The FAA Notes The Loss of Five Senior Staff After Resigning Over Recent Capitol Unrest

Late Thursday; FAA chief of staff Angela Stubblefield disclosed that, “This evening the Secretary and the Administrator received resignation letters from all our non-career staff members here at FAA. These resignations will be effective Monday evening. Our colleagues’ decisions, given the gravity of yesterday’s events, are understandable. Like all of us, they are outraged by the brazen and violent attack on one of the sacred institutions of American democracy.”

Reaches Conditional Agreement with Department of Justice

Boeing has avoided criminal prosecution as a result of its many perceived and real failings in the wake of the 737 Max tragedy. Boeing has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice, which resolves the Department’s investigation into the Company relating to the evaluation of the Boeing 737 MAX airplane by the FAA. As part of Boeing’s resolution with DOJ, the Department has agreed to defer prosecution of the company, provided that Boeing abides by the obligations set forth in a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, after which time the charge will be dismissed. Under the agreement, Boeing will pay a penalty of $243.6 million and provide $500 million in additiona

Accident Involving Inadequately Trained Pilot Leads to Call for Better Monitoring of CFIs

Citing inadequate training of a pilot whose plane crash resulted in 11 deaths, the National Transportation Safety Board called on the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday to better monitor the effectiveness of flight instructors. Three safety recommendations have been issued during the NTSB’s ongoing investigation of the June 21, 2019, Mokuleia, Hawaii, crash of an airplane on a parachute jump flight. The pilot and all 10 passengers died in the crash. In the safety recommendation report, the NTSB referenced the FAA’s ‘Aviation Instructor’s Handbook,’ which states the goal of a flight instructor is “to teach each learner

Schedule Includes 29 Separate Shows And One Appearance At The United States Air Force Academy Graduation

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds have released their performance schedule for the 2022 air show season. The team’s 2022 campaign begins with a late March open house at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and concludes with an early November show at their home base, Nellis Air Force Base, in Nevada. The schedule includes 29 separate shows and one appearance at the United States Air Force Academy graduation in late May. In its only non-U.S. show of the season, the team will participate in the Abbotsford International Airshow in British Columbia in early August. The schedule includes 15 military air shows/open houses and 14 civilian shows

Fort Worth Police Department Adds Customized Bell 505 Jet Ranger X To Enhance Air Support

Bell Textron has delivered a Bell 505 to the Fort Worth Police Department. Bell executives and city officials celebrated this delivery at the police department’s hangar at Meacham Airport to mark a 70-year relationship between Bell and Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Police Department currently operates two Bell 206 Jet Ranger aircraft; the addition of the Bell 505 will provide exceptional performance that is part of the Jet Ranger legacy.

Klyde Tries to Get Back In The Saddle

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Event Usually Held Every Two Years, Offering Free Access To The Public

The Thunder & Lightning Over Arizona Open House & Airshow at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is rescheduled for Nov. 6-7, 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fall event will be headlined by the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, as well as the A-10 Thunderbolt II Demonstration Team. “We’re always excited to welcome the community onto Davis-Monthan to showcase our Airmen, our mission and share our passion for aviation,” said Col. Joseph Turnham, 355th Wing commander.

Variable CG VTOL Aircraft Could Be A Game Changer

Draganfly has been awarded of a new patent for a VTOL cargo delivery drone with variable center of gravity. The design may be ideal for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and for transporting goods in hard to reach areas or flight over people at night. US Patent No. 10,807,707 is a UAS configured for both vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing flight operations includes forward, and aft wing assemblies mounted to the fuselage, each wing assembly including port and starboard nacelles terminating in motor-driven rotors powered by an onboard control system capable of adjusting rotor speeds.

We're Back To A Daily Airborne Sked... AND Adding New Programs!

We’ve teased this for a while but ANN is returning to a daily webcast schedule THIS WEEK, the start of 2021... which we hope will be a much better year than what we’ve just been through. With much of aviation still struggling, increasing our schedule may not seem to be all that careful a move, but the fact is that our aviation community deserves all the honest, REAL-journalistic support we can give it, and this is one way to do it. There are a great number of major changes coming your way -- and not just to Airborne. The first is the debut of a special new Airborne series devoted to affordable aviation, Airborne-Affordable Flyers -- which will also be supporting the c

From 2015: Single and Two-Place LSA Offerings Offer Easy Construction, Economical Operation

While at EAA AirVenture 2014, ANN News Editor, Tom Patton, visited with the President of BedeCorp, James Bede, about their line of aircraft that were on display. Tom’s first question was about the Bede 22. He pointed out that it seems similar to the Bede design that later became the American Yankee, and he asked about the similarities. Bede pointed out that it uses a bonded honeycomb structure similar to the American Yankee but that the production process is simpler. In the video,

The Engine Started To Miss, And The Airplane Wouldn’t Climb

On December 21, 2020, at 1525 Pacific standard time, a Navion A, N4106K, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Livermore Municipal Airport (LVK), Livermore, California. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The pilot was conducting a test flight and reported the runup was normal and the engine developed full power during takeoff. However, shortly after takeoff, as he turned crosswind and throttled back, the engine started to miss, and the airplane wouldn’t climb. The pilot returned to runway 25L for landing.

Aero Linx: Aerospace States Association ASA is a nonpartisan organization of Lt. Governors, Governor appointed delegates, and associate members from aerospace organizations and academia. representing state's interests in federal aerospace and aviation policy development. ASA advocates on behalf of all 50 states for research and design funding, workforce training, economic development in aerospace and aviation, excellence in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and keeping states competitive in a global marketplace...

Traffic Information Service-Broadcast (TIS-B) The broadcast of ATC derived traffic information to ADS-B equipped (1090ES or UAT) aircraft. The source of this traffic information is derived from ground-based air traffic surveillance sensors, typically from radar targets. TIS-B service will be available throughout the NAS where there are both adequate surveillance coverage (radar) and adequate broadcast coverage from ADS-B ground stations. Loss of TIS-B will occur when an aircraft enters an area not covered by the GBT network. If this occurs in an area with adequate surveillance coverage (radar), nearby aircraft that remain within the adequate broadcast coverage (ADS-B) area will view the first aircraf

"I firmly believe that entering into this resolution is the right thing for us to do—a step that appropriately acknowledges how we fell short of our values and expectations. This resolution is a serious reminder to all of us of how critical our obligation of transparency to regulators is, and the consequences that our company can face if any one of us falls short of those expectations.” Source: David L. Calhoun, Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer, in a note to employees explaining the company's acceptance of terms laid out for them by the DoJ in order to avoid prosecution for issues related to the Boeing 737 MAX.