In Service of Self-Determination

In October 2022, private jet flight provider Flexjet, Inc.—which includes fractional aircraft broker and operator Flexjet—announced plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of stock through Billionaire Todd Boehly’s Horizon Acquisition Corporation II. The company reversed course, stating it would remain privately held by its current owner, aviation investment firm Directional Aviation.

Ruling Addresses Trio of 747-8s Stuck in Russia

On Tuesday, 11 April 2023, a U.S. judge ordered AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC—Russia’s largest cargo air-carrier—and its parent company, Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV to pay aircraft lessor BOC Aviation Ltd. $406-million after the former were declared in default on the leases of three Boeing 747-8 freighters.

To Promote Safety and Ensure its Propagation

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on 12 April 2023 that a new centralized office has been established within the agency for purpose of providing high-ranking FAA officials data, independent reviews, and objective decisions pertaining to allegations of managerial malfeasance or misconduct.

For Want of Truth in Advertising

A New Zealand surgeon has been awarded nearly £7,000 ($8,737) in compensation after an August 2022 business class flight from Auckland to London aboard an Emirates Boeing 777 failed to meet expectations set by the airline’s advertising.

Corporate and Individual Membership on the Rise

The Vertical Flight Society (VFS)—the world’s preeminent non-profit technical society for the advancement of vertical flight—announced on 11 April 2023 that its membership has continued to expand by virtue, primarily, of explosive growth within the electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) and military and civil rotorcraft sectors.

Training Legions of Fierce Ruckers

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) has been awarded the Flight School Training Support Services contract to support the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. The $1.7-billion contract—managed by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, andInstrumentation—comprises a five-year base period and seven option years.

Klyde Bemoans the Many Lessons So Few Remember...

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

From 2015 (YouTube Version): One of Aviation’s Greatest Organizations Builds Up Our Ranks... One Worthy Flyer At A Time

In this short, 2 ½ minute video, you’ll see and hear Charles Stites, who is the Executive Director of Able Flight, as he pins pilot wings on four new able flight students. You’ll also receive an introduction to an organization that takes pride in helping people succeed in ways that were not imagined before. Able Flight was created by pilots who believe that the life-changing experience of l

Bright New Ideas for a Venerable Aircraft

PWI announced it has received FAA Parts Manufacturing Approval (PMA) for the LED lighting system the Wichita, Kansas-based company developed to replace the OEM fluorescent cabin lighting of Dassault’s Falcon 900B business jet.  The new PWI LED architecture makes use of the original wiring of the Falcon 900B’s cabin lighting system and replaces the entirety of the OEM fluorescent lighting in the aircraft’s passenger cabin, lavatory, and galley areas.

The Gyroplane Collided With A Powerline And Came To Rest About 100 Yards From The The Powerline

On March 25, 2023, about 1400 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built AR-1 gyroplane, N47AR, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Gainesville, Georgia. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the wife of the pilot, her husband wanted to fly early due to the winds that would be occurring later in the day. She said that he had just recently decided to start flying again and put together the gyroplane himself but had met with a mechanic, “…in the last couple of weeks to make sure the aircraft was i

Also: Inflatable Space Habitat, E.U. SAF, VFS 2023 Group Award, E.U. CO2 Policy

LYTE Aviation showed off a pair of brand new, sustainable aircraft in the 40-seater SkyBus and cargo-hauling SkyTruck. The hybrid, electric VTOL aircraft sport a 4.5 tonne payload, 1,000-km range, and 300 km/hr top speed with largely conventional technology. HALO Space has announced the next step in its journey towards edge-of-space commercial tourism. Following a successful December 2022 test-flight of the company’s helium-balloon ascent platform from Indian soil, HALO Space is making ready for a second test-flight, which will ascend spaceward from southern Spain later this

Aero Linx: The T-34 Association The T-34 Association was formed in July 1975 so that individuals purchasing then military surplus T-34As had an organization which would provide support for these aircraft.  The idea was to share operating and maintenance information to all members.  As the popularity of the T-34 Mentor grew over the years so did the T-34 Association.  Today there are over 600 members in the Association and many are not aircraft owners. 

Braking Action (Good, Good To Medium, Medium, Medium To Poor, Poor, Or Nil) A report of conditions on the airport movement area providing a pilot with a degree/quality of braking to expect. Braking action is reported in terms of good, good to medium, medium, medium to poor, poor, or nil. FMI: www.faa.gov

“Over the past six months, we have been deeply entrenched in preparing our company for listing. During this process, it became evident to us that being a public company would result in significant outside influence by many who were not well-versed in our culture and who did not understand the passion that we share for the business. This lack of alignment was becoming a detriment to what makes Flexjet authentic, appealing, and genuine. The culture that we have built at Flexjet is not just a nice-to-have; it is the foundation of our business. It is what drives our success and ensures that we can continue to provide the exceptional service that you have come to expect. The risk that our most critical differentiator was in jeopardy, along with a less-than-favorable outlook in