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All News

December 21, 2024

FAA Green-Lights SpaceX For Starship Test Flight 7

Next Launch Date is Still To Be Determined Despite the License Grant

The FAA recently issued a launch license for SpaceX's next Starship test flight. The final date is still to be determined, though it is unlikely to occur in 2024 with only a few weeks remaining in the year. Starship’s seventh flight test will be pretty similar to the last two. Starship’s seventh flight test will be pretty similar to the last two. In October, Flight test 5 delivered the Starship upper stage into a suborbital trajectory leading up to splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

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And So It Begins... ICON Admits Plans To Move 'Some' Production To China

As We Predicted Months Ago... Formerly American IP and Company Heading To China

No surprise here, as the inevitable takeover of Icon becomes an International Game. ICON Aircraft will be moving “a portion” (with likely more to come) of its manufacturing to a new state-of-the-art facility in China but will (for now...) maintain its headquarters in Vacaville, California. Jason Huang will be stepping down as President and will transition into an advisory role with SG Investment America, the company that now owns ICON.

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US Coast Guard Struggles With Fleet Crisis

Branch Rethinks Aviation Goals Amid MH-60T Operation Restrictions

As its role in security and rescue continues to grow, the US Coast Guard has finally decided it is time to make some serious aircraft operation changes. The kill shot was the recent chop in allowed total flight hours for its MH-60T helicopter fleet. The US Coast Guard currently operates a fleet of around 200 aircraft.

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Dynon Unveils New Training Academy for SkyView HDX

Guide Aims to Help Customers Take Advantage of their Avionics

Dynon Avionics recently introduced its new training Academy to pair with its SkyView HDX interface. The panel is its flagship design and is geared toward modern light sport and experimental aircraft. The series gives step-by-step guidance, covering both fundamental operations and advanced features of the system.

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Boom XB-1 Flight 10 Hits Mach 0.95

Reaches 32,400 Feet In Quest For Mach 1.0

Boom’s XB-1 demonstrator took another step closer to achieving its goal of getting to airspeed Mach 1.0 in its latest Flight 10 on December 19, 2024, setting new records for both altitude and airspeed in the process. At XB-1’s speed in this flight, it was flying faster than the cruise speed of a Boeing 787 or Airbus A380, which is about Mach 0.85. Its top altitude of 32,417 is near the altitude for the planned supersonic flight at 34,000 feet MSL.

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FAA Pauses New Medical Certification Policy

Agency Responds To Concerns From Industry Groups

The FAA announced it is postponing implementation of a new medical certification policy that would classify medical certification applications with incomplete paperwork as denied, rather than deferred, as they were previously. Rather than January 1, 2025, the new policy will take effect on March 1, 2025.

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Congress Approves New Commercial Drone Restrictions

2024 NDAA Bars Federal Agencies From Using Chinese or Russian UAVs

The Pentagon confirmed on December 14 that Congress had approved the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Within this legislation is the American Security Drone Act of 2023, which bars federal or federally backed groups from utilizing many drones manufactured in China or Russia.

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Aviation Stakeholders Urge Congress to Fight Government Shutdown

Potential Shutdown Would Cause Major Setbacks to ATC and NAS Security

Just in time for the holidays, the Federal Government ran out of funding and was forced to make a last-second call to avoid a shutdown. Before the vote, several major aviation players urged the Senate and House of Representatives to avoid the potential government shutdown by all means necessary.

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Airborne 12.13.24: Whitaker To Resign, CAF MidAir Report, SpaceX $$$

Also: Japan Looks For WWII Bombs, USCG Rescue, Buffett Honors, Osprey On Hold-Again

FAA Administrator, Michael Whitaker, will step down before President-Elect, Donald Trump, takes office next month. Unless a new and highly qualified successor is named swiftly, the nation’s air transportation system could be in for hard times, as Whitaker’s departure leaves the FAA without a chief while still embroiled in the middle of a number of probes into (among others) safety issues at Boeing, an aging workforce and problems within the ranks, as well as a series of never-ending air traffic controller problems -- not the least of which is a serious

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Classic Aero-TV: EAA’s Eric Fatla - One A&P’s Journey Begins

From 2014 (YouTube Edition): This Is How A Great Life Gets Its Start... Enjoy!

While at EAA AirVenture 2014, Special Aero-News Correspondent, Michael Maya Charles, got a little off the beaten track and visited the Kermit Weeks hangar located on the north side of Wittman Regional Airport. While not actually part of the AirVenture exposition, Charles found a story that bodes well for the future of general aviation. Charles was lucky enough to be there at a time when he could meet a young man by the name of Eric Fatla. Eric is the kind of guy that works behind the scenes, but without him the scenes couldn’t take place. At only 24 years old

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NTSB Preliminary Report: Cessna 182T

...He Heard The Pilot Say, “Oh [Expletive].” The Pilot Lowered The Nose And Started To Turn

On November 23, 2024, about 1115 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182T airplane, N434CP was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Drake, Colorado. The flight crew consisted of the pilot, a mission observer, and a photographer. The pilot and photographer sustained fatal injuries, and the mission observer sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 federal public use training flight. The flight was conducted by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP).

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ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (12.21.24)

Aero Linx: Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) 

The Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes. It is the largest, most-representative professional membership organization in the fields of aerospace medicine and human performance. AsMA is a scientific forum providing a setting for many different disciplines to come together and share their expertise for the benefit of all persons involved in air and space travel....

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ANN's Daily Aero-Term (12.21.24): Hazardous Weather Information

Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot weather reports (urgent PIREP/UUA), center weather advisories (CWA), airmen's meteorological information (AIRMET/WA), graphical airmen's meteorological information (G-AIRMET) and any other weather such as isolated thunderstorms that are rapidly developing and increasing in intensity, or low ceilings and visibilities that are becoming widespread which is considered significant and are not included in a current hazardous weather advisory.

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Aero-News: Quote of the Day (12.21.24)

"The FAA continues to increase efficiencies in our licensing determination activities to meet the needs of the commercial space transportation industry... This license modification that we are issuing is well ahead of the Starship Flight 7 launch date and is another example of the FAA’s commitment to enable safe space transportation." Source:  Kelvin Coleman, the FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, letting the world know that SpaceShip 7 is good to go....and it should be a sight... 

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