NASA Shares 'Progress' Toward Initial Artemis Moon Missions

NASA updated its schedule for its Artemis campaign, glossing over delays that have been introduced to the original schedule. Claiming that the program will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, as well as pull off some politically correct placement of non-white/non-male astronauts on the lunar surface, while supposedly preparing for human expeditions to Mars. NASA posits/excuses itself by noting that 'To safely carry out these missions, agency leaders are adjusting the schedules for Artemis II and Artemis III to allow teams to work through challenges associated with first-time developments, operations, and integration.' In other words, t

MoU Cements Longstanding Friendship Between Federal Regulators and Local Stakeholders

The National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Aviation Administration that 'renews' the longstanding relationship between the two organizations. The chiefs of both groups, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker and NASAO Board Chair Kyle Wanner, put their signatures together as they signed the MOU at the FAA's home base in Washington D.C.. The signing is only the most recent in a long line of such memoranda over the years, which has seen NASAO work hand-in-hand with the FAA on a range of safety pushes and aviation goals. The relationship has an anniversary in a few years, having started in

Twenty Of The Students Completed The Requirements For The Engineering Test Pilot Course

The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) held a graduation ceremony for Class 163 last month. 28 students successfully completed the intense 11-month course of instruction and received their designations as Engineering Test Pilots, Engineering Test Flight Officers, and Test Project Engineer. U.S. Army Col. David Phillips, Assistant Program Executive Officer for Redstone Arsenal’s Program Executive Office for Aviation in Alabama, delivered the keynote address.

Montana Gets Luxe new Station near Rimrocks

Beacon Air Group has opened a brand new private terminal and 24/7 FBO at the Billings Logan International airport, near Montana's rimrock area. The facility offers passersby a convenient and scenic stopover near some of the state's best activities, with plenty of space to stay the night even with private jets. The new locale sportys a 9,000 square foot luxury terminal, with 1,800 square feet of leasable office space, and 36,000 square feet of hangar space. Those can accommodate aircraft up to a G600 in size.

Also: B-29 Doc Returns 4 2024, USAF Reopens Tinian, DA62s to Nigeria, Honor Flight Plans

SpaceX lost one of its Falcon 9 boosters, a 19-time launch veteran, off the side of its recovery ship among rough seas on Christmas Day 2023. The booster had soldiered on through 19 space launches, capping off its last one on December 23rd for a well-earned retirement. During the recovery process, the 135-foot tall fuselage, standing on its tail just as it does for launch, toppled over amid rising waves and increasing winds. EAA’s much-lauded Young Eagles program continued its post-pandemic recovery in 2023, as more than 57,000 young

Also: B-29 Doc Returns 4 2024, USAF Reopens Tinian, DA62s to Nigeria, Honor Flight Plans

SpaceX lost one of its Falcon 9 boosters, a 19-time launch veteran, off the side of its recovery ship among rough seas on Christmas Day 2023. The booster had soldiered on through 19 space launches, capping off its last one on December 23rd for a well-earned retirement. During the recovery process, the 135-foot tall fuselage, standing on its tail just as it does for launch, toppled over amid rising waves and increasing winds. EAA’s much-lauded Young Eagles program continued its post-pandemic recovery in 2023, as more than 57,000 young people

No EU Operators Currently Seen To Be Affected

As if all the problems surrounding the current Boeing MAX woes weren't enough, EASA has joined in even though none of their operators are allegedly affected. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has adopted an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a specific configuration of the Boeing 737-9 (MAX). The EAD, which grounds aircraft in this specific configuration until an inspection has been completed, follows an event on an Alaska Airlines flight, where an exit panel detached from the aircraft inflight, leading to rapid decompression of the cabin.

Subsidized Route to Enhance Pennsylvania-DC Mobility

Surf Air Mobility has announced a subsidized commuter route from the Williamsport Municipal Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport. The new route is expected to begin next May, with funding and support services provided by the Williamsport Airport Authority. Commuter traffic between the Pennsylvania region and the nation's political nerve trunk. “Williamsport, Pennsylvania is at the forefront of a new era in regional mobility. Their forward-thinking approach helps to expand access to convenient air travel that connects their community with the larger commercial air service networks,” said Stan Little, CEO of Surf Air.

Updated, Improved Manual On the Market via Sentia Publishing

Sentia Publishing has released The Complete G1000: A Pilot's Handbook by Michael G. Gaffney. After years of market saturation, the G1000 has become a standard unto itself, a common, consistent suite of large screen, instrument capable avionics. As solid as Garmin's work is, however, some pilots manage to get by while only using a fraction of its capabilities. Learning the entire gamut of functions inside the G1000 sometimes takes concerted study and application over time, ingraining habits pilots can count on. 

"The Pilot Landed Long And Failed To Deploy The Thrust Reversers, Which Resulted In A Runway Overrun And Impact With Terrain"

The Pilot of a Westwind Astra got to re-learn exactly why the aircraft requires 2, after his adventurous runway excursion damaged the gear and wings. The NTSB report was published, describing the events of a November 14, 2021 incident involving an Israeli Aircraft Industries that ultimately snapped off its front landing gear and impacted a culvert off the end of the runway. The root of the issue was that "the pilot landed long and failed to deploy the thrust reversers, which resulted in a runway overrun and impact with terrain". "Contributing to the accident," the report continues, "was the pilot's decision to ope

From 2016 (YouTube Version): NASA Develops Electric Flight Technology for Industry to Use…

While at EAA AirVenture 2016, our ANN video crew checked in with NASA to find out what’s going on with their experiments into electric powered flight. They had the opportunity to interview Mark Moore and Sean Clarke, who are both NASA Principal Investigators for the Sceptor X-57 project. Just the name of this project sounds pretty exciting, and it is. The project centers on using electric propulsion for airplane flight, and the system being developed by NASA is referred to as ‘Distributive Electrical Propulsion.’ As you will see in t

Aero Linx: Civil Aviation Authority As the UK's aviation regulator we work so that: the aviation industry meets the highest safety standards, consumers have choice, value for money, are protected and treated fairly when they fly, through efficient use of airspace, the environmental impact of aviation on local communities is effectively managed and CO2 emissions are reduced,  the aviation industry manages security risks effectively. We are a public corporation, established by Parliament in 1972 as an independen

Ground Stop (GS)

The GS is a process that requires aircraft that meet a specific criteria to remain on the ground. The criteria may be airport specific, airspace specific, or equipment specific; for example, all departures to San Francisco, or all departures entering Yorktown sector, or all Category I and II aircraft going to Charlotte. GSs normally occur with little or no warning.

“We are letting the hardware talk to us so that crew safety drives our decision-making. We will use the Artemis II flight test, and each flight that follows, to reduce risk for future Moon missions. We are resolving challenges associated with first-time capabilities and operations, and we are closer than ever to establishing sustained exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis.” Source: From a statement by Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, after NASA fessed up to delays for the Artemis program.