George Braly, co-founder and chief engineer of General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI), broke the news during an AOPA webinar on September 16, noting that the expected expansion of supplemental type certificates will include “literally several hundreds of additional makes and models of popular engines.” “Now in the FAA world, that’s progress at the speed of […]

What started out as one family’s personal outdoor escape is now available as a boutique-style vacation destination. The accommodations are modern and more upscale than rustic but not so much that you can’t trudge back to your room after a dusty trail ride. Starting at $500 a night per person all-inclusive, what you’re paying for […]

Aircraft technician positions fared slightly better with a forecast decline of 15 percent. The revised numbers call for 626,000 maintenance personnel rather than 739,000 forecast in 2020; and 769,000 in 2019. The latest figures mean there will be 9,600 fewer pilot positions per year and 7,150 fewer maintenance technicians hired to keep the aircraft flying from […]

Present-day IFR procedures and regulations will be a key to collision risk mitigation for the first flights following certification, likely to be cargo deliveries in Beechcraft King Air turboprops, and with a human pilot serving as a safety pilot, ready to intervene if the digital pilot developed by Merlin Labs gets in over its (metaphorical) […]

Jared Isaacman, a digital entrepreneur who became a billionaire after improving credit card payment processing for hotels and restaurants, contracted with SpaceX to secure four seats in the Dragon capsule for the first all-civilian astronaut crew to reach orbit. Also a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Inspiration4 mission lifted off after sunset, though […]

Passengers and crew will enter through a spacious galley with available transparent crystal storage and a wine chiller, a wardrobe to keep garments wrinkle-free, and connections for the coffee or espresso machine of the customer’s choice. Passengers then proceed to a sound-insulated cabin with voice-controlled lighting and entertainment, and eight (in standard configuration) Bombardier-patented Nuage […]

The original AD, which “requires repetitively inspecting the stabilator tip tube and weight assemblies for cracks, inspecting for missing rivets and screws, replacing the forward rib/horn assemblies, and reinforcing the mounting,” was issued to prevent stabilator-structure weakening and possible loss of control after routine inspections turned up cracks on stabilators and “abnormal trim tab horn […]

Among the top trends noted in the 2021 Weather Survey was confirmation of the steady reduction in the role of flight service specialists in providing preflight weather briefings, as pilots shift to briefing themselves using online and mobile resources. On the other hand, a human voice on the line is sometimes just what the doctor […]

A July 12 FAA directive requires owners of experimental aircraft, such as this homebuilt Carbon Cub FX-3, in which pilots receive training, or the instructors who provide the training for compensation, to obtain a Letter of Deviation Authority from the FAA. Photo by Chris Rose. In a September 15 message, Baker also asked members who […]

After landing out of sight on a narrow bayou nearby, Lyle Panepinto, one of the owners of Southern Seaplane Inc., idled his de Havilland Beaver amphibian around the bend and nosed up to one of several docks adjacent to the gated bridge leading to privately owned Avery Island. Soon, several Cessna floatplanes from Panepinto’s large […]