RAF Mourns Loss of One of Its Own, Squadron Leader Mark Long

A tragic crash involving a Royal Air Force Spitfire has led to the grounding of the fleet for the time being. The pilot's identity has been released to the public, Squadron Leader Mark Long. He was a Typhoon pilot with the Royal Air Force before getting a slot with the Memorial Flight, where he's been flying the last 4 years. Prior to the incident, the BBMF had 6 original Spitfires left, which fly alongside a dozen airworthy Hurricanes. The unit is staffed as a regular RAF unit, funded by the UK's Ministry of Defense.

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The warbird community celebrated Mark Novak, Chief Pilot of their B-29 'Doc', and his accomplishment of racking up 500 hours in the vintage bomber. On top of that, Novak built up more than 300 hours of time flying the other B-29 'Fifi', making him the modern era's most experienced B-29 pilot. The Airspace Center for Excellence has been given the blessing to begin operating Lakeland Linder International Airport's first concessions store, riding on the tail of new commercial service by Avelo Airlines. Evidently, there weren't too many bidders for the opportunity, with most in the area eschewing what they believed is a non-starter. The approving body came by way of Lakeland commissioners, who voted unanimously to approve the Center's lease agreement. If you've been looking for exciting aviation oriented programming, a new reality series just MAY do the trick. Paramoun

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GAMA released their 1Q/24 GA Aircraft Shipment and Billing Report -- with mostly mixed news. The results for the first three months of 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023, show deliveries were flat for piston airplanes and piston helicopters, decreased for turboprops and turbine helicopters, and increased for business jets. Total aircraft billings were up 3.2% at $4.7 billion. Czech sportplane manufacturer Direct Fly has finished delivering its 200th ALTO NG, the latest iteration of their 600-kg sportplane. The Alto was previously offered as the Alto 912 TG model, sporting some light tweaks and changes for improved stiffness and durability. One such modification added additional engine space up front, shifting the weight a tad to prevent the TG's habit of tail standing when disembarking. The newer ones also make full use of the 15-kg baggage com

Transition from 'Helicopter' Society to 'Vertical Flight' Helps Strengthen Industry Ties

One of the Vertical Flight Society's own has been given the Exceptional Public Service Medal from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), garnering just another smidgeon of prestige for the organization. VFS Director of Strategy Mike Hirschberg was recognized with the EPSM, which is awarded to those who contribute to NASA's mission without being on a government payroll. Hirschberg was honored at the NASA Ames Research Center’s “2023 Presidential Rank & NASA Honors Awards” ceremony, where 73 individual and 27 group awards were given to NASA employees, contractors and groups. Hirschberg was the only one out of 100 awards given who was neither a NASA employee nor contractor, bucking the trend.

Expanding Portfolio Brings Eutelsat OneWeb to Wide Swath of Citation Family

Gogo Business Aviation has announced a European STC for the use of the Galileo HDX antenna for the Cessna Citation Latitude jet, paving the way for a Euro internet solution entirely from the Gogo fold. Much like the more famous but general-use Starlink, Gogo Galileo operates on the Eutelsat OneWeb enterprise low-Earth-orbit satellite network. That gives very global coverage, since, as Gogo notes, the Eutelsat network is already fully deployed. All in all, the STC for the Citation Latitude will cover almost 400 aircraft in the worldwide fleet. Other Euro STCS along similar lines include the Citation 525, CJ1, CJ2, CJ3, CJ4, and Embraer Phenom 300. With EASA blessing for each, it shouldn't be long before other regulators around the world give them the okay, too.

$7.5 Million Replaces 4 Out-of-Spec Taxiways at Tulsa Reliever

Tulsa Riverside Airport of Oklahoma has completed a small ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of a newly realigned Taxiway Alpha, correcting a collection of non-standard, angled taxiways. The project ran about $7.5 million in all, funded largely by a Federal Aviation Administration grant of $6.8 million. The rest was scraped together with $381,000 from an Oklahoma Department of Aerospace & Aeronautics (ODAA) Grant of $381,028, and the rest form the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust (TAIT) for $423,928. With construction complete, all four connector taxiways between Runway 01L/19R and Taxiway Alpha meet standard specifications, connecting at perpendicular angles for maximum visibility on either side.

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A Saturday afternoon jump run, originating from SkyDive Kansas City, went bad when it was reported that, "a Skydiver premature parachute deployment at 14,000 msl damag(ed) the tail section." The turbine-upgraded Cessna 206, N29173, was abandoned by the pilot, who made a safe and successful jump, though the aircraft is a total loss. The parachute-equipped jump pilot exited the aircraft after all six jumpers had cleared the aircraft. The fourth flight test of Starship could launch as soon as June 5, pending regulatory approval. SpaceX notes that Starship’s third flight test made tremendous strides towards a future of rapidly reliable reusable rockets with the test completing several exciting firsts, including the first Starship reentry from space, the first ever opening and closing of Starship’s payload door in space, and a successful propellant transfer demons

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In partnership with Revv Aviation and the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID), Coe College is opening a new flight school and aviation management program. Those interested in becoming a professional pilot can complete their certification while enrolled as students within Coe's new aviation management concentration. Just as they got themselves a new contract, things spiraled out of control as the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots claimed, "Managers use intimidation, aggressive interrogation tactics to silence the Union's voice." Scarcely a few weeks passed since the parties sat down at the bargaining table and inked a 5-year pilot contract, something all expected would put the very acrimonious relationship on the back burner until time for negotiations arose anew. Stratus Financial and Wayman Aviation Academy have joined forces to deliver customized fin

ANCILLARY Program Gets New Contender

AeroVironmen'ts Group 3 Wildcat is now being honed as one of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's inscrutably designated 'AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY' program. In typical DARPA try hard fashion, the program is probably more 'backronym' than 'acronym', but ANCILLARY is easier to remember so it makes sense why it stuck. AeroVironment is hoping its little Wildcat will be the most promising of the bunch, since it offers the right blend of endurance, payload, VTOL and landing performance while managing to host enhanced autonomy. AeroVironment knows that the hardware is only part of what makes a successful UAS these days, so they promise the inclusion of their SPOTR-Edge machine learning visual system as the cornerstone of the Wildcat's performance.

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There are, occasionally, blisteringly dunderheaded bits of governmental incompetence to be found with increasing regularity... but the most recent move by the Nat'l Parks Service leaves us shaking our heads and a bit ashamed of Uncle Sam. The leaders of the Arsenal of Democracy consortium had planned to execute a World War II aircraft flyover at Mount Rushmore on Memorial Day to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It would have been grand... and NOT a sight to miss. Vertical Aviation International is worried that an NYC helicopter port is in danger of permanent closure courtesy of a recently introduced piece of legislation. The legislation, A.10224/S.9408 by Simone & Hoylman, would permanently close the West 30th Street Heliport (KJRA) within New York City's Hudson River Park. The Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) has selected Roswell, NM as the new home of th