Newly-Acquired AFRL Test Aircraft To Aid Personnel Recovery Research

A small aircraft that is poised to make a big impact on military personnel recovery made a brief stop in the Dayton area on its way to St. Mary’s County, Maryland, where it will be used to test the Air Force Research Laboratory-developed Low Altitude Sensing Helmet system. The CubCrafters XCub aircraft was ferried from Yakima, Washington, to Lewis A. Jackson Regional Airport near Dayton, on its journey to the AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing’s contracted research flight test organization facility, Dec. 21. The aircraft was recently purchased by AFRL to advance the initial “Lysander” flying experiment, which will demonstrate the Low Altitude Sensing Helmet

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We've heard the story before... a great airport is under attack by the powers that be... The latest variant of the story comes from Hawaii, where a popular airport known for extensive GA and skydiving activity is under the gun. Dillingham Airfield is Hawaii’s most versatile airport and home to a variety of sky-related activities. It is located on the North Shore of Oahu and the only public use airport on the northern part of the island. The airport is located outside of Honolulu’s congested airspace and

'...A Significant Step Toward Reintroducing Civil Supersonic Flight'

The FAA has issued a final rule to facilitate the safe development of civil supersonic aircraft. The rule streamlines and clarifies procedures to obtain FAA approval for supersonic flight testing in the United States. “Today’s action is a significant step toward reintroducing civil supersonic flight and demonstrates the Department’s commitment to safe innovation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. This rule will help ensure that companies developing these aircraft clearly understand the process for gaining FAA approval to conduct flight testing, which is a key step in ultimately bringing their products to market.

9 CubeSat Missions Comprising 10 Total Spacecraft Are Set To Fly

Virgin Orbit's excitement is palpable with a recent social media posting, "Our team is hitting the ground running in 2021! The window for our Launch Demo 2 mission opens this Sunday, January 10th, with opportunities to launch throughout January." Richard Branson joined in by tweeting, "Very excited that the launch window for Virgin Orbit’s Launch Demo 2 mission opens this Sunday, with opportunities to launch throughout January. The brilliant team are making their way through final reviews, checks and readiness discussions..." After closing out December with a successful wet dress rehearsal (among other activities), VO is entering the new year riding a strong wave of momentum. C

2LTs Ahmat Sadie And Hissein Haoua Are The First Women In The Chad Air Force To Become Pilots

A journey begins with a single step, but for two lieutenants from the Republic of Chad Air Force, that first step was more than 7,100 miles from home. While students from Chad have been attending the Defense Language Institute English Language Center for several years, 2nd Lieutenants Ahmat Sadie and Hissein Haoua are the first women in the Chad Air Force to become pilots. They’re presently assigned to the General English Training course at DLIELC, which concludes in January. After that, they’ll attend the Oral Proficiency Skills for Aviation course and in July, it’s off to Spartan Aviation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to learn to fly. Sadie is 2

General Atomics Will Modify Two Of Its Avenger RPAs

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been selected by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) to support the Skyborg Vanguard Program. Skyborg will become the foundation of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) autonomous capabilities for a family of future USAF unmanned combat aerial vehicles.

The Aircraft Can Lift Up To 6,000 Pounds

Kaman Air Vehicles has confirmed that the Agencia Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) in Brazil has issued a Type Certificate for the Kaman K-1200 K-MAX helicopter. Kaman has been marketing the K-MAX helicopter to various Brazilian operators, power line, oil and gas firms, and engineering companies over the past two years, and this certification clears the path for K-MAX operations in Brazil.

The DAC Is Chartered To Have Up To 35 Members

New appointments have been made to the FAA Drone Advisory Committee or DAC. “The Drone Advisory Committee is key to helping the FAA keep pace with innovation while protecting safety,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. Members are executives who represent a variety of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) interests, including industry, research, academia, retail, technology, and state and local government. The DAC is a broad-based, long-term federal advisory committee that provides the FAA advice on key UAS integration issues by helping to identify challenges and prioritize improvements.

Three E-2Ds Are Scheduled To Be Delivered By 2028

France became the second international customer of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE), Dec. 2, with a signed Letter of Offer and Acceptance to procure three E-2D aircraft from the U.S. Navy, for a maximum value of $2 billion. “The E-2/C-2 program office is looking forward to continuing a longstanding partnership with France and beginning a new chapter with the E-2D,” said Capt. Pete Arrobio, program manager of the E-2/C-2 Airborne Command & Control Systems Program Office (PMA-231). “This procurement will increase interoperability among the U.S. Fleet and international partners.”

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The Lone Star Flight Museum (LSFM) has entered into an agreement with the Mid America Flight Museum in Mount Pleasant, Texas (MAFM) whereby LSFM has agreed to sell its Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Thunderbird, to MAFM. Mid America has agreed to display Thunderbird at Lone Star’s facility at Houston’s Ellington Airport for several months each year through 2024. Mid America has also agreed to make other aircraft from its collection available for display at LSFM during the same time frame.

Had Recently Purchased The Airplane

On August 1, 2020, at an unknown time, a Grumman American AA-5, N7192L, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain less than a mile west of the Marion County Airport (X35), Dunellon, Florida. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot/co-owner held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. According to the airport manager, the pilot texted his girlfriend at 1527 eastern daylight time and said he was going to "fly a couple laps" around the X35 traffic pattern. The pilot did not file a flight plan and was not in communication with air traffic control.

AD 2021-01-03 Requires Removing Certain HPT 1st-Stage And HPT 2nd-Stage Disks From Service

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain International Aero Engines AG (IAE) V2500-A1, V2522-A5, V2524-A5, V2525-D5, V2527-A5, V2527E-A5, V2527M-A5, V2528-D5, V2530-A5, V2531-E5, and V2533-A5 model turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by a root cause analysis of an event involving an uncontained failure of a highpressure turbine (HPT) 1st-stage disk that resulted in high-energy debris penetrating the engine cowling. This AD requires removing certain HPT 1st-stage and HPT 2nd-stage disks from service. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective January 21, 2021.

Aero Linx: Kansas Department of Transportation From open space to aerospace, aviation in Kansas continues to be on the leading edge of a vibrant industry. Kansas continues to play a pivotal role in aviation's impact on our culture, history and economy. There are 138 public-use airports in the state – seven commercial and 131 general aviation. In aggregate, airports, aviation manufacturing and airport/aviation jobs account for $20.6 billion in economic activity. Through innovation, exploration and manufacturing, Kansas continues to exemplify the American spirit. Kansas aviation leads the way through a willingness to look beyond the limits of the possible, forging a path for the next generation.<

Tetrahedron A device normally located on uncontrolled airports and used as a landing direction indicator. The small end of a tetrahedron points in the direction of landing. At controlled airports, the tetrahedron, if installed, should be disregarded because tower instructions supersede the indicator.

“The Air Force’s CODE (Combat Operations in Denied Environment) program determined that these types of missions could not be executed effectively by the large aircraft that we have been using over the last 20 years in areas where we have air dominance. Project Lysander was conceived as a method of rescuing isolated personnel in both heavily defended and undefended airspace. A critical element of the project was determined to be a carry-on kit that could allow such operations.” Source: Dr. Darrel G. Hopper, 711th Human Performance Wing project lead, discussing the CubCrafters XCub aircraft that was flown to the AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing’s contracted research flight test organization facility, to adv