Newly In the Sky with Diamonds

On 20 July 2023, the all-electric eDA40 made its first flight at Diamond Aircraft’s headquarters in Wiener Neustadt (Austria). The instance marked a milestone for the Sino/Austrian airframer and connoted the imminence of the aircraft’s certification. The eDA40, which stands to be the first EASA/FAA Part 23 certified electric aircraft, is powered by Safran Electrical & Power’s ENGINeUSTM electric smart motor, which is powered, in turn, by an Electric Power Systems (EPS) battery module featuring a Direct Current (DC) fast-charging system.

Critical Microchip Determined Defective—Again

Gogo Business Aviation, the American provider of in-flight broadband Internet and similarly vital connectivity services for business aircraft, announced on 27 July 2023 that the launch of its 5G network has been delayed. Gogo set forth the postponement is attributable to a design-flaw in a microchip critical to its 5G technology.

Aced Tests Aces Yield

“Are you ready to take your FAA written exam?” That’s a question people ask every student, and students ask themselves every day. Sometimes, it’s pretty hard to know the answer. If you’re using King Schools courses to prepare for your FAA exams, a brand-new app, The KING Test Prep Companion App, puts all the information at your fingertips.

The Final Day Of Morning Brief Goodness!

Join us for our latest Oshkosh 2023 Morning Brief, live from Wittman Field! We'll have news from the day before, a little weather report, live interviews, and a look ahead and the day's events to come! What a week! And, of course, it ain’t over. Not by a long shot... with a lot of warbird action scheduled for today and a MASSIVE night airshow on tap for Saturday... there is plenty of aviation goodness to be had for the next few remaining days.

Electric, Distributed Propulsion Prototype Growing Bit by Bit with Every AirVenture Appearance

Skylab Engineering remains hard at work with their odd little electric aircraft, showing off a more finished, revised fuselage to crowds at AirVenture 2023. The team has been around more than a few times on the circuit, showing off an unusual concept featuring a tadpole-like fuselage with a fishbowl nose and seating for two. Each wing features a leading edge sporting 5 individual electric driven propellers, giving it a look that would fit in with a range of electric VTOL aircraft.

Italian Aircraft Marque’s Facilities to Change Hands

The sale of business complexes belonging to Piaggio Aero Industries and Piaggio Aviation—the two companies operating under the Piaggio Aerospace brand and currently engaged in extraordinary receivership proceedings—has entered a new phase. The company’s Extraordinary Commissioners have announced the firms agreed to the due diligence phase of 13 subjects among the 18 who had expressed interest in acquiring the aforementioned assets, thereby granting such access to critical company data.

Dedicated “Circuit Trainer” Keeps Marching Towards Certification

The Austrians passed another milestone as they head onwards to certification for an all-electric trainer aircraft after completing the first successful test flight of the eDA-40. The flight took place near the Austrian home of the company, getting plenty of time for scenic shots of the plane floating above placid farmscapes below. The aircraft “shall be the first EASA/FAA Part 23 certified electric aircraft, is designed to be an excellent electric circuit trainer powered by an “ENGINeUS” electric smart motor by Safran Electrical & Power and charged by Electric Power Systems’ battery module equipped with a Direct Current fast charging syste

A Word About "Pre-Designated Emergency Landing Areas" In January of 2023 the Federal Aviation Administration published their latest revision to their Heliport Design Advisory Circular, AC 150/5390-2D. First introduced in 1959, this standard is the only recognized guidance document for heliport design in the United States. While the FAA goes out of its way on page one of their advisory circular to point out the fact that this document is not regulatory in nature, at least not from a federal level, and that the guidance it contains is purely a recommendation, the fact is many other federal, state and local agencies point to this advisory circular in reference, which in many cases makes these recommendations regulatory.

Thank Goodness Klyde Didn't Get Stuck Behind A Cherokee Six...

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Facilitating the Dawn of BVLOS Operations

NASA and Bigfork, Montana-based aerospace technology concern uAvionix have signed a Space Act Agreement by which the two entities will co-develop advanced Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Command and Control (C2) technologies germane to Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in urban environments. In accordance with the agreement’s provisions, NASA and uAvionix will jointly engage in research & development conducive to the establishment of commercial UAS C2 systems utilizing internet-based infrastructure and air traffic control frequencies.

Northrop Grumman Contracted for Next-Gen Seaborne VTOL UAV Beyond Current Market Capability

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office has contracted with Northrop Grumman to design an autonomous VTOL aircraft system for use in US Navy ships while underway, slated to carry a 60-lb payload for more than 20 hours of flight time. The contract illustrates the relatively empty field in that particular tactical niche, one that has been addressed through more traditionally designed, helicopter-like UAVs abroad. Naval aviation is often a difficult realm of design and operations, combining a moving takeoff and landing platform with the fueling constraints of operations beyond convenient, abundant supply lin

Witnesses Reported The Airplane “Banked” To The Right And Impacted A Heavily Wooded Area

On July 13, 2023, about 1157 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-140 airplane, N8225N, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Osage Beach, Missouri. The pilot and one passenger sustained fatal injuries. One passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot flew the airplane from its home base at the Carrollton Memorial Airport (K26), Carrollton, Missouri, to the Grand Glaize-Osage Beach Airport (K15), Osage Beach, Missouri.

In Recognition of Excellence

A private, non-profit organization, the Flight Test Museum Foundation raises funds to support the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards AFB, as well as the museum’s Blackbird Airpark Annex at USAF Plant 42 in Palmdale. In addition to the legacy Eagle and General Robert Cardenas Excellence in Aviation awards, 2024 will see the Flight Test Historical Foundation unveil and present three new awards: the Robert Hoover Lifetime Achievement “Feather” Award; the Carol Odgers Flight Test History Medal; and the General Al Boyd “Falcon” Award. Subject awards recognize specific achievements by which the boundaries of humankind’s aviation and aerospace frontiers have

Chronicling Cruelty

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the delivery of nine autonomous drones donated by Skydio, an American manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Subject drones—Skydio 2+ models, all—are equipped with 4K cameras by which the Prosecutor General’s staff intends to collect photo and video evidence of war crimes across the embattled Eastern European nation.

Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance cannot immediately be issued because of traffic or other reasons.

Aero Linx: Great Alaska Aviation Gathering The first weekend in May every year, Alaskans gather to celebrate aviation and plan for the upcoming flying season by attending the largest free aviation event in the nation!

“We know our learners like to know where they stand. This new app gives them milestones. It’s a great feeling to know you’re more than halfway, or you’re almost there, or even just that you’re off to a good start. And it also shows them the way forward.” Source: Martha King, who, with her husband John, founded King Schools fifty-years ago, describing the new KING Test Prep Companion App, which puts all the information at your fingertips.