiving company from Michigan, will retain its footing there. “I don’t understand why tens of millions of dollars in development is on the hook for someone who wants to drop parachutes,” said Mayor Ray Coles. &

'Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety' Act an Economic Gut Punch, Say Stakeholders

A group of GA-related stakeholders addressed proposed Senate regulations that would have "significant and insurmountable" impacts on small operators around the country. The group includes a wide variety of big industry names related to general aviation, parachuting, and warbird operations, each throwing their weight behind a letter urging lawmakers to reconsider regs surrounding parachute use and air tours. "We write to highlight our concerns that, as currently drafted, Section 315 entitled Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety of the Senate’s FAA Reauthorization Act of 2023 (S. 1939) will, if enacted, have significant and insurmountable direct impacts o

New Mission Is Designed to Investigate Removing Space Junk from Orbit

Rocket Lab USA recently launched its 44th Electron rocket, successfully deploying an orbital debris inspection satellite for Astroscale Japan Inc. The mission, named “On Closer Inspection”, launched from Pad B at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 03:52 NZDT February 19th, 2024 (14:52 UTC, February 18th). Electron deployed the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J), a satellite designed to test technologies and operations for approaching and monitoring debris objects in orbit, also known as space junk. The mission is the first phase in assessing the potential for satellites to rendezvous with orbital debris objects in future and a

Will Serve Alongside Hinterland’s Fleet Of Cessna Grand Caravans

A purchase agreement for the first Cessna SkyCourier passenger variant in Australia has been signed with regional airline Hinterland Aviation. The aircraft, expected to deliver in 2026, will add to Hinterland’s fleet of Cessna Grand Caravans to provide a greater payload capacity and increased passenger seating. This fleet expansion will greatly benefit remote communities, as well as the tourism and business sectors in Queensland. The Cessna SkyCourier offers the ability to be operated by a single pilot and boasts a generous payload capacity, the SkyCourier provides potential solutions for air freight, passenger and special mission needs.

The Opening Day Concert Nonetheless Looks To Be Exciting

Sun 'n Fun has had big plans for opening day... but a change-up has been required after headliner Trace Adkins managed to suffer an injury. So... Adkins will not be able to perform at SUN ‘n FUN 2024 and in his stead, the Opening Day Concert will feature Dylan Scott with special guest Sara Evans. "We look forward to seeing you at the concert on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 6 pm," notes the SnF crew.  

MH-65 "Dolphin" Helicopter Crew Out Of CGAS Miami Was Launched To Assist 

The Coast Guard rescued four people off a sinking boat south of Dry Tortugas National Park early Monday morning... as most of us were probably contemplating a bowl of Cheerios... The individuals were rescued amid heavy seas and weather caused by a passing storm after an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was activated on board their vessel. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Seventh District Command Center and Sector Key West received the distress signal and diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Charles David, Jr. towards the boat’s position, approximately 35 nautical miles south of the Dry Tortugas. An MH-65 "Dolphin" helicop

A&P Program Is An 18 Month Effort

Universal Technical Institute has received FAA approval for its Airframe and Powerplant Technician program at its Miramar campus, with classes now underway. Students in the 18-month Airframe and Powerplant program at Miramar will learn to diagnose, repair and maintain aircraft and power plant components. Graduates will be prepared to pursue entry-level careers in the aviation field. They also will be eligible to apply and test for an FAA-issued mechanic certificate. UTI-Miramar is the fifth campus to offer an aircraft mechanic program, joining UTI-Avondale in Ariz., UTI-Long Beach in Calif.,  MIAT-Canton in Mich., and MIAT-Houston in Texas.   

Airplane Did Not Respond To Braking And Did Not Slow Down For The Airplane To Remain On The Runway

On January 2, 2024, about 1710 central standard time, a Learjet 35A, N45MF, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near San Marcos, Texas. The 2 pilots and 3 passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as an air medical transport flight. The airplane departed Albuquerque International Sunport Airport (ABQ), Albuquerque, New Mexico, about 1448 mountain standard time and flew to San Marcos Regional Airport (HYI), Austin, Texas. The crew flew the ILS 13 approach to runway 13 (5,601 ft asphalt runway).

From 2018 (YouTube Version): Aero-News Talks With The Airplane's Builder

One of the many unique airplanes at AirVenture 2018 was a 1/3-scale B-17 bomber built by Jack Bally, who talked about the 17-year project with Aero-News at the show last summer. Bally said that the idea was born over "too much beer one night with a bunch of buddies" as they talked about what kind of airplane they could build that would be the only one of its kind. They settled on the B-17, because as far as they knew, there were no flying 4-engine scale models WWII

Aero Linx: Fairchild Club You need not own a Fairchild to be part of our Club and share our enthusiasm for the Airplanes. If you are fortunate enough to have a Fairchild airplane, please let us know about it. We try to keep records by Model Number, by Country/State of the owner and by owners last name.

Remote Communications Outlet (RCO) An unmanned communications facility remotely controlled by air traffic personnel. RCOs serve FSSs. Remote Transmitter/Receivers (RTR) serve terminal ATC facilities. An RCO or RTR may be UHF or VHF and will extend the communication range of the air traffic facility. There are several classes of RCOs and RTRs. The class is determined by the number of transmitters or receivers. Classes A through G are used primarily for air/ground purposes. RCO and RTR class O facilities are nonprotected outlets subject to undetected and prolonged outages. RCO (O's) and RTR (O's) were established for the express purpose of providing ground-to-ground communications between air traffic c

"Section 315 introduces requirements that would be nearly impossible and financially unattainable for these small businesses, resulting in their likely closure. If adopted, Section 315 would burden the FAA's limited resources with a flood of new certificate applications and the ongoing costs of administering flight operations under 14 CFR Part 135, diverting resources that currently oversee commercial point-to-point charter flights and other safety-critical functions." Source: From a letter by a number of aviation groups castigating the Feds for a new bit of rule-making that would drive a number of aero-business under... and in industries that have demonstrated an improving safety record for a considerable period of time... making such rul