Also: MASSIVE Innovation Preview, 2024 AMA National Fun-Fly, Hartzell Acquires WhirlWind, Drone Safety Day
CKD Aero has partnered up with Kite Magnetics to create the Dakota e-Hawk, the “world’s most cost-effective two-seat electric aircraft”. The e-Hawk is intended to be the first in a lineup of kit aircraft using Kite’s KM-60 electric engine and running gear. The KM-60 is much like an old-school piston engine, offering air-cooled, direct drive propulsion with 60 kW (about 80 horsepower). Mark your calendars for April 9th at 1030ET... and log on to www.airborne-live.net to see this year’s MASSIVE LIVE SUN n FUN Innovation Preview... which the SnF folks promise to be bigger, better and badder than ever before. "After Turning 70 years old twenty months ago, I began to think it was time to let someone younger take charge of the company," said Bearhawk Aircraft's outgoing owner Mark Goldberg.
Aero Linx: Civil Aviation Medical Association (CAMA)
AMA is an organization dedicated to preserving safety through innovative programs, education, and training. Although education is the central mission of the organization, CAMA has been a leader in tackling legislative issues that affect aviation safety. Using a deep network of relationships on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies, the Civil Aviation Medical Association has been the voice of aviation safety for more than 50 years.
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
GNSS refers collectively to the worldwide positioning, navigation, and timing determination capability available from one or more satellite constellations. A GNSS constellation may be augmented by ground stations and/or geostationary satellites to improve integrity and position accuracy.
ITBOA BNITBOB ... what does that mean? It's not gibberish, it's a lengthy acronym for "In The Business Of Aviation ... But Not In The Business Of Business."
“The ruling is a resounding win for our union-represented pilots... Boeing systematically dismantled the pilot training safety system that had served the company and its customers well for decades. They stripped the safety system for parts, pocketed the savings, then contracted out the remaining pieces to pretend that no substantive changes had occurred.”
Source: Ray Goforth, the executive director of SPEEA, IFPTE Local 2001, which represented the Boeing instructor pilots before their work was outsourced to third-party contractors. The union pursued the federal complaint on their behalf.
DoorDash and Wing Join Hands for Drone Deliveries From One Wendy’s Location
Those displeased with the sometimes spotty outcomes of manual food delivery are in luck now that DoorDash is partnering with Wing to provide drone deliveries to customers in one select region in Virginia (as long as they want food from the Wendy's on Franklin Street). Of course, like every piece of news involving customer-facing drone delivery, the affected area remains tiny in the grand scheme of things. It's a natural outcome of the industry's position at the moment, which is still working out the kinks and taking baby steps before setting millions - or billions - of autonomous aircraft whizzing through the US airspace system with cheeseburgers in tow. Right now, those near Christiansburg, Virginia are the lucky drone delivery customers of the day.
Women in Aviation International capped off its 2024 Conference with a flurry of activity, completing its year get-together for the 35th year running - and things were busier than ever. The Conference saw some record attendance and exhibition numbers, with more than 5,200 attendees representing 35 countries. The WAI Chapter network has grown, too, reaching 180 chapters in 26 nations. There's more international growth to do, though, since the USA accounts for 140 chapters domestically, with only 40 outside the states. The scale is also apparent from the level of industry support at WAI2024, with more than 200 distinct companies, groups, and organizations making an appearance.
Remote Learning Programs Available for Would-Be Engineers Breaking Into The Industry
Kansas University announced a new offering, a Master's of Science and Master's of Engineering in the field of Aerospace Engineering. The University of Kansas cites increasingly rosy job prospects for those going into the field, with a growth rate of 6% per year for the next 5 to 10 years. The school describes itself as a "world-class community of students, educators, and researchers shaping the next generation of aerospace systems," perfectly situating them to offer an engineering program with "research skills, technical knowledge, and problem-solving techniques".
Bring Older Aircraft Up to Factory Spec With Ready-Made BasiX-Pro
Bell Textron has gotten FAA certification for its Basix-Pro Glass Retrofit Kit, creating a new flight deck upgrade compatible with all Bell 412EP models. The new glass cockpit retrofit suite offers all the usual benefits of a glass panel, with synth vision, reduced workload, greater screen space for mapping and charting, and better all-around situational awareness. The retrofit kit offers installers the same gear used in the production line at Textron, with the same Astronautics displays and Garmin avionics included with everything needed to hook them up. It's a great way to upgrade a faithful old aircraft, doing away with old, finicky vacuum gauges and replacing them with dependable digital gear.
Domestic Carrier Digs In Its Heels, Establishing Own Trading Facility After Leaseback Loggerheads
Rex, the “largest independent regional and domestic airline” in Australia, stood its ground in a beef with international but somehow surprisingly Australian Ansett Aviation Training, deciding to move their expensive, spiffy 737 sim to a new facility instead of selling it off. The tale is interesting - or as close to interesting as drama in the aviation training industry goes - as the Rex Level D FFS, a Boeing 737NG, UPRT-approved model, had spent its life at an Ansett facility in Brisbane, Australia. Its term of residence expired in 2023, and Ansett Aviation Training refused to extend its term with a new contract. Rex says that they were only given the option of selling the simulator to Ansett, or de-installing it and making the costly trek to facilities elsewhere at a not-inconsiderable cost.