The FAA will discontinue the Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS II) Program, effective May 16, 2018. Internet services, including access to weather and aeronautical information, flight plan filing and automated services will remain available at no charge to pilots at www.1800wxbrief.com. To continue to receive free services, FAA officials are encouraging pilots to register […]
FAA
Help wanted: Experienced air traffic controllers
The FAA is hiring experienced air traffic controllers to work in facilities throughout the country — and specifically for the facility that handles the busy New York area airspace. The agency will accept applications March 19 to March 26, 2018, from experienced candidates to fill slots at the New York Tracon (N90) in Westbury, N.Y., […]
FAA expands drone airspace authorization program
The FAA is expanding tests of an automated system that will ultimately provide near real-time processing of airspace authorization requests for unmanned aircraft (UAS) operators nationwide. Under the FAA’s Part 107 small drone rule, operators must get approval from the agency to operate in any airspace controlled by an air traffic facility. To facilitate those […]
Video: The new skyBeacon
Smitty Smith with FunPlacesToFly.com just posted a new video that features Tom Ferraro talking about the new ADS-B out system from uAvionix. “The skyBeacon is a revolutionary new way to equip ADS-B,” he notes. “Simply replace your existing navigation light with skyBeacon and you are ADS-B compliant for 2020.”
GA advocates lobby for full funding for contract towers
Nine aviation advocacy groups have asked Congress to fully fund the Contract Tower Program as part of the FAA’s fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill. In a March 2 letter to lawmakers, industry leaders voiced support for language in the current version of the bill that calls for “not less than $172,000,000” in funding for the […]
ATC privatization threat beat by unified grassroots effort
A controversial ATC privatization plan has been removed from an FAA reauthorization bill in the House of Representatives, scoring a victory for general aviation against a powerful, well-financed lobby that sought to give control of the national air traffic system to the country’s largest airlines. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) announced Feb. 27, 2018, that he […]
Video: Have questions about ADS-B equipment?
Have questions about what equipment you need to satisfy the 2020 ADS-B mandate? A new video from the FAA features a GA pilot, Jamal Wilson, asking David Gray, an FAA official, lots of questions about what equipment he needs for his Cherokee 180.
Video: Avoiding a close call in the air
Have you ever had a mid-air close call in what seemed like wide-open skies? Even the most seasoned pilots have occasionally been surprised by unseen aircraft. In a new video from the FAA posted on YouTube, several pilots talk about the advantages of having ADS-B in their airplanes, noting that having a near-miss turned them […]
A dose of FAA revenue reality
I was recently poking around the FAA website when I came across the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Fact Sheet for fiscal year 2016. It was like re-reading a section of the FARs after too many years. The trust fund was created in 1970 to fund aviation programs with aviation-related excise taxes on passengers, cargo, […]