First-Time Presenters Gain Chance to Share Findings With Fellow Aerospace Research

The Vertical Flight Society has announced the 2022 Lichten Award Winners with a special focus on Technical Excellence from First-Time Technical Paper Presenters. The overall Lichten winner was Sikorsky's Timothy Schmidt, who took top billing for his work entitled “Automated Optical Rotor Blade Tip Clearance Tracking Using Artificial Intelligence Algorithms". It will be presented to the Society during the Test & Evaluation I session. Schmidt was also the winner of the Society's Southern US Region Lichten Competition. 

IMC Club Successor Seeks Expansion, IFR Proficiency for All

The Pilot Proficiency Network has announced the opening of its network throughout the world, bringing another safety and proficiency assist to pilots around the world. The network is meant to increase real-world pilot proficiency and comfort in actual IMC through monthly meetings to help members build, maintain, and refine skills with their peers. The program uses a combination of proprietary climate modeling systems for randomized, realistic weather conditions to dissect as a group and make realistic go/no-go decisions and flight plans. In the future, flight training devices will make their way into the network, to allow for direct skill-building. 

After 2 Years of Cancellations, There's a Lot to Catch Up On

The National Aeronautic Association has announced their first event in some time, holding their Aviation Records Celebration on April 28th. The Association is devoted to maintaining and remembering the details of air and space achievements, no matter how small. After years of postponement, they will hold an in-person Celebration in order to honor the most memorable aviation records of 2019, 2020, and 2021. This 'catch up' session will include a series of other notable accomplishments that occurred since the last meeting, too.

AirVenture 2022 to Host Programs Every Night On Variety of Aero Topics

The EAA has published the lineup of anniversaries, commemorations, keynotes, and personalities that will serve as the nightly entertainment each evening. The EAA has striven to put together a roster of speakers that touches on a variety of interests, from homebuilt aircraft to spaceflight. For attendees, the opportunity to hear directly from the real-life movers and shakers behind landmarks in aviation history is a rare one that shouldn't be passed up. Some nightly Theater in the Woods programs will give guests insight into the history of aeronautical classics, like the development of the Van's RV-series, or the future of space exploration with SpaceX and NASA.

CFI Hopefuls Receive Updated Fundamentals of Instruction Course

King Schools has revamped their FAA Fundamentals of Instruction Knowledge Test with a new online course hosted by the CEO himself, Barry Knuttila. Rumor has it that some locales around the country have begun paying increasing attention to the teaching capabilities of prospective flight instructors, adding more weight to the body of knowledge students need to pass the FAA knowledge test. In the past, the FOI had become a pencil-whipped affair, quickly studied and just as oft forgotten - But that won't stand in the modern aeronautical industry. Students can use King School's first course featuring hours of Barry. All Barry. More Barry than ever, actually. 

Also: uAvionix Autopilot Integration, Hartzell Prop Discount, OneWeb & SpaceX, Nicrocraft

Our normal Airborne schedule will be interrupted next week to make room for our LIVE webcast of the Aircraft Electronics Association new product introduction session -- an exciting look at what’s REALLY new in avionics for 2022. The event is on track for the 65th annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show, kicking off on March 28 and continuing nearly a decade and a half of ANN service to the avionics community with upscale LIVE web programming. The program continues the aviation industry’s longest-running annual live web programming

From 2012 (YouTube Version): Aggressive New Unusual Attitude Training Program Targets Commercial Pilots

First Webcast 11.29.12: It's not easy flying in the NAS... and its only gotten more complicated over the years -- especially if you are a busy commercial pilot. But Lee Lauderback's Stallion 51 operation believes that they can ease the life of today's commercial pilots... and keep them from harm when one of the most disabling emergency scenarios goes from being postulated to being real... Just a few days ago, Stallion 51 announced that it will now offer real-time, real-life Unusual Attitude Training in a special

Also: Joby Works on Part 135, Vertical Flight Society, Hot Spot Symbology, Mars Helicopter Flt 21

