Good News! Signs Of Stability And Growth Across Most Segments

GAMA has released the results of the first six months of general aviation industry shipments and billings. Airplane shipments increased 5.9 percent in the first six months of 2012 compared to 2011 while the accompanying value of the airplane deliveries rose 13.2 percent.  Only sales of piston singles showed a slight decline.

Mica, Petri Charge FAA With Bowing To Political Pressure

The chairs of the House Transportation Committee and the Aviation Subcommittee have written a letter to the FAA expressing concerns about the establishment of the Long Island North Shore Route rule, and urging the agency to give the matter additional thought.

Company Subsidiary Pratt & Whitney Canada Sold Sensitive Software To China

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) are asking the federal government to consider blocking United Technologies from receiving defense and other government contracts.

Clark School Human-Powered Helicopter Flew For A Tick Under 50 Seconds

The National Aeronautic Association has certified the June 21, 2012, flight of Gamera II at 49.9 seconds, a new national record for human-powered helicopter flight duration, and submitted flight information to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale for approval as a world record. Gamera II was designed, built and piloted by students at the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Had Backed AA Contract Rejected By The Rank And File

After 61 percent of the Allied Pilots Association members voted against a tentative contract agreement with American Airlines, the union's president, Capt. David Bates (pictured), tendered his resignation at the request of the union's board. 2,935 pilots voted for the tentative agreement, and 4,600 pilots voted against.

Prototype Low-Cost Lander Crashed And Burned In First Autonomous Flight Test

While NASA celebrates the success of the Curiosity Rover landing on Mars, another program suffered a setback Thursday when the Morpheus Lander prototype crashed and burned only a few seconds after lifting off on its first autonomous test flight. In a video release, NASA said that "during the free flight test of the Project Morpheus vehicle at the Shuttle Landing Facility, the vehicle lifted off the ground and then experienced a hardware component failure. This failure prevented the vehicle from maintaining stable flight. "No one was injured and the resulting fire was extinguished by Kennedy Space Center fire personnel. "Failures such as these were antici

Alleges Cargo Hauler Improperly Accepted Hazardous Materials Shipments

The FAA is proposing a $681,200 civil penalty against Federal Express Corp. (FedEx), of Memphis, TN, for allegedly violating U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

First Weapon Released In Flight Was A 1,000 Pound JDAM Bomb

The F-35 Lightning II accomplished a significant test milestone August 8 when the aircraft successfully released a weapon in flight. BF-3, a short take-off and vertical landing F-35 variant, executed an inert 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) separation weapon over water in an Atlantic test range while traveling at 400 knots at an altitude of 4,200 feet.

"The knowledge, creativity and determination they exhibit is inspiring—and it's hard to match the excitement of seeing a human-powered helicopter fly!" Source: Clark School Dean and Farvardin Professor of Engineering Darryll J. Pines.

The urgency of the landing is paramount. The primary consideration is to ensure the survival of the occupants.

Motion Picture Pilots Association

The Motion Picture Pilots Association was founded in 1977 by a group of concerned motion picture aviators at the urging of industry and government.