Two-Seat, All-Electric German Ultralight Nears Certification

Elektra Solar GmbH—the German aerospace concern with focuses in the fields of manned and unmanned aerial systems—has successfully test-flown the Elektra Trainer, the company’s two-seat, electric, ultralight aircraft. With test-pilot Uwe Nortmann at the controls, the Elektra Trainer prototype departed Memmingen International Airport in southern Germany on 29 June. The aircraft rose, silently and sans-emissions, after an impressively brief, one-hundred-meter takeoff roll, and climbed at a brisk, eight-meters per second and remained aloft for twenty minutes.

All That Glitters … 

A pair of AC-130J Ghostrider crews has been awarded the 2021 Mackay Trophy—an honor bestowed by the Air Force and the National Aeronautic Association upon those aviators deemed to have accomplished the year’s most meritorious flight. The trophy—in this instance—acknowledges the recipient crews’ actions during the frantic retreat from the country amid the storming of the Afghani capital city by Muslim fundamentalists. 

The Road Better Traveled

The Airline Pilot Club and Skyborne Airline Academy have formed a partnership with the goal of providing aspiring airline pilots professional guidance and high-quality, theoretical, and practical training. The Airline Pilot Club (APC) is a community of aspiring pilots, newly qualified pilots, flying schools and airlines about the noble endeavor of increasing accessibility to flight training and pilot careers. The organization educates neophyte aviators in the complex witchcraft of earning pilot credentials and flying jobs in the 21st Century.

Twenty-Three-Year Veteran Sold Aerospace Secrets to the Chinese

A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot turned-civilian-contractor has pleaded guilty of selling American aerospace technology to China’s communist government and making related false statements during security background checks. Shapour Moinian, 67, of San Diego, served in the U.S. Army from 1977 through 2000. Upon retiring from military service Moinian worked for various cleared defense contractors and the U.S. Department of Defense. The term cleared identifies an individual or entity permitted to work on projects involving classified information.

Twentieth Edition of Popular Publication Imminent

Aircraft owners, operators, and pilots will be pleased to learn the 20th annual edition of the Aircraft Electronic Association’s Pilot's Guide—a consumer's directory comprising timely information and data about the ever-changing world of avionics technologies—will see its initial distribution at this year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. The publication is intended to help pilots and aircraft owners make better buying decisions and locate nearly 1,300 AEA-member companies in more than 40 countries—including government-certified repair stations specializing in maintenance, repair and installation of avionics and electronic systems in general aviation aircraft.

I Am the Eye In the Sky … 

Diamond Aircraft’s special mission, fixed-wing, twin-reciprocating-engine aircraft—the DA62 MPP—is set to undertake a demo tour that will mark the model’s North America debut. The airplane—which resembles a DA62 grown up and joined the Air Force by way of DARPA—is designed for military and police missions the likes of surveillance; coastline, maritime, and border patrol; search and rescue; and airport landing-systems calibration.

The Next Thing You Know, Klyde Will Be Picketing Us!

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

And Don’t Forget The Original Tornado... STILL One of the Best ‘Affordable Flyers’ We’ve Flown

Titan Aircraft President John Williams brought their T-51 partial-scale P-51 Mustang Experimental to the 2021 DeLand Aviation Showcase to catch up on their Tornado and T-51 variants. The T-51B is a light sport capable, fixed-gear version of the T-51D, the retractable, standard kit configuration. Either aircraft can be fitted with a series of engines, ranging from the 100 hp Rotax 912S, a 245 hp Honda V6, a 300 hp GM LS3 V8, or the top of the line BMW V-12 in the works.

About 30 Minutes Into The Flight, The Helicopter Experienced A Violent Upset

On June 8, 2022, about 1726 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N402SH, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Kalea, Hawaii, on the island of Hawaii. The pilot and two passengers sustained serious injuries, and three passengers sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand air tour flight. According to a representative of the operator, Paradise Helicopters, about 1701, the helicopter departed the company base at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (PHKO), Kona, Hawaii, to the south for an air tour flight around the island.

Aero Linx: The Lancair Owner & Builders Organization (LOBO) The Lancair Owner & Builders Organization (LOBO) is a collaborative group and type club for all people who own, fly, build, support, maintain and just plain love Lancair and Evolution aircraft. It is the realization of a collective vision to cultivate an organization designed from the ground up to support Lancair and Evolution aircraft enthusiasts. Many aircraft owners enjoy membership in type clubs; I have been involved with a few over the years. My experience with type clubs has been tremendously positive, paying dividends many times the cost of dues, including good friendships, great times and my personal development toward b

Instrument Departure Procedure (DP) A preplanned instrument flight rule (IFR) departure procedure published for pilot use, in graphic or textual format, that provides obstruction clearance from the terminal area to the appropriate en route structure. There are two types of DP, Obstacle Departure Procedure (ODP), printed either textually or graphically, and, Standard Instrument Departure (SID), which is always printed graphically.

“The Pilot’s Guide is a lifeline to the technical experts in the avionics industry who can help pilots make informed [avionics] decisions based on budget, compatibility, integration, certification, hull-value, and more.” Source: AEA President Mike Adamson, profiling this year's upcoming AEA Pilot's Guide... to be distributed at Oshkosh.