Washington state has released its commercial drone registration system ahead of the April 1st program due date. Those drone operators flying under 14 CFR Part 107 for compensation or hire are now required by law to register their UAVs with the Washington State Department of Transportation. The state hopes to make itself an attractive location, a hub for the uncrewed industry as a whole. Other states have looked to establish the same as they court the exciting new industry ahead of the projected proliferation of autonomous and uncrewed aircraft. Smart Shoot

Branded Bus Rides Billed as Faster, More Convenient 

As part of the continuing fever dream or collaborative delusion we mortals perceive as the post-pandemic economy, astute viewers have noted another less-than-stellar indicator that things... may not be getting better. American Airlines has decided to offer a ground alternative to flight for airport pairs close enough for ground transport, using outside bus services as contracted passenger haulers on "flights" that depart in June. The first hub to benefit from this remarkably advanced "Bus as Aircraft" technology will be Philadelphia International Airport. 

Also: ANN To Livestream AEA 2022, Airlines Push Back on CA Law, Dassault Reg'l M&O, Young Eagles

Epic Flight Academy, of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, has signed a deal with Polk State College to allow Epic AMT graduates to receive transfer credit hours. Students must have matriculated from Epic's Part 147 Aircraft Mechanic Program, and submit a transfer of credits request along with their FAA Airframe & Powerplant certificate to Polk state. Once approved, students will obtain 30 credit hours classified as courses performed to obtain an associate degree in Aviation Maintenance Administration. Women in Aviation International has successfully held t

Also: Douglas A-26 Restoration, Dassault M&O Seminars, SkyWest Ordered to Continue Service, Young Eagles Day

Wow... talk about your Walter Mitty moments... ANN’s Jim Campbell got a  test flight in the TL Aircraft Stream tandem RG composite rocket. Powered by a Rotax 100HP ULS, the Stream’s sleek lines are an eye catcher right from the get-go. A fighter style side-stick and adjustable rudder pedals make acclimating to the cockpit an easy event, and the side-hinged canopy offers superb visibility for your next fake fighter adventure due to the skinny nose allowed by the tandem configuration. Foreshadowed earlier this year, Rotax has

About 500 Ft Above Ground Level (AGL), The Engine Lost Power

On March 26, 2022, about 1200 Pacific daylights time, an experimental amateur-built, VariEze, N88KL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Mojave, California. The pilot sustained minor injuries and the pilot-rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he departed from Mojave Air and Space Port, Mojave, California, runway 26, and turned left to the south. While ascending, about 500 ft above ground level (agl), the engine lost power.

Additional Hangars, Maintenance Capacity Soon to Open In Wichita 

Bombardier is set to throw a little get-together celebrating their new Wichita Service Center. The area has grown considerably from the podunk, 4-hangar operation it began with. The Wichita, Kansas facility will be home to a "special celebration to outline the future of the site, which will also give the media chances to go through and highlight the multitude of job opportunities now in place. Bombardier said that they expected hundreds of jobs to be created or moved to the site within the next 5 years as they ramp up support for a widening series of aircraft models. Bombardier is allowing attendance to the special celebration on April 19th for accredited members of t

Aero Linx: Pilots To The Rescue (PTTR) Pilots To The Rescue (PTTR) is a non-profit, volunteer-driven, 501c3 public benefit aviation organization. PTTR’s mission is to transport domestic and endangered animals as well as people at risk. PTTR supports its network of trained volunteer pilots so they can focus on their missions and do the greater good.

Obstacle Departure Procedure (ODP) A preplanned instrument flight rule (IFR) departure procedure printed for pilot use in textual or graphic form to provide obstruction clearance via the least onerous route from the terminal area to the appropriate en route structure. ODPs are recommended for obstruction clearance and may be flown without ATC clearance unless an alternate departure procedure (SID or radar vector) has been specifically assigned by ATC.

“The format of the evening Theater in the Woods presentations brings out not only the highlights but the fascinating background stories from aviators who were there. Spending an evening at Theater in the Woods is an Oshkosh tradition that creates countless memories for those in the audience and great stories that they take back home.” Source: Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs -- who has published the lineup of anniversaries, commemorations, keynotes, and personalities that will serve as the nightly entertainment each evening. His office is in charge of setting up AirVenture features and attractions, so he would know a thing or two about this year's event...