A GoFundMe campaign aimed at supplying groceries and gas money for local air traffic controllers not receiving pay during the partial government shutdown has been suspended by its founder due to the potential for ethics violations. More
In the airline and military realm, fly-by-wire control has become old hat but because of expense and certification complexity, the technology hasn’t trickled down to light aircraft general aviation. Some in the industry, however, believe that digital control architecture and the enhanced stability it can offer might make airplanes easier to fly and would thus kick the door open to higher aircraft demand. A company called Flight Level Engineering is just completing a project for the FAA that could lay the foundation for certification of such systems, for which there may be no significant manufacturing barriers. More
Textron Aviation has announced that it will be offering improved flight deck capabilities for 2019 Cessna and Beechcraft piston models. According to the company, the upgraded features include new standard and optional equipment as part of Garmin’s G1000 NXi next-generation flight deck and are designed to provide “enhanced control and connectivity in the cockpit.” More
More than two months after the crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX off Indonesia, divers have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the seabed. More
Fifteen people died when a Boeing 707 cargo plane overran the runway in bad weather at Fath Airport in Karaj, near Tehran, went through a perimeter fence and buried its nose in a house. More
The FAA is proposing relaxing rules for flying drones over people and at night. The FAA released a draft of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Monday. The NPRM will be published in the Federal Register “at a later date.” More
The Transportation Security Administration is warning that there could be more security checkpoint closures and longer lines at the screening points that are open after at least two closures over the weekend. More
The government shutdown is delaying an urgent update of the World Magnetic Model, the underlying basis for all modern navigation systems, and those systems are in danger of becoming unacceptably inaccurate. More
You don’t have to join the Air Force and wait for the next generation of supersonic business jets to fly a Mach-busting jet. The only flying MiG-23 in the U.S. is for sale in Texas and it can go Mach 2.35, although not legally over land in the U.S. More
After celebrating a series of successful launches, including the final shipment of Iridium satellites to low earth orbit last week, SpaceX has announced it’s laying off about 10 percent of its staff. More
Surely by now we can all board airliners without having to trundle through long screening lines, right? Of course we can. You go first. More
I took this picture of a fellow pilot in the back seat of my Breezy. Taken with a Samsung phone. Photo by Dan Hall.
