Laser-Cut Parts Fiasco Comes to a Close This Summer

Van's Aircraft published the video that accompanied an email to customers earlier this month, explaining the upcoming deadlines for those with outstanding orders and issues in order to get things back to normal. Affected laser-cut parts were generally delivered in shipments from 2022 to the first half of 2023. Such parts replaced previously punched holes and elements with a more modern and efficient laser-cut version of the same. Van's has a classification list of such parts, where each is classified as either "replacement recommended" or "acceptable for use". The deadline for buyers of standard Van's kits to either turn down parts replacement, or to accept the revised parts package, is June

The Old EVA Units Hold the Line 45 Years After They Were Designed - But Time's Running Out

Apparently the old NASA set the bar pretty high, now that rumors hint that RTX Collins Aerospace wants out of its contract to design them for the Artemis mission. The RTX firm is in talks with NASA about dropping the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) contract, leaving NASA stuck with its now quite vintage Extravehicular Mobility Units spacesuits. The contract saw $3.5 billion awarded to Collins and Axiom Space in 2022, intending to provide two new space suit designs. One would have been a general use replacement for the current astronaut suit, providing mobility and protection in space. The other was to be a much more robust, inv

P-47 Thunderbolt Pilot Lost Over Central Italy

Many are probably not aware of this but approximately 72,000 U.S. personnel remain missing from World War II according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the only federal agency tasked with locating and accounting for missing service members active in past conflicts. Several thousand of them are in Europe. Between April 6 – June 8 of this year, US Army paratroopers stationed with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, assisted DPAA on an archaeological investigation to recover a pilot of a P-47 Thunderbolt in Central Italy.

Wet Microburst Also Severely Damaged Aircraft

Heavy thunderstorms on Saturday severely damaged an aircraft and several hangar doors at North Platte Regional Airport (KLBF) in North Platte, Nebraska. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) a small line of thunderstorms moved across northern Lincoln County around 3 am CDT. The trailing end of the storms continued eastward and produced a wet microburst event that impacted eastern portions of the city of North Platte including the airport. The NWS conducted a survey of the area that showed widespread damage in those areas. 

Deal Valued at $4.08 Billion in Mostly Stock, Some Cash

The Boeing Company has offered Spirit AeroSystems $35 per share to acquire the company. The bid has been switched from an original all-cash offer to a mostly-stock transaction with some cash. Based on Spirit’s outstanding shares as of May 7, the offer is worth $4.08 billion, representing an almost 6% premium above Spirit’s stock closing price on Monday, June 24, and more than 22% above the share price in February when the takeover talks became publicly known.

Landing Gear Production for Boeing, Airbus Held Up Amid Labor Dispute

Safran SA workers at the Mirabel, Quebec factory began their picket this week, surrounding the factory as the non-strikers kept up the routine of a normal workday. A 5-week-long strike by employees at Safran's Montreal the landing gear production line has really bit into production for their clientele at home and abroad, leaving Airbus and Boeing high and dry until the dispute is resolved. Workers are hoping to get a 22% pay raise from the company, higher than Safran's offer of 14.5% over a 3-year period.

Air Taxi Operations Software for Partners, Pilots, and Consumers

Commercial eVTOL aircraft maker Joby Aviation, Inc., has announced that the proprietary software suite developed in-house to support its operations has gained FAA authorization for operational use. The suite, named ‘ElevateOS’, consists of operations and schedule management software, tools for pilots, a mobile app for riders, and an intelligent matching engine. The rider app and matching engine are similar to ground ride-hailing apps used by Uber or Lyft. Joby’s matching engine and mobile app, the software matches passengers with available aircraft and vertiports that provide the most efficient travel.

Also: Citation Ascend, Colorado SKIES Academy, Belgium Airbus Heli Sale, Parachute Seals

It's been a bad week for old Lockheed twins... with one fatal accident taking two lives over the weekend (CA), and another taking place Monday evening as a 1936 twin-engine Lockheed 12A was attempting to land at Seven Lakes Airport (Georgia) shortly before 8 p.m. when it impacted a tree after going off the runway. Three people were confirmed on board and all were air-lifted to area hospitals and each are now reported to be resting and in stable condition. The long-awaited hearing before a Delaware Bankruptcy Judge has taken place and Icon Aircraft, carrying over $170

Pilot Realized That There Were No Updrafts In The Area And That He Didn’t Have Enough Altitude To Glide Back

On May 25, 2024, at 1350 eastern daylight time, a Schleicher GMBH & CO ASH 31 MI glider, N20SW, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Winter Haven, Florida. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The glider was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, the weather was “good soaring weather” and he planned to perform a flight in the local area. He reported that the glider’s engine and propeller drive operated normally for the takeoff, and the climb to 2,500 ft mean sea level (msl) was uneventful.

The Litefighter Kit Can Be A P-36, P-40B, or P-40E

ScaleBirds has done a real bang-up job of making an accessible, convincing homage to classic warbirds, giving buyers and builders a way to chase their fighter dreams without the multi-million dollar price tag. Sam Watrous, President of ScaleBirds, gave us a rundown of what his team’s been up to over the winter and through the spring - and things are looking good! Their Litefighter is coming along nicely, checking all the right boxes on its way to full production. It’s a pretty accommodating canvas for builders, too, accepting more than half a dozen engines up to 225 lbs and 160 hp, resulting in a maneuverable, fun homage to the P-36 and it

Aero Linx: Air Medical Memorial (AMM) Every year, hundreds of thousands of air medical missions are flown in the United States. These missions provide expedited life-saving care to sick or injured patients when seconds count and at a moments notice. Sadly, these crews do not always return. This memorial honors those individuals who took on the mission in the name of saving lives, but lost their lives in the process.

Local Airport Advisory (LAA) A service available only in Alaska and provided by facilities that are located on the landing airport, have a discrete ground-to-air communication frequency or the tower frequency when the tower is closed, automated weather reporting with voice broadcasting, and a continuous ASOS/AWOS data display, other continuous direct reading instruments, or manual observations available to the specialist. 

“When we went out there it was just trees, up in the mountains. All we saw was trees... I saw leaders doing the same work as the privates, and that meant a lot,” Source: Pvt. Samuel Aguilar-Andres, describing some of what went into the search as US Army paratroopers stationed with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, assisted DPAA on an archaeological investigation to recover a pilot of a P-47 Thunderbolt in Central Italy.