Aero Linx: Aviators Code Initiative Innovative tools advancing aviation safety and offering a vision of excellence for aviators. The ACI materials are for use by aviation practitioners -- pilots, mechanics, organizations, and the entire aviation community.  Designed to be adaptable by the implementer,  they are provided without charge and periodically updated.

Precision Approach Radar Radar equipment in some ATC facilities operated by the FAA and/or the military services at joint-use civil/military locations and separate military installations to detect and display azimuth, elevation, and range of aircraft on the final approach course to a runway. This equipment may be used to monitor certain non-radar approaches, but is primarily used to conduct a precision instrument approach (PAR) wherein the controller issues guidance instructions to the pilot based on the aircraft’s position in relation to the final approach course (azimuth), the glidepath (elevation), and the distance (range) from the touchdown point on the runway as displayed on the radar scop

"New technology drives our exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Developing these early designs will help us lay the groundwork for powering our long-term human presence on other worlds." Source: Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, commenting after NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected three design-concept proposals for a fission reactor system that would power human lunar endeavors under the project Artemis umbrella.

Award-Winning, 33-Propeller Aircraft Impresses Judges and Buyers

Japanese aerospace concern teTra (teTra Aviation Co. Ltd) is a Tokyo-based start-up engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The company was founded in 2018 and, only two-years later, won the prestigious Pratt and Whitney Disruptor Prize at the Boeing-sponsored GoFly competition in San Francisco.

AD 2022-11-20 Prompted By A Large Crack Detected On The Tail Gearbox (TGB) Fitting During A Scheduled Inspection

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Leonardo S.p.a. Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters. This AD was prompted by a large crack detected on the tail gearbox (TGB) fitting during a scheduled inspection and the determination that certain TGB fittings are required to be inspected by the use of a borescope. This AD requires a one-time borescope inspection of certain part-numbered TGB fittings, and depending on the inspection results, removing the affected part from service and replacing with an airworthy part, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference (I

Going Once, Going Twice …

McMinnville, Oregon—famed UFO hotbed and Spruce Goose roost—will host a unique foreclosure auction. The property in question is neither a house, nor an automobile, nor even a collection of Richard Nixon campaign buttons; rather it’s a derelict Boeing 747 that’s been parked in front of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum for eight years. McMinnville Properties, an outfit controlled by wine entrepreneur Bill Stoller—who also owns the museum—seeks to acquire the airplane. The company filed suit last October against the 747’s owner, a Kansas City aircraft parts and leasing operation called Jet Midwest, which bought the aircraft in 2014 after Evergreen International Aviati

Green, The Color of Money

An Airbus H225 has performed the word’s first helicopter flight powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The flight, which saw both the H225’s Safran Makila 2 engines powered by SAF, follows a November 2021 undertaking in which an H225 flew with one of its Makila 2 engines operating on SAF and the other on conventional jet fuel. The flights are part of an ongoing campaign to understand the impact of SAF use on aircraft gas-turbine systems. Testing is expected to continue on various helicopter types with different fuel and engine architectures with the aim of certifying the use of 100% SAF by 2030.

Armchair Airshow Begets Fourfold Success

Aerobility, the UK-based charity that provides disabled individuals access to the exhilaration and independence of flight,  states that the success of its Armchair Airshow in conjunction with the generosity of its donors has increased the scope of the organization’s charitable work fourfold. In total, Aerobility now has the means to provide 32 flying experiences for disabled people. Last year’s show funded eight.

Also: SpiceJet Grounds Ninety, Honeywell 757 Test A/C, MH-60S Seahawk Accident, COVID Testing Ends

The 40th anniversary of the ultralight vehicle and Part 103 will be celebrated this summer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022. FAR Part 103, which put regulations on ultralight vehicles effective October 4, 1982, marked the beginning of ultralights as we know them. These regulations include operating rules, the definition of what qualifies as an ultralight, and more. Stratolaunch, the Seattle-based aerospace company and hypersonic flight-test pioneer, cut short a test-flight of its mammoth carrier aircraft, Roc. The twin-fuselage, six-engined, high-wing, mono

eVTOL Flight Testing Proceeding to Plan

Archer Aviation, the San Jose, CA-based designer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, reports flight-tests of its Maker demonstrator aircraft are proceeding apace. Most recently, the test program saw the first use of the company’s Tilt Propeller System (TPS), which actively controls Maker in hover. The system, which facilitates transition from hover to wing-borne flight, comprises a series of independent actuators, sensors, and software that articulates the vehicle’s forward six propellers relative its single, high-mounted wing.

Row Over Expelled Diplomats Intensifies

The American side continues to systematically destroy bilateral relations that are already in a lamentable state.” So states Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry. In February, the United States expelled 12 diplomats from Russia’s New York-based mission to the UN, accusing the staff of engaging in espionage activities. Moscow condemned the move as hostile and—in the wake of the Biden administration’s subsequent refusal to allow a Russian aircraft to pick up the expelled diplomats and their families and return them to Russia—threatened counter-measures, possibly asymmetrical ones.

Also: SpiceJet Grounds Ninety, Honeywell 757 Test A/C, MH-60S Seahawk Accident, COVID Testing Ends

The 40th anniversary of the ultralight vehicle and Part 103 will be celebrated this summer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022. FAR Part 103, which put regulations on ultralight vehicles effective October 4, 1982, marked the beginning of ultralights as we know them. These regulations include operating rules, the definition of what qualifies as an ultralight, and more. Stratolaunch, the Seattle-based aerospace company and hypersonic flight-test pioneer, cut short a test-flight of its mammoth carrier aircraft, Roc. The twin-fuselage, six-engined, high-wing, mono

Splitting for the Moon

NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have selected three design-concept proposals for a fission reactor system that would power human lunar endeavors under the project Artemis umbrella. The contracts fund the development of initial design concepts for a 40-kilowatt class fission power system that can be transported to the moon by extant or near-future space-vehicles, then operate in the lunar environment for at least ten-years.

Also: SpiceJet Grounds Ninety, MH-60S Seahawk Accident, Lufthansa Cuts, ERAU M.U.L.L.E.T.

2022 is shaping up to be the best year on record for pilot hiring since 2000–so states a report from Future and Active Pilot Advisors (FAPA). The first five months of 2022 saw airlines hire 5,526 pilots—one-hundred more than were hired during the same time-period last year. “If you are a pilot, you are finding a job,” said Sam Scanlon, managing partner for JSfirm.com, an online, aviation-industry job-search forum. JSfirm.com’s data suggests the top three flying jobs remain: Part 121 airline pilots, Part 135 corporate/charter pilots, a

Also: SpiceJet Grounds Ninety, MH-60S Seahawk Accident, Lufthansa Cuts, ERAU M.U.L.L.E.T.

2022 is shaping up to be the best year on record for pilot hiring since 2000–so states a report from Future and Active Pilot Advisors (FAPA). The first five months of 2022 saw airlines hire 5,526 pilots—one-hundred more than were hired during the same time-period last year. “If you are a pilot, you are finding a job,” said Sam Scanlon, managing partner for JSfirm.com, an online, aviation-industry job-search forum. JSfirm.com’s data suggests the top three flying jobs remain: Part 121 airline pilots, Part 135 corporate/charter pilots, a

Controller Instructed The Pilot To Remain Northwest Of The Bay Bridge And To Remain Clear Of Class B Airspace

On May 6, 2022, about 1210 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Vans RV-10, N54MG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Sausalito, California. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to preliminary track data obtained from a commercially available third-party source, the airplane departed Sacramento Executive Airport, Sacramento, California about 1129 and transitioned into a climb on a southwest heading.