Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Funding Supports Aircraft Pilot and Maintenance Technician Education
The FAA is working to diversify and strengthen the aviation workforce by placing fresh funds in two key pools: Aircraft Pilots Workforce Development Grants and Aviation Maintenance Technical Workers Workforce Development Grants. These are designed to address workforce shortages and foster diversity in the field.
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Spurs Competition And Innovation, Saving Cost And Scheduling
NASA announced a new strategy for its Mars Sample Return Program, intended to maximize the chances of successfully bringing back to Earth the first samples of Martian rock and sediment for the benefit of humankind.
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Airline Had Just 1 Accident Since 1985 Founding
From the "What is WRONG with people!" department, we hear that Emirates, one of United Arab Emirates’ flag airlines, is fighting back hard against video clips that have been circulating on social media claiming to show an Emirates airliner with an engine on fire and heading toward the ground. The airline states in no uncertain terms that the video is “fabricated content” and untrue. The airline is urging audiences to always check and refer to official sources.
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Offered On Backcountry Propellers For Foundation Members
Hartzell Propeller announced it has extended its $1,000 discount on new backcountry aircraft propellers for members of the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) through the end of 2025. This is the fifth consecutive year the company has made the offer available.
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Updates To Flight Training Rules Are Long-Needed
The National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA) has been named by the FAA as its industry partner to coordinate efforts in modernizing FAA Part 141. NFTA works to unify, protect, and promote the flight training industry in the U.S.
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Carrier Expects to Take First Starlink-Served Flight in Spring 2025
United Airlines announced on January 5 that it would be moving up its timeline to bring Starlink connectivity service to commercial flights. The carrier hopes to take its first trip with Starlink by the spring and finish installing the technology on its entire two-cabin regional fleet before the end of the year.
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Also: JetBlue Fines, AMA Optimistic, New Mars Chopper, Laughlin's Final T-1A Jayhawk
SpaceX is gearing up to send Starship on its seventh test flight with a new and improved ship. Test flight seven will feature several improvements to the Starship upper stage. Its forward flaps were shrunk and moved further from the heat shield in an attempt to reduce their thermal exposure. SpaceX also upgraded the propulsion system by adding 25 percent more propellant volume and a new fuel feedline system... It’s a proud day for the skydiving community, with annual civilian skydiving fatalities having hit single digits for the first time since 1961. The number has been on a steep descent in the past few decades despite the exponential growth of the jumping community. A total of nine people died in civilian skydiving incidents in 2024. This is the lowest annual number recorded since 1961... Turkish Aerospace (TUSAS) announced that its newest advanced
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Also: Piaggio Aerospace Acquired, ‘Mars Chopper’, Vertical Aerospace $$$, Army Tests
The FAA has placed numerous restrictions on Texas-based drone company Sky Elements after a 7-year-old boy was injured at one of their airshows. He was struck by at least one drone at the event and taken into surgery. The Holiday Drone Show took place on December 21 at 6:30 pm. This was the third consecutive year of operation, with the event consistently drawing in crowds upwards of 25,000 people. The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence agency (DIU) has confirmed that two Russian Mi-8 helicopters were shot down and a third was damaged by missiles fired from a naval drone in the first-of-its-kind combat engagement with drone weapons being deployed in an aerial attack. The agency also confirmed that the crews of both helicopters were killed. SpaceX is gearing up to send Starship on its seventh test flight with a new and improved ship. Test flight seven w
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Also: Silver Airways BK, LSA Turboprop, Solar Probe, FA/18 Recovery Woes
Pilots operating in the Washington, D.C. area are advised that the FAA will issue Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) via NOTAMs in advance of President Jimmy Carter’s State Funeral on January 9, 2025. The TFRs are intended to increase security restrictions in the DC SFRA and the DC FRZ airspaces. The government of Italy approved the sale of longtime manufacturing and aerospace company Piaggio Aerospace to the Turkish firm Baykar, who said the acquisition will expand its reach in the European Union. It may also give Baykar access to the U.S. F-35 program through Piaggio, who supplies some components of the F-135 engine. The FAA is investigating a near-miss between a college basketball team’s private jet and a Delta commercial flight. The airline is complying with the probe, though the team’s jet may be blamed for the incident. The event occurred
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Wed, Jan 08, 2025
Also: Volocopter insolvency, FAA Flt School Mtg, New APWO Boss, Drone Company Restricted
There have been some changes in the rumor mill as to who will fill the position of FAA Administrator under President-Elect Trump, following the upcoming resignation of current FAA Boss Michael Whitaker. While the early political rumors pointed to former FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell as a leading possibility to get the nod, the tides have changed. Currently, a number of respected Washington insiders suggest that JSX CEO Alex Wilcox has emerged as a leading candidate to head the FAA. After the overlords in the Kissimmee City Government rushed a rule requiring User Fees over the holidays (while they may have hoped that would limit attendance from those pesky pilots that seemed to annoy them so...), there has been a movement to petition the City to institute a Kissimmee Airport Advisory Board... Aviation is taking another precious hit on our freedoms..
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