Hide/Show Archive Navigation.

All News

May 16, 2023

Airborne-NextGen 05.16.23: Merlin Milestone, Midnight eVTOL, Jetson ONE Chute

Also: Ukrainian Drone Order, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, FlightSafety-Lilium, Forever Flight Alliance

The FAA has awarded Merlin a $1-million contract for purpose of demonstrating the capabilities of its Merlin Pilot product along Alaskan air-routes—albeit under the watchful eyes of onboard safety pilots. Merlin announced that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of New Zealand had concluded its review of the company’s first Stage Of Involvement (SOI-1) and approved a Plan for Software Aspects of Certification (PSAC). Archer Aviation’s eVTOL, dubbed Midnight, had recently completed a six-week series of tests in RUAG’s Large Subsonic Wind Tunnel in Emmen, Switzerland. Jetson has announced the selection of P

More Videos

Gogo Global Broadband Service Gains Momentum

Countdown to Connectivity

Gogo Business Aviation, the American provider of in-flight broadband Internet and similarly vital connectivity services for business aircraft, announced on 15 May 2023 that its global Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband service has gained momentum by virtue of significant program-related achievements actualized both in-house and by strategic partners OneWeb and Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

P&W—Semi-Dependable Engines

Go First Airlines has reportedly prevailed upon Pratt & Whitney to ignore engine requests submitted by competing airlines and provide it a number of engines greater than that awarded by arbitration. An unnamed party with ties to the engine-maker set forth: "Currently, Go [First] is seeking to jump the line for engines over other customers worldwide.” The mystery informant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed no details pertaining to the specific number of engines Go First is seeking from Pratt & Whitney.

Three Years Coming

On 15 May 2023, following three-years of negotiations, Amerijet International pilots represented by ALPA reached a tentative agreement with the air-carrier’s management. The new three-year labor proposal includes pay raises upwards of 45-percent as well as significant improvements to air-crew members’ schedules, work rules, and retirement security.

Less is More; More is More

CubCrafters has introduced a new iteration of its best-selling Carbon Cub aircraft. Dubbed the Carbon Cub UL, the new machine is intended primarily for international markets in which conventional avgas, the likes of 100LL, is difficult or impossible to come by. To achieve its goal of making the Carbon Cub UL contemporaneously avgas and mogas compatible—as well as even lighter and better-performing than its Carbon Cub SS predecessor—CubCrafters invested significantly in new technologies. The end result is an aircraft that complies fully with rigorous American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) s

Live Coverage of 31 May Meeting Planned

On 12 May 2023 NASA announced it will hold a public meeting during which the agency’s independent study team will categorize and evaluate data pertaining to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)—a neologism coined by buffoons to replace the more broadly-known and accurate Unidentified Flying Object (UFO).

WWII Airman Identified and Laid to Rest

Eighty Years an Unknown

The U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has accounted for U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Ralph D. Kolb of McGehee, Arkansas. After eighty long years among the Second World War’s unknown and heroic dead, Sergeant Kolb—who was killed in action in 1943 at age 19—will be laid to rest in his hometown on 14 June 2023.

With 6 High-Profile Incidents on Record for 2023, the Industry Seeks Solutions

The NTSB will hold a May 23 roundtable going over the threat of runway incursions after a number of close calls in recent months. While some high-profile incidents have been the result of inadequate control procedures, the hair-raising possibility of a collision set the industry on edge as reruns of each incident were distributed throughout the public. To put the flying public at ease, the NTSB and government regulators were quick to acknowledge the issue and set themselves to work addressing the obvious shortcomings involved.

From 2019 (YouTube Version): King Schools Founders See A Shift In Flight Training Focus

The founders of one of the best-known flight training businesses say they are seeing a shift in the focus of people beginning flight training. In an interview with Aero-News Editor in Chief Jim Campbell at AirVenture 2018, John King said that more people are starting their flight training with the intention of going into an aviation career, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. King said that as they continue their training, they may realize that they don't w

After The Airplane Touched Down, The Right Main Landing Gear “Appeared To Collapse.”

On April 18, 2023, at 0913 eastern daylight time, a Rockwell International 112 airplane, N12RX, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at the Miami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida. The private pilot was not injured. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot reported that she completed two takeoff and landings at North Perry Airport (HWO), Hollywood, Florida, before flying to TMB.

Aero Linx: White Feather Flights The purpose of White Feather Flights to honor the journey of grieving children, families and individuals and to help them remember their loved one who passed. We’ve created White Feather Flights, and the materials that support the program, so it can be implemented in any community.

VFR Not Recommended

An advisory provided by a flight service station to a pilot during a preflight or inflight weather briefing that flight under visual flight rules is not recommended. To be given when the current and/or forecast weather conditions are at or below VFR minimums. It does not abrogate the pilot's authority to make his/her own decision.

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.16.23)

“Because we have strong partners in OneWeb and Hughes we’re ahead of schedule, and we continue to make tremendous progress on the development of the system components. Gogo’s global broadband service will deliver best-in-class global performance that is faster, smaller, more affordable, and easier to install than other global satellite solutions.” Source: Gogo president and CEO Sergio Aguirre, explaining Gogo's aggressive plans to bring further inflight communications capability to the Aero-Verse.