Enables Faster Response Time, Enhances Situational Awareness and Safety

uAvionix, based in Bigfork, Montana, announced that the FAA has approved the Oswego City Police Department’s Drone as First Responder (DFR) program for operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) without Visual Observers (VOs). The uAvionix Casia G ground-based Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) system was instrumental in gaining the approval. Casia G is an advanced ground-based DAA surveillance system that provides crucial airspace awareness to enhance situational awareness for drones operating beyond line of sight with no visual observers as well as any piloted aircraft within proximity of the drones.

Highlighting Progress in Sustainable Fuels

Explorer, environmentalist, and veteran circumnavigator, Bertrand Piccard, announced that he is set to pilot the liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft Climate Impulse on a non-stop globe-circling flight in 2028. The flight will track along the equator and take about nine days to complete. Along the way, Piccard will speak with the public, schools, and governments while seeking to inspire and educate audiences about using the earth’s resources as efficiently and sustainably as possible.

Scary... Audio Inadvertently Routed to NASA Livestream

Wednesday, at approximately 5:28 CDT, audio was heard on the NASA livestream feed from an internal ground-based simulation channel that a  crewmember on the International Space Station (ISS) was enduring symptoms of decompression sickness (DCS). The audio was misrouted to the NASA channel instead of its likely intended audience in the ground control center. On X (formerly Twitter) the ISS feed posted at 6:05 pm CDT that there was in fact no actual emergency happening on the station. Nonetheless, with millions of people following the channel probably at all times of the day and night this caused an immediate and immense outpouring of questions, anxiety, and concern that a real emergency was underway.

Advisory Circular Aims to Reduce the Amount of Paperwork Needed for eVTOL Certification

The FAA is looking for public commentary on a draft Advisory Circular regarding the type, production, and airworthiness certification of powered-lift. The FAA says recent applications for the type certification of powered-lift have proposed passenger seating configurations of six or fewer, weighing 12,500 pounds or less, and utilizing battery-powered electric propulsion. For such projects, the FAA published the proposed airworthiness criteria for public consideration and comment, and has drawn on that body of work to draft an advisory circular called “Type Certification—Powered-lift.”

Archer Continues March Toward Commercialization

Archer Aviation’s second full-scale eVTOL aircraft Midnight successfully completed its transition flight on June 8. In the eVTOL industry, transition flight is a well-known benchmark that is difficult to achieve. It occurs when the aircraft takes off vertically like a helicopter (hover), transitions into wing-borne forward flight as the engines tilt forward and flies like an airplane. As it approaches its destination it decelerates, the engines tilt upward and the craft lands like a helicopter. The process is similar to that seen with the US military’s tiltrotor V-22 Osprey operation.

Middle East and South Africa VFR Charts Added to A La Carte Offerings

ForeFlight announced a modest update to their flagship EFB product, with ForeFlight 16.5 adding one moderately useful feature and a pair of pretty niche ones. Top of mind for the update is an alert for wake turbulence events, a slick little system that draws data from FLARM and ADS-B systems to calculate the prospective wake turbulence caused by traffic ahead of the user. When flying at or above 500 feet AGL, ForeFlight continuously calculates wake effects from nearby aircraft using their position, altitude, speed, weight category, and winds aloft information, then compares these with its current flight path. If the course is set to intersect with the expected pocket of turbulence, ForeFlight can issue a prominent audiovisual alert to notify the pilot. 

Also: USN Jet Returns, MD530F Special Missions, PAL Aerospace, FedEx Picket

Students of Atlantis Aviation Flight school are apparently either out the total sum of their prepaid flight training, or waiting on probate to get on with their careers, after the owners of the school died in an aircraft accident last March. Several students caught the attention of local news, sharing their plight with reporters in the hopes of continuing on with their training. Atlantis Aviation is, or was, a flight school offering students the usual zero-to-hero flight training experience in addition to the standard Part 61 experience. Nolinor Aviation has acquired a second Cessna 172 for its Become a Pilot program. This Cessna 172 (C-172), rich in history and carefully restored, will be made available to Nolinor Aviation employees, offering an exceptional pilot training opportunity. The Flight Simulation Association completed a survey of pilots and air traffic con

Also: Starliner Launches, Boeing Loses Suit, AirVenture Gains Lancaster, AgEagle Sale

Starship’s 4th Flight test was an engineering and visual success... providing a visual feast along much of the 66 minute journey. Starship successfully lifted off at 7:50 a.m. CT from Starbase in Texas, and completed a full-duration ascent burn. The booster’s flight ended with a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. A handful of congressional Republican vets took a leap from a vintage C-47 Skytrain in Florida, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the beach landings on D-Day. A team of House Republicans was set to jump out of a C-47 Skytrain in commemoration of D-Day's 80th Anniversary, joined by a delegation to Normandy, France. DJI has made the first delivery tests on Mount Everest for some serious bragging rights. The company joined hands with Nepalese drone specialist Airlift, making use of the infamously bruta

Massive Aviation News Event Started 2024 Off With a Plethora of Exciting Info

Last year, we introduced the SnF Innovation Preview in which 25 companies introduced over 30 new planes, products, engines, accessories, and more… in other words… a LOT of news. Rotax previewed the powerful 916iS, CubCrafters showcased the Carbon Cub UL, Bose introduced the A30, Aerox revealed the Boomula… and so much more. This year, we went beyond that... way beyond all that, with a larger selection of news announcements that covered ALL aspects of sport, general and commercial aviation... all at the start of the 50th Annual SUN n FUN Aerospace Expo... the undisputed start to the aviation year. This year was also a major news-breaker... especially with the announcement that the DeltaHawk Diesel engine folks were working with Piper Aircraft on an STC for the PA44 Seminole. It also hosted the first forma

A Fun LSA That Doubles As a Crop Duster?

The DragonFly was one of the most intriguing little planes on the line at this year's Sun 'n Fun 2024, so Jim Campbell of ANN made sure to stop by and check it out. Randy Dorsey of Pitman Air took a moment to talk it up and go over the funky little bird. Ever seen a light sport pull double duty as a crop duster? That's the DragonFly's claim to fame, part of its Australian DNA. The DragonFly is meant to be affordable, compact, and fun, but still able to pull its weight around the farm for those who want more than just a "sunny day convertible" of a plane. Dorsey thinks the DragonFly brand is just getting started, since its simplicity, thrill, and reliability gives it a whole lot of adaptability.