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DOT Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg has been selected to serve as acting FAA administrator, replacing the eminently qualified Billy Nolen, who announced his intention to step down earlier this year. Kathryn “Katie” Thomson will serve as the FAA’s deputy administrator, replacing Brad Mims, who is assuming a new, senior role at the DOT as head of the agency’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. In the first week of June, low visibility instantiated by smoke from wildfires in the Canadian Province of Quebec occasioned flight de

Readying for the Age of AAM

Founded in 2014, Salt Lake City, Utah’s Robotic Skies is the world’s sole global maintenance network for commercial Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The company’s field support infrastructure—which spans upwards of fifty nations—includes over 250 independently owned and operated FAA Part 145 repair stations and the international equivalents thereof. Robotic Skies offers a comprehensive turnkey field service program devised to keep commercial UAS platforms safely and affordably aloft. The company’s services include airworthiness certifications assistance, routine and field maintenance

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The Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) is now accepting bids from airports and localities seeking to partner with the organization for purpose of hosting future air racing events. Last March, the Reno Air Racing Association’s board of directors regretfully announced that 2023’s 59th National Championship Air Races—spanning 13 through 17 September—are to be the last held at Reno, Nevada’s Reno-Stead Airport (4SD). North Carolina-based charter and fractional ownership concern Jet It—the world’s 12th largest private jet operator by t

After The Airplane Crossed The Runway Threshold, The Flight Track Data Showed The Flight Path Shift To The Right

On May 6, 2023, at 1522 central daylight time, a Cessna 310D, N6798T, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Ennis, Texas. The pilot and front seat passenger were seriously injured, and the backseat passenger was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed that the airplane departed David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), Houston, Texas, at 1424 and proceeded to Ennis Municipal Airport (F41) and arrived at 1522. ADS-B data also revealed that the airplane began a descent on final

Aero Linx: Whirly-Girls International  Whirly-Girls International is a nonprofit, educational and charitable organization dedicated to advancing women in helicopter aviation. The organization’s goals include the promotion of women in the helicopter industry.

Circle-To-Land Maneuver

A maneuver initiated by the pilot to align the aircraft with a runway for landing when a straight-in landing from an instrument approach is not possible or is not desirable. At tower-controlled airports, this maneuver is made only after ATC authorization has been obtained and the pilot has established required visual reference to the airport. 

“Inspiration is what fueled the people who developed this flagship mission and who hand-crafted the largest spacecraft NASA has sent to explore the solar system. It’s what drives humanity to ask the big questions that this mission will contribute to. Inspiration is riding along with every single name that will be making the journey to Europa.” Source: Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, which leads the development of Europa  Clipper. Members of the public are invited to add their names to the upcoming NASA Europa Clipper mission before the spacecraft heads off to the Jupiterean moon in fall of 2024. Submitted names will be stenciled on a