Giantic PBY Mariner Derivative Listed at Warbird Broker

A rare, 1-of-1 vintage warbird is up for grabs, a 1945 Martin JRM-3 Mars flying boat. The last remaining airworthy example of a 5-plane production run has been listed for sale at warbird broker Platinum Fighter Sales. Flying boats are a rare breed, with many manufactured through WWII only to see nearly immediate extinction at the hands of their quicker, more efficient jet replacements. Early airlines found the combination of unlimited oceanic runway space and coastal travel a valuable combination, but they quickly found the limits of passenger capacity and cargo capability. In the early years of the war, the Martin Company obtained a contract with the US Navy for the largest flying

Testing Moves Forward for Exotic Airborne Supercar

Flying cars, long seen as a hallmark of futuristic aeronautical technology, may finally be on the horizon. AirCar's prototype has been given its first airworthiness certification from the Slovakian Transport Authority, making it the first of its kind to achieve EASA standards. The testing process took 70+ hours of flight and more than 200 takeoff and landing cycles. The AirCar reportedly functions throughout the full range of flight and performance maneuvers required, while demonstrating "an astonishing static and dynamic stability in the aircraft mode." The aircraft is powered by a hybrid power system built around a 1.6L BMW engine.

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Thales and Iridium have joined the infamous ultra-high-altitude Perlan continuous flight program. The engineless glider can now avail itself of the Iridium communications network, offering the world's highest internet hot spot at more than 65,000 feet. Perlan will use their newfound connectivity for inflight communications, as well as live streaming from both the glider and its Egret super tow plane. The FAA has published its first round of Notices To Air Missions regarding the soon-to-be activated 5G cell networks, placing warnings over 1,462 airports in an effort to ease t

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Zeva has completed the first untethered flight test for its Zero flying wing airframe, where the aircraft took off and flew under its 8 electric propellers. With the first flight completed, the Zero now boasts the bragging rights of being a functional, real aircraft, with flight time in its logbook in an industry rife with ground demonstrators and digital renders. The flight is an important milestone in the airworthiness certification process, proving the unmanned demonstrator could take off and maintain position in a controlled hover, as well as taxi, climb, and maneuver at

Lack of Radar Altimeter Approval for Embraer E175 Takes Toll on Regionals

In what could be the first case of flight cancellations as a result of new 5G precautions, a foggy airport in Everett, Washington saw carrier Horizon Air blocked from flights in and out of the area. Horizon is the only airline operating commercial flights out of Paine Field, all flown on their Embraer E175 (pictured, top), a favorite of regional and charter operators everywhere. The FAA has permitted low visibility operations with certain combinations of aircraft and radar altimeters; around 35% of the operational transport category fleet in the US remains unapproved.

Better Business Bureau Rules on Competitor's Complaints

The appeal filed by Air Methods Corporation with the National Advertising Review Board has been partially upheld, resulting in a mixed, but mostly negative bag for the air ambulance service. The board is the appellate advertising law body of the Better Business Bureau's National Programs, and has ultimately returned a verdict that recommended that Air Methods modify some of its claims in advertising, discontinue others, and modify a limited number. The dispute arose from Global Medical Response and its subsidiary Air Evac EMS, who went before the advertising review board in protest of the comportment of Air Methods advertising that they felt cast subtle allegations about their services.

Domestic Airline Ready to Train Flight Crew Under Provisional Approval

Canada Jetlines Operations announced its newly granted, conditional approval for its flight crew training, given by Transport Canada. The Canada Jetlines’ Pilot Training program will obtain final approval at a later date, after the regulator is able to review the training conducted under the program and it proves to be satisfactory. “This is an important milestone in the Air Operator Certificate process with Transport Canada. Our first crew will start their pilot training program this month and are scheduled to have completed simulator training in the later part of February,” shared Eddy Doyle, CEO of Canada Jetlines.

Department of Defense says Merger Would Stifle Domestic Rocket Industry

Aerojet Rocketdyne has posted an update on its proposed merger with Lockheed Martin following concern from the Federal Trade Commission over aspects of the transaction. Their announcement that they would not close the transaction prior to the 27th, was overshadowed by the nearly simultaneous release of the FTC's lawsuit to put a stop to the deal. The choice to go ahead with the merger and fight it out in court, or step away and terminate the agreement lies with Lockheed Martin, said Aerojet. 

CEO Dan Schwinn Chats About Products and AI For Aviation

Vantage is a new flight display system in an upcoming product line from Avidyne. This first product is for the generation of SR20s and SR22s that have the original Avidyne display. It is an upgrade to 12 inch screens and much more powerful processing capability, along with additional system redundancies. The upgrade will be cost effective, bigger than what it replaces and all hybrid touch. We had the chance to speak with CEO and Founder, Dan Schwinn, about the Vantage flight display systems on the first day of Oshkosh. “We think this will be a very desirable upgrade... and the beginning of

After Impact, 'The Airplane Was Struck By A Passenger Train That Was Traveling Southbound'

On January 09, 2022, about 1400 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172H, N8056L, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Los Angeles, California. The private pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed runway 12 at Whiteman Airport on a visual flight rules local flight. Shortly after takeoff, during the initial climb, the pilot initiated an emergency landing and touched down on an asphalt surface highway about 265 feet west of the runway centerline, and about 50 feet beyond the airport’s southernmost perimeter. During the acc

AD 2021-26-25 Requires Replacing Certain Air Brake End Stop Bushings

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH Model Duo Discus and Duo Discus T gliders. This AD was prompted by mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as jerky extension of the air brakes at very high air speeds, including cases where the air brake blades interlock. This AD requires replacing certain air brake end stop bushings, inspecting certain other air brake end stops, and repairing if necessary. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe con

Aero Linx: The Flying Dentists Association The Flying Dentists Association is a professional and social association devoted to continuing dental education combined with aviation and family fun. We believe there are skills common to dentistry and flying, and Flying Dentist Association members are more successful and better practitioners due to these skills. We earn a lot of dental and aviation continuing education and learn from each other, but it’s more than that: we are a family that shares the interests of dentistry and flying!

Discrete Code As used in the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS), any one of the 4096 selectable Mode 3/A aircraft transponder codes except those ending in zero zero; e.g., discrete codes: 0010, 1201, 2317, 7777; nondiscrete codes: 0100, 1200, 7700. Nondiscrete codes are normally reserved for radar facilities that are not equipped with discrete decoding capability and for other purposes such as emergencies (7700), VFR aircraft (1200), etc.

"The configuration of the Honeywell radio altimeter in the E175, and how it integrates with the other aircraft systems on the E175, are such that the likelihood of interference from the 5G signal is greater.”  Source: Joe Sprague, president at Horizon Air, explaining why their smaller Q400 turboprops have been cleared throughout the US, but the equipment on their E175 remained to be addressed.