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March 30, 2017

Airborne 03.30.17: CSeries TransAtlantic, Freedom Drone Sports, SLS Test

Also: LA Times v Santa Monica, FAA UAS Symposium, China Lake AirShow, Drone Pollination, Airline Traffic, F-35, Western Aircraft

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has confirmed that a CSeries aircraft, with a representative payload, successfully flew non-stop from London City Airport to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. The direct intercontinental flight followed a series of successful flights to demonstrate the CS100 aircraft's capabilities for operations to and from LCY, including steep approach landing and short runway performance. The FAI and Freedom Drone Sports have signed a memorandum

Also: Police Use Drones, Drone Interferes with Firefight, New XIRO

Sorry to be so serious this week... but a number of legal and legislative issues have been introduced that may affect you. First; opening arguments in the case Taylor vs. Huerta were heard recently... and the judge was apparently not impressed by the arguments made by the FAA. The case was brought by Maryland Attorney John Taylor, who contends that the FAA did not follow proper procedure when it enacted the registration database just before the holidays in 2015, and that it ignored Section 336A of the FAA Modernization Act which pr

Also: LA Times v Santa Monica, FAA UAS Symposium, China Lake AirShow, Drone Pollination, Airline Traffic, F-35, Western Aircraft

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AMA Drone Report 03.30.17: Taylor v Huerta, Drone Privacy, New AMA Pubs

Also: Police Use Drones, Drone Interferes with Firefight, New XIRO

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Inhofe Introduces Fairness For Pilots Act

Builds On The Success Of The Pilot’s Bill Of Rights Enacted In 2012

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; member of the Senate General Aviation Caucus; and certified flight instructor with more than 11,000 flight hours, has introduced S. 755, the Fairness for Pilots Act, which broadens protections for general aviation pilots provided by Inhofe’s Pilot’s Bill of Rights, which was signed into law in 2012.

Contract Awarded By The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Hilton Software has been awarded a prime contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to provide multi-platform world-wide mobile aeronautical solutions.

A350-1000 Performed ‘High And Warm’ Flight Test Campaign In Latin America

Airplane Evaluated At Airports Up To 13,000 Feet

With the objective of conducting a ‘High and Warm’ flight test campaign to check aircraft and engine performance in high-altitude, warm and humid conditions, the A350-1000 MSN071 test aircraft flew first to Bolivia before completing its tour in Colombia and then returning to Toulouse, France, after 10 days of flight and ground tests.

Cold Spray Technology Will Be First In The Country Used For Structural Repair Of Commercial Aircraft Parts

Faster, market competitive, and safer airplane repairs. That's the goal of a project by The University of Akron and Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services in obtaining FAA approval for "cold spray" repair of corroded and worn parts on commercial aircraft.

Agreement With Spaceport Camden Supports Flight Test Of The Vector-R To Further Develop Technology, Launch Vehicle Design

Micro satellite launch company Vector, comprised of new-space and enterprise software industry veterans from SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, McDonnell Douglas, Sea Launch and VMware, have announced an agreement with Spaceport Camden to conduct a sub-orbital flight test of Vector's full-scale launch vehicle, the Vector-R, as early as this summer.

Areas Selected Once Held An Abundance Of Water

Two ancient sites on Mars that hosted an abundance of water in the planet’s early history have been recommended as the final candidates for the landing site of the 2020 ExoMars rover and surface science platform: Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis.

Fear Higher Fees And Domination By Major Airlines

Smaller cities and GA aviation hubs like Wichita, KS firmly in the camp of keeping ATC under the control of the FAA, but their lobbying efforts fall far short of larger cities and major airlines.

Aircraft To Be Operated By CityJet In The Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) Network

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft today announced that Dublin-based regional carrier, CityJet has exercised the four options that were part of a purchase agreement announced on February 1, 2017. That agreement included a firm order for six CRJ900 aircraft and options for four more. Upon delivery, the aircraft will operate under wet lease in the SAS network.

The 'LEAP 500': Engine Ramp Up Is Off To Fast Start At GE Lafayette

State-Of-The-Art Facility In Indiana Built To Handle Record Production

Just 60 miles from the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the GE Aviation Lafayette team is focused on its own 500.

