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May 27, 2022

Airborne 05.27.22: Global Falcon 6X, An-225 Mriya, AirVenture NOTICE

Also: AEA 1Q/22 Report, An-225 Mriya, Rhoades Aviation Busted, Sporty's Skyhawk Model

Dassault flight-test crews are making ready to embark on a grueling, global proving campaign to ensure the company’s Falcon 6X, ultra wide-body, business aircraft meets its ambitious performance and reliability goals. The one-month, forty-stop, 150-hour campaign is set to begin in June, and is scheduled to comprise a number of long and short haul legs across Europe, and between North and South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Flights of 10-12 hours will alternate with quick, short hops. The largest aircraft in the world, recently destroyed, may be returning sooner than originally expected, if off-the-cuff remarks made by the Ukrainian head of state are a

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Around The World In 6.25 Days

Dassault Crew Sets Out to Test Falcon 6X Jules Verne Style

Dassault flight-test crews are making ready to embark on a grueling, global proving campaign to ensure the company’s Falcon 6X, ultra wide-body, business aircraft meets its ambitious performance and reliability goals. The one-month, forty-stop, 150-hour campaign is set to begin in June, and is scheduled to comprise a number of long and short haul legs across Europe, and between North and South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Flights of 10-12 hours will alternate with quick, short hops. Along the way, the aircraft will perform long night flights, high-speed long runs at Mach 0.88, and up to seven short, flight-segments per a day.

Boeing's Long Road Finally Has the Destination in Sight After Orbital Flight Test-2

NASA's patience with the problem child of the commercial spacecraft program has been rewarded after the CST-100 Starliner touched down in the western desert following the successful Orbital Flight Test-2. The flight proved that the Starliner could fulfill its mission as a cargo and crew lift vehicle, opening up additional avenues to the International Space Station and (hopefully) bringing down costs for the agency. The flight proves that the Starliner system can complete a crewed flight, among a raft of other objectives for the various parts and systems involved in the launch and deployment process.

Silverlight Shows Off its American Ranger Gyrocopter

A few days into Sun n Fun 2022, Mr. Abid Farooqui, CTO of Silverlight Aviation, shared that Silverlight Aviation got into gyroplane manufacturing in 2016. They have manufactured about 60 of them so far, and have just started expanding outside the US into Taiwan and hopefully looking at Australia and New Zealand. These gyrocopters are manufactured in Zephyrhills, Florida. This gyrocopter is an AR1C configuration which is the convertible so you can fly with just windshields on like a motorcycle, or you could in the winter put the canopy on and fly with the canopy. It was prim

Experimental Aircraft Owners Can Now Resolve Freezing, Lagging Issues When Equipped with Wi-Fi Module

Dynon Avionics has announced an update to their SkyView HDX displays, one that resolves issues experienced in conjunction with the available Dynon Wi-Fi adapters. The issue affects those SkyView displays manufactured during or after March 2022, with a variety of adverse behaviors seen in operation. Some of the issues include "display restarts or display freezing," which the company notes "can result in the partial or complete loss of flight instrumentation without warning."

Better Than It Was Before; Better, Stronger, Faster …

Gulfstream Aerospace reports that its G700 is moving steadily toward FAA certification. To date, the G700 test-fleet has logged more than 2,800 hours and—according to Gulfstream President, Mark Burns—has “ … exceed[ed] our expectations for performance and comfort.” Burns goes on to point out that the fully outfitted, production test aircraft has set seven international city-pair records. In addition to the fully-outfitted production test-aircraft already flying, the G700 flight-test program includes five aircraft. The program has successfully accomplished critical phases-of-flight tests, including envelope expansion, flutter, aerodynamic stalls, flying qual

Airborne-Flight Training 05.19.22: Republic SIC, USAF Kolligian, Pilot Shortage

Also: Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation, Women’s Air Race Classic, NIFA SAFECON 2022, Oshkosh Pilot Proficiency Center

For some time, Republic Airways has enjoyed a not so favorable opinion in the “Low Time” flying community due to reports of it allegedly engaging in second-in-command (SIC) operations on its single-pilot fleet, and those SIC’s later discovering that their ‘logged time’ is invalid and cannot be applied to flight experience for their Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating. Well, those woes may soon come to an end if Republic Airways gets its way. “Where’s the ground? Where’s the ground?” No o

VoltAero’s Cassio Demo Flights To Promote Sustainable Aviation In Netherlands

Mid-June 2022, VoltAero will be conducting some demonstration flights using the Cassio 1, in the Netherlands to promote sustainable regional aviation. Cassio 1 is billed as the worlds first parallel hybrid electric aircraft, that uses electric motors and an internal combustion engine for propulsion. These demonstration flights will be part of Netherlands ‘Power Up’ initiative, which seeks to position the Netherlands for the introduction of electrically powered commercial aircraft. Mr. John Botti, CEO and CTO of VoltAero stated that, “Our cooperation is an excellent opportunity to show how Cassio

Gama & NanoAvionics Work On Solar Sailing Of Satellites

Gama has reached out to mission integrator NanoAvionics to secure the latter’s 6U nanosatellite bus, payload integration, satellite testing, launch service and satellite operations in conjunction with Gama’s solar sails. The first joint venture is expected to occur in the latter part of this year when NanoAvionics’ “Alpha” is expected to launch Gama-propelled satellites into low earth orbit (LEO) for demonstration of the sail propulsion system.

Jet Project Sees Advances from Big Names in Automotive, Aviation Engineering

Lilium has announced the co-development of a new electric motor for the upcoming Lilium Jet, working with Honeywell and large automotive OEM Denso. Honeywell has a hand in developing the Jet's avionics, flight control systems, and electrics already, making them the go-to for the creation of a better propulsion system. Their previously existing relationship with automotive giant Denso will help to move things along as the trio of companies leverage their expertise to create a suitable aerospace propulsion motor, using Honeywell's engineering prowess and Denso's mass production.

The Accident Flight Occurred On An Intermediate Leg Of The Cross-Country Flight

On April 9, 2022, about 1200 mountain standard time, a Taylorcraft BL-65, N24345, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Counselor, New Mexico. The pilot/owner was fatally injured, and the instructor pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to multiple witnesses, the owner travelled to Afton, Wyoming to fly the accident airplane home with a flight instructor.

Aero Linx: The Air Charter Safety Foundation The Air Charter Safety Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Founded in 2008, our mission is to lead and support the advancement of the highest aviation safety standards. By sharing information, resources and tools, we help enable the business, charter and fractional ownership industry to offer the safest aviation operations in the world.

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.27.22): Nonprecision Approach Procedure

Nonprecision Approach Procedure A standard instrument approach procedure in which no electronic glideslope is provided; e.g., VOR, TACAN, NDB, LOC, ASR, LDA, or SDF approaches.

“Denso’s focus is powering the shift to a green, safe and seamless mobility future for all. We’re grateful to work with Honeywell and Lilium on making air travel cleaner and more efficient, and in doing so, we have the opportunity to apply our electrification expertise to vehicles on land and in the sky.” Source: Koji Ishizuka, senior director at Denso, explaining the co-development of a new electric motor for the upcoming Lilium Jet, working with Honeywell and large automotive OEM Denso.