AETC; Setting Sights to Aim High

EAA’s AirVenture 2023—the 70th iteration of the world-renowned weeklong fly-in, airshow, and incomparable aviators’ hootenanny—will see the USAF’s Air Education and Training Command bring its people and resources to Oshkosh. Though definitive announcements pertaining to participating aircraft and activities will be made public as they are finalized, AETC’s presentations are slated to include aircraft representing numerous facets of the USAF’s combat, strategic, and logistical fleets.  

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The National Park Service (NPS) and the FAA are rewriting the regulations by which air tours over U.S. national parks are conducted. Extant drafts of the agencies’ Air Tour Management Plans (ATMPs) call for radical and reactionary measures the likes of eliminating air tours in their entirety in some U.S. parks and, in others, cutting such undertakings by as much as 86-percent. Founded in 1992 under the guiding premise “You don't quit skydiving because you get old; you get old because you quit skydiving,” Skydivers Over Sixty (SOS) has evolved into an international organization comprising upwards of 2,650 members hailing from thirty nations. No... we’re not making this up... Attendees of July's AirVenture (and anyone visiting the nearby Fox Valley) can get a taste of some limited-run ale in celebration of the EAA's 70th anniversary. As part of a la

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Textron has unveiled the Cessna Citation Ascend, the newest model in Cessna’s proven and popular 560XL series. Made public on the eve of 2023’s European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), the Citation Ascend—by virtue of its wholly redesigned cockpit, improved performance, and a more luxurious cabin—pleasantly disrupts the midsize business jet market. Representatives of Airbus’s Perlan Mission II announced its pilots and engineers had completed a successful flight test campaign in the Southwestern U.S., thereby clearing the way for a 2023 attempt to set a new aviation world altitude record for manned, level flight. The pressurized Perlan II glider—which, in 2018, set the subsonic world altitude record at over 76,000-feet—was shipped from the U.S. on 01 May and is currently enroute to El Calafate, Argentina. A sa

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Virgin Galactic has successfully completed its Unity 25 space mission, thinking this makes them ready for commercial service after just a few handfuls of flights. Mission specialists Jamila Gilbert, Christopher Huie, and Luke Mays ventured spaceward for purpose of conducting final end-to-end assessments of Virgin Galactic’s Unity spacecraft and overall spaceflight experience. The first delivery of Cessna's passenger-layout SkyCourier was tendered to Western Aircraft, Inc last week, kicking off the industry's next favorite twin-turboprop, light commuter twin - or so Textron hopes. The delivery marks off the first time a passenger SkyCourier has made its way into operator hands, with previous deliveries consisting solely of cargo variants. GAMA released its first-quarter 2023 General Aviation Aircraft Shipment and Billing Report—compared to the same period in 2022&m

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The Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) is now accepting bids from airports and localities seeking to partner with the organization for purpose of hosting future air racing events. Last March, the Reno Air Racing Association’s board of directors regretfully announced that 2023’s 59th National Championship Air Races—spanning 13 through 17 September—are to be the last held at Reno, Nevada’s Reno-Stead Airport (4SD). North Carolina-based charter and fractional ownership concern Jet It—the world’s 12th largest private jet operator by the metrics of charter and fractional flight hours—is reportedly shuttering its flight operations. The first unmanned SLS launch was made on 16 November 2022. Past successes notwithstanding, the SLS program, as of May 2023, is north of $6-billion over-budget and more than six-years behind sched

Aviator Unharmed

An as-of-yet unidentified U.S. Navy pilot was rescued by one of the service’s MH-60S Seahawk helicopters after ejecting from an F-5N training jet some 22-nautical-miles off the coast of Key West, Florida. The aviator, who was transported to and released from Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital following medical evaluation, was assigned to Fighter Squadron Composite 111, known colloquially as the Sun Downers, and based at Naval Station Key West.

Communities and Industry Unite

Stakeholders including airports, chambers of commerce, businesses, and community organizations throughout the United States have united for purpose of giving rise to the Coalition to Protect America’s Regional Airports (CPARA)—a nationwide coalition dedicated to the protection and preservation of America’s regional airports and the critical role played by such in connecting U.S. communities, creating American jobs, and supporting U.S. regional economies. CPARA, by charter, strongly opposes changes to Reagan National Airport’s (DCA) High Density (slot) and perimeter rules.

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US Aviation Academy has set forth that it has launched its second Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) training location at San Marcos Regional Airport (HYI)—a public-use airport in southeast-central Texas’s Caldwell County. CAE announced that it is expanding its global network of simulator training centers to Central Europe. The announcement, made at EBACE 2023, set forth that CAE will presently open a new business aviation training center in Vienna, Austria. Operations at the new facility are slated to get underway in the latter half of 2024. The Allied Pilots Association (APA), the labor union by which American Airlines pilots are represented, authorized a strike in the wake of protracted contract talks with the air-carrier. The authorizing of a strike is the first in a long and complex succession of prerequisites that must be met prior to American Airl

Mermoz Academy Opts for Domestic Trainer Plane for Future Euro Pilots

Elixir Aircraft has completed another sale to a local European flight school, issuing half a dozen new aircraft to Mermoz Academy. The school, established in 1997, The new aircraft are intended to provide Mermoz with an attractive, modern aircraft suited to flight training in today’s market. While Elixir is always happy to point to “reduced carbon emissions and operating costs” for its new light aircraft, many French flight schools in the region probably make their way into the company’s base of clientele for a much simpler reason: They want to support a wholly domestic manufacturer.

"Corporate Buyer Roars Back to Life" Says Forecaster

Jetcraft's 2023 Pre-Owned Business Jet Market Forecast shows that the "return of the corporate buyer has played a key role in driving unprecedented business aviation demand", good news for some eyeing recent news with a wary eye. The company released its report with all the important work shown, allowing readers to see for themselves just how things are looking after the surprising run-up experienced by AvBiz as a whole since 2020. Jetcraft feels pretty good about where the market is now, citing constant increases in values and activity.