British Steal

After nine years at the helm of the U.K.’s largest airport, London Heathrow (LHR) CEO John Holland-Kaye is stepping down amidst clashes with airlines over his controversial handling of COVID-19 exigencies and excessive restrictions imposed on flights during summer 2022’s surge in air-travel. During Holland-Kaye’s tenure, Heathrow racked up a startling £4-billion ($4,895,600,000) in losses. Proponents of the outbound CEO attribute the shortfall to COVID lockdowns. Holland-Kaye’s opponents, conversely, ascribe the airport’s poor performance and fiscal paucity to weak leadership.

Allegedly …

The United States government is allegedly monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that, for several days, has been moving over the U.S.’s northern states. During a 02 February briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder conceded the U.S. government has detected a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States.

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Elektra Solar GmbH announced that its two-place, all-electric, training and towing aircraft, the Elektra-Trainer, had received ultralight certification from the German Ultralight Flight Association (DULV)—a representative agency of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV). Based on 2011’s Elektra One single-seat, ultralight, solar-assisted-electric-propulsion aircraft and designed with an eye toward flight-schools and flying clubs, the Elektra Trainer’s hourly operating cost of about sixty-euros is fully half that of a legacy ultralight aircraft. Enstrom Helicopter Corporation announced on 30 January that the first new 480B model helicopter had flown. The turbine-powered 480B is the 1,317th helicopter to roll out of the Enstrom factory, and the 255th 480 series helicopter built. United announced t

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Rising women leaders in the aviation and aerospace industry are encouraged to apply to attend Women in Leadership: A Program for Emerging Leaders, a three-day professional development program hosted by Women in Aviation International and instruction by Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education. This course will take place on Harvard’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus. United announced the graduation of its first group of zero-to-hero ab initio pilots from their United Aviate Academy. The class is the first to come from the Goodyear, Arizona location after United took over the training accommodations that served as Lufthansa's old stomping grounds. The graduating class of 51 students will be the first bolus towards what United hopes will be an eventual - but optimistic - total of 5,000 by decade's end. Newly-founded to represen

Alignment of Brave New Worlds

For purpose of developing upgrades to its family of uniquely innovative aircraft, Ampaire, the Los Angeles-based designer and manufacturer of hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion systems, has entered into a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with Tamarack Aerospace Group, the Sandpoint, Idaho-based enclave of wizardly aerodynamicists. The deal will see Tamarack’s Performance SMARTWING technology adapted to Ampaire’s inchoate but promising Eco Caravan and Eco Otter—hybrid-electric-powered iterations of Cessna’s storied 208B Grand Caravan and de Havilland’s robustly reliable DHC-6 Twin Otter.

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The TSB of Canada has released its final report on their investigation of an August 2021 incident in which a police drone collided with a small, single-engine Cessna near the Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport. On 10 August 2021, while on final approach under day VFR conditions to YKZ’s Runway 15, a Cessna 172N—registration C-GKWL, collided with a DJI Matrice M210 RPA. The Cessna was crewed by a student pilot and a certified flight instructor. Electra.aero, Incorporated has been selected by the U.S. Air Force AFWERX innovation arm for a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) award to foster the company's work on sustainable STOL aircraft. The deal secures up to $85 million between private investments, government funding, and matching SBIR money to be used on Electra's development of a full-scale pre-production prototype electric short takeoff and land

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The SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo is proud to present, as the lead-in to the aviation year via its partnership with the Aero-News Network, the upcoming 2023 SUN ‘n FUN Innovation Preview. The aviation world is driven by new developments in technology and innovation... And focusing the entire Aero-Verse right at the start of 2023 on all that is cool, interesting, innovative, important, and pivotal is the ultimate aim of the 2023 SUN ‘n FUN Innovation Preview. Aerox Aviation Oxygen Systems LLC has brought to market a unique headset accessory to which it has ascribed the memorable appellation Boomula, a portmanteau that concisely describes the product’s structure and purpose—a headset-mounted boom terminating in an oxygen cannula.Compatible with most continuous-flow portable and installed aircraft oxygen systems, the Boomula mounts to any

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NUNCATS has seen the first flight of its Zenith CH750-based Electric Sky Jeep at the UK's Old Buckenham airport. The project aims to create an affordable, sustainable, electric courier aircraft to provide health service to remote communities. NUNCATS (No Unnecessary Novelty Community Air Transport Services) hopes to provide a stable, reliable form of backcountry transport for doctors, teachers and medical supplies. The Aircraft Electronics Association has sweetened the pot for members of the group, adding a website to recruit and retain employees throughout the avionics industry. The site, AeroCareers.net, is designed to be a "one-stop shop to help recruit and retain the next generation of talent", offering a few tools and highlights particular to the electronics market. Along with its focus on AEA-applicable careers, the site shines a light on career paths in aviation. An

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Founded as a subsidiary of 2Excel Aviation, the Blades Aerobatic Team, for 17-years, was the only full-time civilian aerobatic team in the UK. The Blades team comprised eight pilots, including five full-time display performers, all of whom formerly served in the British Royal Air Force as members of the storied Red Arrows Aerobatic Team -- but they are shutting it all down. Southwest Airlines continues to live down the consequences of operational shortfalls that egregiously and irreparably disrupted the holiday travel plans of thousands of its passengers. The airline—amidst the fallout of more than 16,000 flights canceled or delayed between 21 December and 31 December 2022—has agreed to provide pilots and other employees additional compensation for the concerted efforts they put forth during the year-end mayhem. he Society of Aviation and Fligh

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The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) has entered into a partnership with the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation and Aero-News. This will bring the wealth of knowledge held by SAFE through cooperation with Aero-News programming. Throughout the series, the career of legendary aviator Bob Hoover will function as a throughline between lessons and topics, touching on aspects of his lengthy career to impart CFI essentials. The First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) flight training program remains open to students following a devastating 2022 fire that destroyed much of the institute’s campus and hangar facilities in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory of Ontario. External support from Canada’s aviation industry was pivotal to the program’s recovery and the rehousing of students displaced by the tragedy. Recent years have seen Canad