Only in Alaska

Late Christmas Eve 2022, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) received a call from the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) requesting emergency assistance for a patient experiencing acute complications of pregnancy at a clinic in Shaktoolik, a coastal settlement approximately 365-nautical-miles northwest of Anchorage. Prevailing weather conditions along west-central Alaska’s Norton Sound precluded the patient being airlifted by civilian air ambulance.

All Roads Lead to Glendale

The NBAA, by dint of its Air Traffic Services division, has set forth a number of insights, suggestions, and resources of value to aircraft operators planning trips into and out of the Phoenix metropolitan area over the upcoming Super Bowl LVII festivities.

Getting the Lead Out

The passage into law of the $1.7-trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 saw $10-million allocated to the continuing development of unleaded aviation fuels. The funds will support the joint FAA-Petroleum Industry Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) partnership, and may be used to expedite the maturation of unleaded fuels currently being tested and evaluated under the auspices of the FAA’s Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) program.

Also: Ukranian Drone School, New FAA Weather Book, Flair Pilots, Pilot Vaccine Usage

The FAA issued notice that almost 140 pilots will be required to take a new checkride in order to retain their certifications after “defrocking” a longtime DPE in Alaska. Pilots who took their Instrument and Flight Instructor checkrides (both initial and add-on) with backcountry aviator Don Lee between July 2018 and May 2022 will be required to be re-inspected to keep those ratings - and complete the re-check within 15 days. From the sound of things up north, locals were not given notice directly, with most finding out about the issue from an FAA notice sent to local offices. Boom Supersonic has partnered

Doing the Heavy Lifting

Representatives of the United States Air Force reported on 04 January 2023 that a pair of F-15EX Eagle II fighters had successfully fired air-to-air missiles from newly installed and operational wing weapon stations during a 29 November 2022 test flight over the Gulf of Mexico. In a statement, the USAF described the test-flights as a “major step” toward demonstrating the radically augmented fourth-generation fighter’s planned capacity of 12 air-to-air missiles—the highest among U.S. fighter aircraft.

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Over the holiday, Scalewings looked over the year to see how production is coming, and things are looking better than ever. Despite the youth of the company, the company has managed to complete, ship, and deliver the first 8 of its beautiful P-51 Mustang. The 2022 ICAS Convention American showed clear skies ahead for the airshow community in 2023 and beyond. A total of 1,377 delegates gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada, including 683 event organizers working on 164 different air shows, principally in the United States and Canada. The show also saw the release of

Seasons Don’t Fear the Reaper …

General Atomics—the San Diego-based energy and defense concern specializing in research and technology development and maker of the enigmatic Predator family of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)—announced in November 2022 that it had flown the first production MQ-9A Multi-Domain Operations (M2DO)-ready variant of the U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9A Reaper.

From 2016 (YouTube Version): The Aspen Aerospace Alliance Motivate Students towards STEM Subjects…

Here’s a video that runs a little longer than our normal Aero-Minute because it’s a subject that’s fascinating and could make a difference in the lives of children in our school systems. This video is about an organization called the ‘Aspen Aerospace Alliance’ that has set a goal to bring aviation into the lives of schoolchildren ranging from elementary through high school.

Also: Ukranian Drone School, New FAA Weather Book, Flair Pilots, Pilot Vaccine Usage

The FAA issued notice that almost 140 pilots will be required to take a new checkride in order to retain their certifications after “defrocking” a longtime DPE in Alaska. Pilots who took their Instrument and Flight Instructor checkrides (both initial and add-on) with backcountry aviator Don Lee between July 2018 and May 2022 will be required to be re-inspected to keep those ratings - and complete the re-check within 15 days. From the sound of things up north, locals were not given notice directly, with most finding out about the issue from an FAA notice sent to local offices. Boom Supersonic has partnered

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The SportPlane industry has had its hands tied in regards to designing and building for the future by the promise and broken promise of MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates). Once expected and pretty much promised for an NPRM by Oshkosh 2022, the Sport Aviation community instead gets to sit on its hands for another year and Oshkosh 2023. With Cessna 172s pricing out at well over the purchase cost of a house, the LSA industry has found its airframes utilized more and more for flight training all across the US, as well as the world. The

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Leonardo has completed the first phase of flight testing for its upcoming Falco Xplorer drone. The aircraft now moves on to the second phase of the campaign as part of the company's "Be Tomorrow 2030" plan. The Xplorer will be the largest UAV ever made by Leonardo. The company says it has everything it needs for a successful, combat-ready UAV platform, from sensors and aeronautics to software and control. Advanced Aircraft Company has been selected to develop a tilt-wing prototype UAV for NASA. The "aero-activated", uncrewed aircraft will make cons

AD 2022-27-04 Prompted By An Uncommanded Dual Engine Shutdown Upon Landing

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Pratt & Whitney (PW) PW1519G, PW1521G, PW1521G-3, PW1521GA, PW1524G, PW1524G-3, PW1525G, and PW1525G-3 model turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by an uncommanded dual engine shutdown upon landing, resulting in compromised braking capability due to the loss of engine power and hydraulic systems. This AD requires removal from service of certain electronic engine control (EEC) full authority digital engine control (FADEC) software versions and replacement with updated software. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective January 31, 2023.

AD 2022-27-03 Retains The Requirements Of AD 2021-20-10 And Clarifies The Applicability

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-20-10 for certain Leonardo S.p.a. Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters. AD 2021-20-10 required removing from service a certain part-numbered main gearbox (MGB) spherical bearing lock nut (lock nut) that is installed on certain part-numbered MGBs and replacing it with a newly designed MGB lock nut. AD 2021-20-10 also prohibited installing any MGB with the affected MGB lock nut and prohibited installing any affected MGB lock nut on any helicopter.

At About 150 Ft Above Ground Level The Engine Lost Partial Power

On November 27, 2022, about 1130 eastern standard time, an experimental Rotorway Exec 162-F helicopter, N8006A, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near the Space Coast Regional Airport (TIX), Titusville, Florida. The flight instructor and the pilot trainee were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The instructor stated shortly after takeoff at about 150 ft above ground level the engine lost partial power and was experiencing “severe backfiring.”

Aero Linx: The Subsonic Aerodynamic Testing Association The Subsonic Aerodynamic Testing Association was formed in March 1965 to provide a world-wide organization for operators of low speed aerodynamic testing facilities.

Flight Check A call sign prefix used by FAA aircraft engaged in flight inspection/certification of navigational aids and flight procedures. The word “recorded” may be added as a suffix; e.g., “Flight Check 320 recorded” to indicate that an automated flight inspection is in progress in terminal areas.

“The F-15EX is an incredible addition to the USAF inventory. This event, executed by a top-notch team of test pilots, engineers and experts, proves yet again that the F-15EX will be ready if and when our adversaries challenge our nation’s interests.” Source: USAF 96th Test Wing Commander Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Wee, commenting on the news that a pair of F-15EXs had successfully fired air-to-air missiles from newly installed and operational weapon stations during a 29 November 2022 test flight. On separate passes over the water range of Eglin Air Force Base’s Test and Training Complex, USAF Major Jeremy Schnurbusch, a pilot attached to the 40th Flight Test Squadron, and USAF Major Brett Hughes of the Oper