Also: Joby Flight Testing, FAA OSH Research, LEMO-Ready Handheld, ATC Staffing Woes
The pilot and sole occupant of a single-engine ICON A5 that went down in east-central Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake on Friday, 30 June 2023 has been identified as 47-year-old Ryan Comer of Blane, Minnesota. Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton reported personnel of his department recovered Mr. Comer’s body from approximately 26-feet of water... After 19 years, Virgin Galactic, the California-based spaceflight subsidiary of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, has actualized its founder’s ambition to transport paying passengers to the edge of space... though the short number of actual flights in the test program leaves many questi
Light Makes Right
Airbus Helicopters has received FAA type-certification for its H160 medium utility helicopter, thereby marking a milestone in the aircraft's development, and heralding its imminent entry into the U.S. market. Intended to replace the AS365 and EC155 models in Airbus’s rotary-wing lineup, the H160 is a multi-role utility helicopter suited to missions the likes of offshore transportation, private and business helicopter charter, emergency medical services, commercial passenger transport, Search and Rescue, and law enforcement. The model was granted EASA type-certification in July 2020; first deliveries commenced in December 2021.
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Galactic 01 Safely Departs and Returns to Spaceport America
After 19 years, Virgin Galactic, the California-based spaceflight subsidiary of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, has actualized its founder’s ambition to transport paying passengers to the edge of space... though the short number of actual flights in the test program leaves many questioning the safety of the program. The historic, 29 June flight saw Virgin Mother-Ship (VMS) Eve, a four-engine, twin-fuselage, twin-empennage behemoth named for Evette Branson, Sir Richard’s mother, lumber skyward from Virgin Galactic’s New Mexico Spaceport America facility at 08:30 MDT.
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