Air Race Classic Traces Its Roots To The 1929 Women's Air Derby, Aka The Powder Puff Derby

It should be an amazing event... and usually has been, in past iterations. Women pilots from across the United States and around the world will take off Tuesday, June 18, from Southern Illinois Airport in Carbondale, Illinois, for a 2,610-statute mile competition across 11 states that ends Friday, June 21, at Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland, Colorado. The oldest race of its kind in the nation, the Air Race Classic traces its roots to the 1929 Women's Air Derby, aka the Powder Puff Derby, in which Amelia Earhart and 19 other daring female pilots raced from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland, Ohio.

Buckshot of Industry Quotations Supports Urgent Action, Signature Expected This Week

Despite the fact that the legislation to keep the FAA going has hit the home stretch, it hasn't crossed home plate yet - and stakeholders are a little miffed. As the vote crawled through Congress, the Air Line Pilot Association, International blasted the press wire with a buckshot of quotations from anyone and everyone within the greater aviation industry. It's apparent that they want to throw their full force behind the bill this time, urging action so the industry can finally return to "normal", with an operating FAA.

Amazilia Aerospace GmbH, Develops Digital Flight Control, Flight Guidance And Vehicle Management Systems 

Textron eAviation has acquired substantially all the assets of Amazilia Aerospace GmbH, a developer of digital flight control, flight guidance and vehicle management systems for civil manned and unmanned aircraft. “We’re excited to welcome Amazilia Aerospace’s talented employees and innovative technologies to the Textron eAviation team,” said Kriya Shortt, President & CEO, Textron eAviation segment. “This integration represents our continued dedication to pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver exceptional solutions for our customers.”

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Two aircraft performing at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show clipped wings during a routine last Sunday, spooking onlookers. The aircraft were performing as a part of the Polaris Ghost Squadron, a team of urban-camo milsurplus jets hailing from across Eastern Europe. The Polaris Ghost Squadron features an eye-catching MiG-29, a trio of Alpha Jets, and a quartet of Albatros L39s. The US Air Force won't be bringing back a damaged B-2A Spirit bomber, further whittling away at the irreplaceable fleet of strategic aircraft. The plane in question was contrasted against one that had a minor crash in 2010. That aircraft was shipped back to Northrop Grumman for repair. The latest incident won't see the same amount of TLC, however, as a recent Force Structure Report showed that the B-2 fleet would head into 2025 one plane short. Sierra Space's Dream Chaser has been put through the wr

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The Popular Rotorcraft Association is reaching out for help in rebuilding their private runway in Mentone, IN -- the home of the PRA, itself. "We are reaching out to you today on behalf of the Popular Rotorcraft Association because we need your help. We are dangerously close to losing a critical resource that if lost, will have a negative and lasting effect on the gyro community..." An interesting surprise occurred this week as Wag-Aero customers logged on to their site in order to order a few things...no Wag-Aero. Instead, the site was redirected to Aircraft Spruce, which has apparently bought out the once popular Wag-Aero operations shortly after the same operation divested itself of its interest in Leading Edge Air Foils. The Young Eagles Program has been one of the Experimental Aviation Association's best tools in their repertoire when it comes to fostering a contin

Company Celebrates Niche-but-Important Advancement in Industry Standards

Echodyne has announced full integration of its proprietary 'EchoFlight' radar into the e American Aerospace Technologies, Inc. (AATI) AiRanger aircraft, recently granted its BVLOS approval from the FAA. It's good news for the UAS industry to some small extent, showing that the regulator is content to approve efficient, affordable operations beyond immediate line of sight. That's the way of the future, of course, allowing operators to command a semiautonomous aircraft from a distance, but it's not an easy sell to a very danger-averse administration like the FAA. 

Aviation Governance Secured...At Least For a While

The National Business Aviation Association similarly applauded the passage of the FAA's recent reauthorization, contentedly recounting its passage through the house by a vote of 387 to 26. Congress really cut things close to the wire, with the current expiration of the FAA's governing bill sitting right around the corner on May 17th. The bill gains the NBAA's blessing for all the usual reasons, but this year's includes a '1st-ever' general aviation title, a "key section of the legislation focused on enhancing safety, streamlining regulations and improving certification processes for general aviation aircraft, supporting certification for advanced air mobility (AAM) powered-lift aircraft and other technologies, and protecting flight privacy." 

FAA’s Net Controller Count May Only Climb by 10% of Targets

Airlines for America sees a pretty active summer coming up, with more than 271 million passengers expected to use US carriers around the world - but the horizon isn't totally free of clouds. Digging into the numbers, it seems the FAA has brought on just a dozen more controllers than it had targeted in 2023, at 1,512. Thanks to attrition, national ATC lost more than 1,300 employees, accounting for retirements and drop-outs from the industry. After running the numbers to account for those in training, those who will likely wash out of ATC school, and drop out in line with historic trends, and the math works out to maybe a tenth of what the FAA had needed just to maintain ranks. 

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UVify is claiming a new Guinness World Record for the most unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) airborne simultaneously. This event took place in Songdo, Korea, where UVify orchestrated a display of 5,293 IFO drones that lit up the night sky. The fleet of IFO drones created intricate patterns and visuals above the crowd, showcasing UVify's programming and drone control technology. The record-breaking feat exceeded the previous record. Airbus has completed the acquisition of US-based Aerovel and its unmanned aerial system (UAS), Flexrotor. Flexrotor is a small tactical unmanned aerial system designed for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions at sea and over land. The AAIB has disclosed its findings after an accident befell an unmanned, remotely pilots test vehicle which suffered a forced landing following power unit failure, at

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The Perris SkyDive DC-9 is ALIVE! Following initial test flighta and practice landings that were flown by a flight crew that had to be brought in all the way from Florida, the California DZ put the DC9 back in service and made at least three jump runs on Saturday, taking about 60 jumpers each to about 15K'. An interesting surprise occurred this week as Wag-Aero customers logged on to their site in order to order a few things...no Wag-Aero. Instead, the site was redirected to Aircraft Spruce, which has apparently bought out the once popular Wag-Aero operations shortly after the same operation divested itself of its interest in Leading Edge Air Foils. The AAIB has disclosed its findings after an accident befell an unmanned, remotely pilots test vehicle which suffered a forced landing following power unit failure, at the Cotswold Airport (Kemble), Gloucestershir