Passenger Without Prior Flying Experience Lands Cessna 208 Caravan With ATC Assistance

Tuesday, an individual with allegedly no prior flying experience had a chance to live many a pilot’s dream, by landing a small airplane after the pilot became incapacitated. The Cessna 208 Caravan, a fixed-gear single-engine turbo-prop airplane that can seat as many as nine individuals, was being operated by a single pilot from Marsh Harbor (MHH) in the Bahamas to Ft. Pierce (FPR) Florida when one of the passengers noticed that the pilot was not responsive. It appears the aircraft routinely makes trips between the Bahamas and Florida, but this time, was forced to make an unpl

eVTOL Certification Uncertain As FAA Diverts From Part23

Gleaned from the headlines of ‘The Air Current’ is that news broke on that the electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing (eVTOL) startups have gotten the attention of the FAA, but in a good way. Recognizing the importance of keeping abreast of the technological developments in the industry, the FAA is reconsidering its approach to the certification of eVTOLs.

Also: Gary Ward Showmanship Award, JetBlue Wants Spirit, Australia's New AirShow, Mars Helo

The first T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer jet to be delivered to the US Air Force has been unveiled. The jet, one of 351 the U.S. Air Force plans to order, was unveiled prior to official delivery. The fully digitally designed aircraft was built and tested using advanced manufacturing, agile software development and digital engineering technology significantly reducing the time from design to first flight. Airbus announced Qantas, Australia’s largest domestic and international airline has signed an agreement to order 12ea A350-1000, 20ea A220, and 20ea A321X

Also: Gary Ward Showmanship Award, JetBlue Wants Spirit, Australia's New AirShow, Mars Helo

The first T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer jet to be delivered to the US Air Force has been unveiled. The jet, one of 351 the U.S. Air Force plans to order, was unveiled prior to official delivery. The fully digitally designed aircraft was built and tested using advanced manufacturing, agile software development and digital engineering technology significantly reducing the time from design to first flight. Airbus announced Qantas, Australia’s largest domestic and international airline has signed an agreement to order 12ea A350-1000, 20ea A220, and 20ea A321X

Eric Crump Named New Director Of Lakeland’s ACE

Eric Crump’s storied history in aviation reaches new heights with his appointment as Director of the Aerospace Center Excellence (ACE), beginning 1 June 2022. Mr. Crump was founder/director of the Polk State College Aerospace Program in since 2012, and grown the aviation program from scratch to a student body of almost 300. Additionally, he was the driving force behind making Polk State College in Florida the first to offer a BS degree in Aerospace Sciences.

VoltAero’s Cassio’s Fleet Hybrid Aircraft Is One To Watch

Today, we are chatting with Jean Botti, CEO, and CTO of VoltAero. Mr. Botti was enthusiastic about the general interest in ‘green aviation’, and wanted to focus our attention on two things: 1) their world-renowned ‘Cassio 1’, which is a prototype 600kW 800hp aircraft that recently completed a 4000-mile trip, and a big tour of France of 3000 miles, 2) they’re debuting the ‘Cassio 2’ in Oshkosh which has completely new aerodynamics, but retains all the knowledge we’ve acquired from the powertrain of Cassio 1, their prototyp

Joby Aircraft Tests eVTOL Noise Profile with NASA

Joby Aviation, a developer of electric aircraft for commuter use announced on 10 May 2022, that they had successfully demonstrated a low noise profile as confirmed with testing by NASA in California. Joby Aviation’s test bird traveling at 100kts apparently met the low-noise targets it had set, allegedly something in the vicinity of 45.2dBA at an altitude of 1640ft. A noise level it [Joby] “believes will barely be perceptible against the ambient environment of cities.”

United Airlines Signs Up For 50m gals Of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from Neste

Neste whose slogan is ‘change runs on renewables’ will be the company whose fuel runs through the fleet of United Airlines. According to an agreement signed on 10 May 2022, Neste is expected to provide 50 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for United Airlines’ flights originating from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport (AMS) in the Netherlands. SAF is a low-carbon synthetic fuel that can, according to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) safely power turbine engines.

During Climb To The North, The Sound And Power Produced By The Burners Was Abnormal

On April 10, 2022, about 0703 mountain standard time, an Adams Balloons LLC A55S, N866RA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Safford, Arizona. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the two passengers sustained minor injuries. The balloon was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that during climb to the north, the sound and power produced by the burners was abnormal.

AD 2022-08-12 Prompted By Reports Of Bolt Rotation In The Engine Drag Fitting Joint...

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2020-21-17, which applied to all The Boeing Company Model 757 airplanes. AD 2020-21-17 required repetitive inspections for skin cracking and shim migration at the upper link drag fittings, diagonal brace cracking, and fastener looseness; and applicable on-condition actions. This AD was prompted by reports of bolt rotation in the engine drag fitting joint and fastener heads and cracks found in the skin of the fastener holes, and the need to reduce the compliance time for certain groups. This AD retains the requirements of AD 2020-21-17 with reduced compliance times for certain airplane groups. The FAA is issuing

Aero Linx: The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) was launched in 1997 as part of the industry-government Safer Skies Initiative to improve aviation safety. Revitalized in 2011, the GAJSC works to improve general aviation safety through data-driven risk reduction efforts focused on education, training, and enabling new equipment in general aviation aircraft.

Severe Weather Forecast Alerts Preliminary messages issued in order to alert users that a Severe Weather Watch Bulletin (WW) is being issued. These messages define areas of possible severe thunderstorms or tornado activity. The messages are unscheduled and issued as required by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) at Norman, Oklahoma.

“...believes (their noise level) will barely be perceptible against the ambient environment of cities.” Source: Joby Aviation, discussing the future of the noise signature of their aircraft and how it most recently successfully demonstrated a low noise profile as confirmed with testing by NASA in California -- with their test bird traveling at 100kts apparently met the low-noise targets it had set, allegedly something in the vicinity of 45.2dBA at an altitude of 1640ft.