Surpasses 60,000 Feet Altitude and Demonstrating Broadband Mobile Connectivity

AeroVironment has announced the Sunglider solar-powered high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) achieved key test milestones, including reaching an altitude of more than 60,000 feet above sea level and successfully demonstrating mobile broadband communication. During the test flight, which began at 5:16 a.m. MDT on September 21 and concluded at 1:32 a.m. MDT on September 22, the AeroVironment team piloted Sunglider to a stratospheric altitude of 62,500 feet above Spaceport America in New Mexico. Sunglider successfully achieved major test objectives relating to propulsion, power systems, flight control, navigation and datalink integrity, as well as structural performance d

Heavy-Lift Drone Swarms Ready To Work In California And Five Other States

DroneSeed reports that the FAA has approved its heavy-lift drone swarms for operation Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and given the company the go-ahead to expand its use of heavy-lift drone swarms for reforestation to California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. The FAA's action allows DroneSeed to begin reforesting in California once a fire is contained and airspace is clear. The company will select specific sites affected by fires later this month and is receiving information from impacted forest managers via droneseed. Once sites are selected, DroneSeed will manufacture seed vessels with native Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine.

Piedmont Has Been A Honeywell Authorized MRO Partner For Over 20 Years

TAT Piedmont Aviation and Honeywell International, Inc., have entered into a 10-year agreement to support the global MRO activities for the GTCP331-200/250 auxiliary power unit (the "331 APU"). Piedmont has been a Honeywell authorized MRO partner for over 20 years. In addition to its existing business, the new agreement transitions Honeywell's 331 APU MRO activities to Piedmont, which will provide seamless enhanced support to Honeywell customers, as well as other operators who are using the relevant fleets around the globe.

AD 2020-21-01 Was Prompted By Several Reported Occurrences Of Loss Of Tightening Torque Of The Shur-Lok Nut

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Helicopters Model AS-365N2, AS 365N3, EC 155B, EC155B1, and SA-365N1 helicopters. This AD requires modifying the main gearbox (MGB) tail rotor (T/R) drive flange installation. This AD was prompted by several reported occurrences of loss of tightening torque of the Shur-Lok nut, which serves as a retainer of the T/R drive flange. The actions of this AD are intended to address an unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective November 12, 2020.