Boeing Made MAX MCAS More Aggressive In Late Development As Boeing tweaked final development of the 737 MAX, it made the MCAS autotrim system more aggressive and ultimately riskier, according to a new report in The New York Times. Boeing failed to inform even its own test pilots and the FAA about the revisions. MCAS—Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System—was added[…] Read this article
So Long, Sebring If concrete could emote, several dozen acres of it in Sebring, Florida, must be sighing in relief. Now that the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo has passed into history, there’s no further need to perforate that historical ramp with expansion bolts for temporary tiedowns. Given the sparse attendance at this show,[…] Read this article
AVweb Normandy Visit: Gliders Of D-Day The combat glider was an integral part of Operation Neptune, the airborne component of Operation Overlord, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this week in Normandy. In this video shot in 2017, AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli explains the critical role gliders played in the Normandy operation. Read this article
AVweb Moves to a New Platform AVweb has completed its migration from a legacy content management system to a new, up-to-date platform designed to quickly and efficiently deliver text and multimedia to all devices. “Following denial-of-service attacks over the winter, we chose a ground-up restoration that will make it easier to deliver and consume all kinds[…] Read this article
Slat Issue Affects Up To 312 Boeing 737s The FAA will order airlines worldwide to inspect the leading edge slat tracks of more than 300 Boeing 737s, including the 179 grounded MAX models and 133 late model NG models, because some of the tracks are prone to cracking. The aircraft will have to be inspected and repaired within[…] Read this article
Report: Stratolaunch To Cease Operations Reuters is reporting that Stratolaunch Systems, the rocket launch company founded by the late Paul Allen, will be closed after unsuccessful efforts to sell it. Allen, who died at 65 last October, teamed up with Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan to create the launch system, which was to use a[…] Read this article
Fuel Cell Hexacopter Envisioned An apparently well-funded Massachusetts startup says it will develop a “flying car” hexacopter powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that will carry five people 400 miles. Alaka’i’s Skai says it picked fuel cells as an energy source because they’re much more energy dense and long-lasting than any batteries developed so[…] Read this article
Video Flight Data Recorder Developed A young Canadian inventor has come up with what he says is a low-cost flight data recorder for light aircraft that requires no special installation. Ephraim Nowak, 26, says the video-based SkyVU system doesn’t need to be wired into the aircraft’s panel and systems. Instead, it uses 4K video cameras[…] Read this article
4th Annual WAA Safety Day 2019 Aviation Consumer Editor in Chief and Editorial Director of Belvoir Media Group’s Aviation Division Larry Anglisano, five-time Space Shuttle commander Jim Wetherbee and FAASTeam Manager Ben Struck will speak at the 4th Annual Westchester Aviation Association’s (WAA) General Aviation safety conference on the evening of June 4, 2019, in Tarrytown,[…] Read this article
Short Final: Bald Eagles While it’s common for airports to list “birds in the vicinity,” this alert for Situk Airport in Alaska warns of especially distracted type engaged in perpetuating our national symbol: Additional Remarks • RY SAFETY AREA 75 FT WIDE FULL LENGTH WITH GROUND RISING AND FALLING OVER 12 INCHES. MAINTAIN CNTRLN[…] Read this article
Industry Round-up, May 31, 2019 This week, AVweb’s news roundup uncovered reports of an aviation safety day to be held in New York, a Father’s Day celebration at a helicopter museum, new service routes in New England, a sales territory expansion for Cutter Aviation and the relocation of H.E.R.O.S. The 4th Annual Westchester Aviation Association’s[…] Read this article
Top Letters And Comments, May 31, 2019 The Desanctification of AoA We installed an AOA called a “Lift Reserve Indicator” in our missionary C182. It’s purpose was exactly what the name implied…at any given airspeed, weight, bank angle, and G load, you knew how close you were to a stall far more precisely than indicated airspeed, sound,[…] Read this article