Feature-Rich STC Offers Lower Cost, Less Downtime And Greater Flexibility Than Competing Solutions

Clay Lacy Aviation has added ADS-B Out to its FANS 1/A+ STC for Gulfstream GIV, GIV-SP and GV business jets. This STC complies with the January 1, 2020 mandates for ADS-B Out and FANS 1/A+.

Adds New Log-In Procedure For Member Companies

GAMA is proud to announce a new look for its website! The GAMA staff has been hard at work over the last several months, transitioning www.gama.aero to a new format.

AD Number: 2017-06-10

Product: Certain Bombardier, Inc. Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes.

AD Number: 2017-06-05

Product: All Boeing Model DC-6, DC-6A, C-118A, R6D-1, DC-6B, and R6D-1Z airplanes.

Three New Schools Added To Support Pilot Development Program

Boeing has officially launched its global network of Boeing Training Providers to support its Pilot Development Program.

Airborne-Unmanned 03.28.17: Gremlins UAS, Drone Privacy, Alpha Unmanned Helo

Also: Knifefish UUV, Runway Inspection Drones, Drone Hinders Firefighting, Canada's New Drone Regs

DARPA has awarded two Phase 2 contracts of its Gremlins program to Dynetics, Inc. and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. The goal of the Gremlins program is to develop UAS that can be launched in groups from different types of military aircraft, while they are out of range of adversaries. These vehicles would be launched from military aircrafts such as small fixed-wing UAS, bombers and fighters. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) have introduced legislation in

Five Selected For Upcoming Expeditions Aboard The Space Station

Five NASA astronauts have been assigned to upcoming spaceflights. Joe Acaba, Ricky Arnold, Nick Hague, Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Shannon Walker all have begun training for missions launching later this year and throughout 2018.

Pilot Fatally Injured, Two Passengers Survived

The National Transportation Safety Board met on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 to determine the probable cause of a July 3, 2015, crash of an Airbus AS350 B3e helicopter during attempted lift off in Frisco, CO in which the helicopter pilot was fatally injured and two flight nurses were seriously injured.

Introduces 'Revolutionary' ADS-B Products

UAV Avionics company uAvionix Corporation is entering the GA market with four key products: EchoUAT, SkyFYX, SkyEcho and PingESX. uAvionix aims to disrupt the General Aviation industry by leveraging solutions developed for drones to transform avionics design and dramatically reduce the size and cost of ownership.

Will Present At The 2017 International Space Station Research And Development Conference In Washington, D.C.

The International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSR&D) has announced that Elon Musk, CEO and lead designer at Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at its 6th annual meeting at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. from July 17-20, 2017. The ISSR&D Conference was created to connect commercial and academic communities involved in new innovations, breakthroughs, and discoveries onboard humankind's unique orbiting laboratory.

Adventure Pilot Celebrating Its 7th Anniversary

Adventure Pilot, celebrating the 7th year anniversary of the first iFly GPS, has announced the release of Version 9.8. This release is available for iOS, Android, and all dedicated iFly GPS devices.

Airborne 03.29.17: F-16 Makes A Move, Sumwalt to NTSB, DJI Proposes Drone IDs

Also: SKYe SH09, AEA 2017 Opening/NPI, FAA Certifies Elite, Carrier Strike Group, G650 Sim, SBIRS Satellite, Hawaiian Airlines

The ‘electric jet’ is moving to South Carolina... The production line for Lockheed Martin's F-16 fighter jets will be moved from Ft. Worth, TX to Greenville, SC, according to company officials. The company says it will roll the last Texas-built F-16 off the line in September, at which time all of the equipment and tools for manufacturing the aircraft will be transferred to Greenville. The Ft. Worth plant will be expanded to produce F-35 Lighting II airplanes. Preside

Updated Device Features Seven-Inch Portrait Display

Garmin has announced a new addition to the G3X Touch glass flight display family, the 7-inch G3X Touch portrait display. For first generation G3X customers, the new 7-inch portrait display offers an easy upgrade path as the existing footprint is easily adaptable to the new display and includes all of the same features as the popular G3X Touch 10.6-inch and 7-inch landscape displays.

“It’s great to get to announce so many assignments at once. There’s plenty of work to be done at the space station, and the research opportunities are almost limitless. These folks are all going to do great work and bring a lot of value to their crewmates.” Source: Chris Cassidy, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Species of wildlife (birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, earthworms), including feral animals and domesticated animals not under control, that are associated with aircraft strike problems.