Orion Was Recently Reported Over 237,000 Miles From Earth

Going far smoother than its prep period, Artemis I continues to clock down the milestones. Orion’s distant retrograde orbit insertion burn as a part of the Artemis I mission took place at 1652 p.m. EST. Orion fired the orbital maneuvering system engine on its European service module to propel the spacecraft into an orbit over 40,000 miles above the surface of the Moon. The distant retrograde orbit provides a highly stable destination where little fuel is required to stay while engineers put Orion’s systems to the test in a deep space environment far from Earth. 

Administration Does Some Needed Housekeeping Before Commercial eVTOL Operators Arrive to the Party

The FAA has published a draft regarding an update to Air Carrier definitions that would add all powered-lift to existing definitions. The draft says that the rule is an "important step in the FAA's integration of new entrant aircraft in the National Airspace System”, paving the way for the expected wave of eVTOL aircraft on the way. The upcoming slate of electric or hybrid multirotor aircraft is expected to begin entry into commercial service by decade's end, with most manufacturers hard at work developing their aircraft for certification within the next 3-5 years.

Successful Chute Deployment Dumps S/E Jet Into Pond

With increasing frequency, the questionable record of the Cirrus Vision Jet becomes all the more questionable. Friday morning, a Cirrus Vision Jet, N15VJ, (SN #215) went down shortly after takeoff from the Indianapolis Regional Airport. Whatever occurred to convince the pilot that this was a proper course of action took place early in the flight and barely a mile off the end of Runway 25. Video of the late 2020 certified aircraft, under the canopy, is already on social media, and in one there seems to be a smoky trail above the aircraft that might point to powerplant issues.

Also: NGPA 2022 Scholarships, CAE Expands Toronto, Single-Pilot KC-46 Sortie, Elite-ProSim Agree

A new way of looking at the basics of flight has been published by one long established flight instructor, offering teachers a fresh approach to light aircraft. Master Flight Instructor Rich Stowell has put a cap on his research regarding the fundamental principles of flight instruction, publishing “The Nine Principles of Light Airplane Flying”. While currently the theory exists as a self-contained paper, Stowell plans to integrate the principles into educatio

Also: King Air Theft Tragedy, Metroliner Accident, AEA v 5G, Netjets Expands

Archer Aviation has unveiled its production aircraft, Midnight, a pilot-plus-four-passenger eVTOL aircraft during its Open House event in Palo Alto, CA. Midnight is the evolution of Archer’s demonstrator eVTOL aircraft, Maker, which has validated its twelve-tilt-six configuration and key enabling technologies. Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet and, with its expected payload of over 1,000 pounds, can carry four passengers plus a pilot. Midnight is optimized for back-to-back short distance trips of around 20-miles, with a charging time of approximately 10

Coast Guard Finds/Rescues Overboard Cruise Ship Passenger

No holiday rest for the Coast Guard as they rescued a cruise ship passenger Thursday evening, approximately 20 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a call from the Carnival Valor at approximately 2:30 p.m. Thursday, reporting a passenger aboard the cruise ship was missing. Watchstanders then coordinated the launch of several rescue crews to begin searching. At 8:25 p.m., a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew rescued the 28-year-old male who had fallen overboard from the Carnival Valor on Wednesday evening. The aircrew was vectored into the area by the bulk carrier CRINIS who had observed a person in the wate

Also: King Air Theft Tragedy, Metroliner Accident, AEA v 5G, Netjets Expands

Archer Aviation has unveiled its production aircraft, Midnight, a pilot-plus-four-passenger eVTOL aircraft during its Open House event in Palo Alto, CA. Midnight is the evolution of Archer’s demonstrator eVTOL aircraft, Maker, which has validated its twelve-tilt-six configuration and key enabling technologies. Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet and, with its expected payload of over 1,000 pounds, can carry four passengers plus a pilot. Midnight is optimized for back-to-back short distance trips of around 20-miles, with a charging time of approximately 10

Low Profile, Contoured, Yoke-Mounted Mic Button Offers Affordable Solution to Aging Red Buttons

ASA has released a small, unobtrusive, and durable push-to-talk switch for use with GA headsets, intercoms, and radios. The switch replaces the oftentimes finicky and easily broken little red button frequently found throughout the GA fleet, providing owners with a contoured, low-profile switch for their radio needs. The button's lead flows into a coiled cable for use with any 2-plug comm device, allowing for easy, simple "installation" (i.e. plugging it in) with no fuss.

From 2021 (YouTube Version): ANN Talks With John ‘Lites’ Leenhouts, President & CEO, Sun ‘n Fun

“We truly believed that we would have a reduced crowd, by a substantial number, we estimated a 25% reduction in participation and attendance, and boy were we wrong. They came out in droves. It was a gigantic, massive onslaught of humanity coming to enjoy the aviation experience. As we approached the fly in, we realized our advanced ticket sales were skyrocketing,” says Leenhouts. “We had to really quickly configure for a larger participation than we ever envisioned. Ultimately, we were up 25% more

AD 2022-19-02 Prompted By A Determination That New Or More Restrictive Airworthiness Limitations Are Necessary

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2016-10-08, AD 2017-05-10, and AD 2019-01-05, which applied to certain Airbus SAS Model A330-200, -200 Freighter, and -300 series airplanes; and AD 2019-20-13, which applied to certain Airbus SAS Model A330-200, A330-200 Freighter, A330-300, A340-200, A340-300, A340-500, and A340-600 series airplanes. AD 2016-10-08 required determining the flight cycles accumulated on certain trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuators (THSAs), and replacing the THSA if necessary. AD 2017-05-10, AD 2019-01-05, and AD 2019-20-13 required revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable

AD 2022-20-14 Prompted By Reports Of Cracks Found On The Main Transmission Support Case

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell Textron Inc., Model 204B, 205A, 205A-1, 205B, 210, 212, 412, 412CF, and 412EP helicopters and various restricted category helicopters. This AD was prompted by reports of cracks found on the main transmission support case. This AD requires repetitive inspections of the main transmission housing assembly for cracks, pitting, and corrosion and depending on the results, corrective action. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective December 27, 2022.

Shortly After Takeoff, The Pilot Reported He Was Unable To Maintain Main Rotor RPM

On November 2, 2022, about 2014 central daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N61KH, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Greenville, Illinois. The pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries and one passenger sustained no injury. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 business flight. The helicopter, which has a normal and a restricted airworthiness certificate, had completed 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application work during the day.

Aero Linx: The Aero Club of India (ACI)   The Aero Club of India (ACI), then known as Royal Aero Club of India and Burma Ltd., was inaugurated in the year 1927, along with Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA). Since its inception and till independence (1927-1947) the DCA and Aero Club worked in close cooperation. The Club functioned as a branch of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain till Independence. In fact, the Constitution of the Club was drawn up along the lines of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain. During the World War II (1939-1945) the activities of the club were practically suspended. The Club was affiliated to the Royal Aero Club as well as to the Societe Aviation Intern

Round-Robin Flight Plan   A single flight plan filed from the departure airport to an intermediary destination(s) and then returning to the original departure airport.

"Orion is currently traveling over 237,000 miles from Earth and over 57,000 miles from the Moon, cruising at about 2,300 miles per hour."   Source: Talk about a position report! That's a NASA update from day 10 of the Artemis I mission around the moon.