Despite the Scaremongering Media Headlines, Things End Well for Polaris

Two aircraft performing at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show clipped wings during a routine last Sunday, spooking onlookers with the hint of a tragedy. The aircraft were performing as a part of the Polaris Ghost Squadron, a team of urban-camo milsurp jets hailing from across Eastern Europe. The Polaris Ghost Squadron features an eye-catching MiG-29, a trio of Alpha Jets, and a quartet of Albatros L-39s. In their recent incident, the team pulled just a little too close during their Fort Lauderdale routine, touching tips but preventing any worse damage from occurring. 

Waterbury-Oxford Airport Open for Business This Summer

Clay Lacy Aviation is hard at work prepping their newest FBO and hangar at New York's Waterbury-Oxford Airport (KOXC), with plans to open it this upcoming summer. The facility will offer visitors more than 120,000 square feet of new hangars, giving big corporate jet operators enough space to operate while they pass through the populous northeastern region. "The facility still has room to accommodate more super-mid, large-cabin, and ultra-long range jets," said David "Buddy" Blackburn, Chief Business Officer for Clay Lacy FBOs.

Site to Sport Blended Sustainable Fuels Across the Board from Here on Out

Signature Aviation has announced that its Los Angeles International Airport location will now offer nothing but blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel, doing away with traditional Jet-A from pure, fresh petroleum stock entirely. While the overall news sounds quite progressive, some non-industry headlines applauding the change to "100% SAF", it should be noted that there's an asterisk there: it's 100% blended SAF, not quite the purely sustainable, freshly synthesized, eco-friendly stuff one imagines. 

Scaled Version of Hybrid eVTOL X5 Shows Promise

Hybrid eVTOL manufacturer, or better said, developer, showed off its latest flight test using a smaller scaled version of its high-wing Cavorite X5. The short tethered test flight shows the Cavorite take off from a standstill, lifting off and testing its behavior as it gently moves through a handful of power settings and control checks. It validated the Cavorite's yaw control system, as well as demonstrated to a small degree how stable and effective the aircraft is while taking off in VTOL mode.

UK Industry Group Invests in Future Talent

The Air Charter Association is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a new sponsored internship program, supporting its UK compatriots with enhanced career opportunities as they forge their path into the industry. It has been termed the ACA 75 Internship Program, and will offer a 3.5-month stint where youths 18 to 25 get "expert training, hands-on work experience, a competition project, and a networking and awards presentation event." The Association is accepting applications through June 10th, 2024. Details can be found on their website.

Pipeline Patrols Easier Than Ever Thanks to Newfangled Tech

A power company in Ohio advertised its new fleet addition, a suite of infrared imaging equipment recently installed on its helicopters flying the lines. FirstEnergy has been forced to undertake patrols for years using nothing more than the standard-issue mark I eyeball, ensuring that vegetation had not grown to encumber their transmission lines. Pipeline patrol has traditionally worked that way - low-level overflight all along thousands of miles of wiring, close enough to distinguish overgrowth from canopy.

Student's Night Flight Cut Tragically Short

The NTSB's recent preliminary report on a Purdue Aviation PA-28 now hints that the 20-year-old student committed suicide. Last month, a Purdue Aviation Piper PA-28 took off from the school's home airport in Lafayette, Indiana for a local night flight. The student first finished some pattern work, completing 4 laps of practice landings before heading northwest to a less populated area. Once in that area, track data shows the student made numerous turns before the system stopped reporting. The crash site was found the next day, and isolated to begin the investigation. After recovering the wreckage and the pilot's remains, the study began.