WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oct.. 17 is rapidly approaching and even the experts with crystal balls can’t predict what the government will do. Unless Congress moves before then and passes some sort of funding bills, general aviation could suffer more than the few problems the partial government shutdown is now causing. Day-to-day flying under the current […]
FAA
AEA meets with House members to share industry challenges
Including lack of leadership at FAA LEE’S SUMMIT, MO. — On Thursday, Oct. 3, Aircraft Electronics Association Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs Ric Peri met with several members of the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee, along with other general aviation leaders, for a round-table discussion on the biggest challenges facing […]
Burke earns Wright Brothers’ Master Pilot Award
On Oct. 21, 1962, Thomas Allen Burke, then 19, successfully completed his first solo flight in a Piper Colt out of the Raleigh Municipal Airport in North Carolina. Now a resident of Greenville, S.C., Burke has safety piloted a number of different makes and models of aircraft. Burke served many years as Chief Flight Instructor […]
FAA accepts JDA course for IA Refresher Training
The FAA has accepted JDA’s Aviation Industry Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUPs) Training Course as an approved Inspection Authorization (IA) refresher training program. Acceptance by the FAA means that the JDA program, to be held Oct. 9-10, meets the requirements of 14 CFR Part 65, §65.93(a) (4), for IA renewal, according to company officials. The FAA […]
FAA cuts red tape to let UAS work Yosemite wildfire
You’re a fire boss trying to contain an out-of-control wildfire in mountainous terrain, and you literally can’t see the forest for the burning trees. Dense smoke chokes the air, making it nearly impossible to have a good sense of where and how quickly a fire is moving. Such was the case for firefighters battling this […]
NextGen moves closer to reality
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Next Generation Air Transportation System — known as NextGen — moved two steps closer to reality in late August when new programs became operational. The FAA deployed a new system called Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM), a scheduling tool that meters aircraft through all phases of flight in order to deliver the […]
IG tells FAA to speed up controller training
The U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General has told the FAA it must get a better handle on reducing training times for its new air traffic controllers. According to a report at Rotor.com, thousands of new controllers are needed over the next several years, but the average time to train a controller rose 41% between 2009 and […]
Congress returns to busy schedule
After its August vacation, Congress returns to Capitol Hill Sept. 9 with a full plate of issues, some of which will directly affect general aviation. As usual in Washington, money is on top of the plate. Sequestration appears again; the U.S. must raise its debt limit — again — to keep borrowing money; and that […]
Latest issue of FAA Safety Briefing now available
The September/October 2013 issue of FAA Safety Briefing, which focuses on aviation citizenship, is now available online. Articles highlight the shared values, customs, and culture we share as citizens of the general aviation community. Among the feature articles in this issue include: “To Be, Rather Than to Seem” – a look at how a personal […]