Engine Failure Forces Use of Airframe Chute Over Mountains

Pilot Albert Youngwerth has been telling an interesting tale on Facebook... after having walked away from the emergency parachute deployment of his chute-equipped Lancair ES. Posted October 15th, Albert gets right to the point... "Crashed my airplane yesterday??" That's one way to get a reader's attention... He continues, "Descending into Eugene, 35 miles out or so, over the mountains, bit lower than I would normally be for a broken cloud layer. Sudden engine decel and misfire. Ruhroo. Made a quick glide assessment, nothing but forest. Went through all the emergency checklist items in my head, engine just got worse, cockpit starting to fill with some smoke, not a ton of altitude, committed

More Environmentally Friendly Fuels Approved For Cessna Piston-Powered Aircraft

Textron has confirmned that that many Cessna piston-powered aircraft are now approved to utilize a more environmentally friendly aviation gasoline (AvGas). Owners and operators of Cessna 172 Skyhawk, 182 Skylane can utilize 91-octane unleaded (91UL), 94UL or 100VLL (very low lead) fuel in their aircraft wherever it is available. The 206 Turbo Stationair HD aircraft is approved for 100VLL. Unleaded and lower-leaded fuels burn cleaner than higher-leaded fuels currently used on most piston aircraft.

Active Winglet Technology Specifically Sought After By SERIOUS King Air Operators

Tamarack Aerospace showed off their newest addition to the Performance Smartwing line at NBAA 2021, their Active Winglets for King Air 200 and 350. Nick Guida, CEO of Tamarack, talks with us about the origins and development of their new King Air add-on, its similarities to their Cessna Citation upgrade, and what to expect for King Air operators. Tamarack has gained a lot of interest this year, as one of the few companies offering a turnkey upgrade that can increase performance, fuel efficiency, and comfort.

"Orbital Reef" To Be A "Mixed Use Business Park" in Orbit

Blue Origin and Sierra Space have announced plans for their Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, produced, and operated space station to be placed in low earth orbit. The new frontier of space business development will be backed by industry partners Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University. The school will lead a global consortium of universities on the Orbital Reef Advisory Council to manage academic needs, share research, evolve standards, guide ethics, and advise new researchers. The announcement from one of the biggest players in commercial space services may signal an increase in the momentum of private orbital development, with a possible &

North Carolina DOT Presents panels, Speakers on Future of Regulation

Elon University and the North Carolina Department of Transportation are jointly offering a free drone safety awareness and general information seminar to registrants on November 8, 2021. Elon Drone Day 2021 will be held in the Elon University School of Communications, from morning to early afternoon.  Keynote talks, panel discussions, and contributions cover a wide spectrum of commercial and public safety applications, from night operations, flight over populations, FAASTeam Ops and Maintenance, the TRUST program, Part 107 certification, drone-based delivery, educational implementation of UAS tech, public safety utility, and legal considerations.

Prototype Aerial Survey Plane Abandoned In Flight, Pilot Bails Out Safely

A prototype Sonaca 200 Airplane went down during the conduct of a testing regimen on October 24, in the midst of a field near Yves-Gomezée, Belgium. Designated 00-STI, it had been undergoing supervised ground and flight tests under certification authorities, when the pilot ran into difficulty and decided to escape the aircraft over a space reserved for off-airport emergency landings. Witnesses in the local area described seeing a "sinking plane spinning before touching down."

Africa’s Commercial Airplane Fleet Projected To Grow To 1,560 Over The Next 20 Years

Boeing is forecasting that Africa’s airlines will require 1,030 new airplanes by 2040 valued at $160 billion and aftermarket services such as manufacturing and repair will be worth $235 billion, enabling growth for air travel and economies across the continent. Boeing shared the projection as part of the 2021 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), the company’s long-term assessment of demand for commercial airplanes and services. Africa’s strong, long-term growth prospects for commercial aviation are closely tied to the continent’s projected 3% annual economic growth over the next 20 years. Initiatives such as the African Continental Free T

Also: Private Airport Under Fire, Soyuz Returns, Volocopter’s VoloDrone, Nat’l Av Hall of Fame

An interesting rumor has made its way through the inboxes of aviation enthusiasts this week. A business for sale, labeled “Legendary Aircraft Manufacturer”, with an asking price of $15 million, accompanied by a short video of the Mooney factory. The unusual listing includes the owners’ 2020 overview and strategy document, now nearly a year out of date. The price may seem somewhat small in an industry that regularly headlines hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions, but some fans of the troubled marque worry that there isn&

...Observed The Helicopter In A Nose Down Attitude Of Nearly 90°

On October 10, 2021, at 1357 eastern daylight time, a Robinson R44 II, N637HP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Cornwall, New York. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to fueling records, the pilot purchased 24.6 gallons of fuel prior to his departure from Floyd Bennet Memorial Airport (GFL), Glenn Falls, New York, about 1247. The destination was MacArthur Airport (ISP), Ronkonkoma, New York, where the helicopter was based. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) preliminary tracking data, at 1356, as the helicopter was flying southbound over the cent

AD 2021-21-07 Prompted By A Report Of Incorrect Take-Off Computations For Crosswinds Above 20 Knots

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A330-841 and A330-941 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of incorrect take-off computations for crosswinds above 20 knots. This AD requires amending the existing aircraft flight manual (AFM), as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD becomes effective November 2, 2021.

Aero Linx: The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) is an International Non-Profit Association, with the aim to develop a framework within which the major Aerospace Societies in Europe can work together. It presently comprises twelve Trustee Member Societies with a combined roughly 35.000 individual members: 3AF (France), AAAR (Romania), AIAE (Spain), AIDAA (Italy), CzAeS (Czech Republic), DGLR (Germany), FTF (Sweden), NVvL (Netherlands), PSAA (Poland), RAeS (United Kingdom), SVFW (Switzerland), TsAGI (Russia), and four Corporate Members: EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), EUROAVIA and EUROCONTROL (Belgium)

Terrain Following The flight of a military aircraft maintaining a constant AGL altitude above the terrain or the highest obstruction. The altitude of the aircraft will constantly change with the varying terrain and/or obstruction.

"Now here is the funny part. I hit the forest floor, jump out of the plane (just in case it was about to explode), see that I'm 100% ok and holler (F---) Yeah! Survey my surroundings, thinking I'm way deep in the forest! Getting dark, I'll be spending the night and they're going to pluck me out in the morning with a helicopter. That'll be kinda cool, I've never flown in a helicopter. Then I get back in the plane to get on the radio to let ATC know I'm ok. As I'm talking to an airliner on 121.5, I hear a woosh go by, was that a car? Nahh, can't be, I'm in the middle of the damn forest. Finish my radio talk, I'm walking around and sure as shit, I see the top of a truck go whizzing by. I landed 20 yards from a paved one-lane road... My lucky day!" Sou