Also: Drone Defense, VelocityOne Flightdeck, NASA Turbofan Engine, Block 5 MQ-9A
Sierra Space's "Dream Chaser", the "world's only commercial spaceplane", has begun its final testing phase ahead of planned operations in 2024. Dream Chaser nestled into the NASA test facility to join Sierra's cargo module, the Shooting Star. Both will be unified in a launch stack for testing in the coming weeks, evaluating their resilience to forces, vibration, and wear. Airspeeder's 2023 EXA Series Championship saw the last of its 3-car races finish this month, capping off the 2023 season with a win to Zephtali Walsh. The win capped off the "world's inaugural three-craft EVTOL race at Stonefield Airfield, South Australia",
AD 2023-2232 Was Prompted By Reports Of Helicopters Losing A Tail Rotor Blade (TRB) Tip Cap
The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Robinson Helicopter Company Model R22, R22 Alpha, R22 Beta, R22 Mariner, R44, R44 II, and R66 helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of helicopters losing a tail rotor blade (TRB) tip cap. This proposed AD would require visually checking and inspecting certain part-numbered and serial-numbered TRB tip caps for evidence of corrosion and, depending on the results, removing the corrosion. This proposed AD would also require removing all affected TRBs from service and prohibit installing them on any helicopter.
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