Making general aviation even safer

OSHKOSH — “What we see at Oshkosh is the foundation of what makes the U.S. great — passion, innovation and freedom,” FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta told an AirVenture crowd today. “But with freedom comes responsibility.”

This was the first visit to AirVenture for Huerta, who grew up just down the street from historic Flabob Airport in Southern California. He began his remarks by noting that a focus of the FAA is to decrease the number of fatal accidents — and it’s working, he said. [Read more...]

Getting more people into the air

OSHKOSH — The FAA’s medical certification staff has two main goals, Federal Air Surgeon Fred Tilton told a crowd today at AirVenture.

The first is to make sure that the airspace is safe. “Safety is our first commitment,” he said. “Our next goal is the make sure we get everybody that we can into the air.”

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What the top man at the FAA wants GA pilots to know

OSHKOSH — FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta, on his first trip to AirVenture, wants general aviation pilots to know that safety is No. 1.

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Inspector General to assess NextGen progress

Is the FAA moving as it should in decisions and actions relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System — NextGen — and if not, why not? That is what the office of Inspector General of the Department of Transportation will try to determine in an audit of the FAA’s progress on the program.

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House passes Pilot’s Bill of Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Pilot’s Bill of Rights has been approved by the House of Representatives and is on its way to President Obama’s desk.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a member of the Senate General Aviation Caucus and a CFI with more than 10,000 flight hours, introduced the bill, which is designed to remedy some of the “serious deficiencies” between general aviation and the FAA.

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Contract towers equal in safety, less in cost

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 250 air traffic control towers operated under contract to the FAA handle 28% of all operations, but cost only 14% of the budget, according to statements before an aviation subcommittee whose members expressed concerns about possible severe cuts in operations if the President’s threatened automatic budget sequester goes into effect in January.

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A day in the life of an FAA test pilot

CBS recently profiled Lorry Faber, a pilot who has had some amazing adventures during her 25-year career, including flying the President of the United States overseas, taking dignitaries to and from Washington D.C. and hovering over Mount Fuji in a helicopter. Currently, she tests air transportation projects, such as those for NextGen and ADS-B. Check out a day in her life here.

Hearing will review FAA’s Contract Tower Program

WASHINGTON, DC – The Subcommittee on Aviation, chaired by U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), will hold a hearing on Wednesday, July 18, to review the FAA’s Contract Tower Program and the Department of Transportation Inspector General’s (DOT IG) ongoing audit of the program.

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Changes to flight training in the works

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pilots and future pilots might find new and different approaches to studying and testing for certificates and ratings if recommendations from a panel are adopted by the FAA.

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A roadmap to finding a new fuel

The transition to an unleaded aviation fuel is still years away, according to the final report from the FAA’s Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee (UAT ARC).

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