NBAA Honored Yeager And Rutan With The Association’s 'Meritorious Service To Aviation' Award

As expected (and is proper), the aviation world is expressing their feelings about the loss of LtC Dick Rutan... The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has therefore marked the passing of acclaimed pilot and aviation pioneer Dick Rutan. “We join with our global aviation community in mourning the loss of a true aviation trailblazer,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Dick Rutan was a legend who will be profoundly missed.”

AMTs and Company Descend on Portland, Oregon in Force

The National Business Aviation Association capped off a successful 2024 NBAA Maintenance Conference, and already started looking forward to next year. The NBAA saw attendees make the rounds from all over the continental US, bringing those who want to foster a stronger generation of maintenance professionals. Keynote speakers included Greg Wooldridge, a 3-time CO of the US Navy's Blue Angels and Amy Grubb, an FBI psychologist who walked audiences through proper organizational handling.“I’ve taken the adage, ‘You fly the airplane, don’t let it fly you,’ and I’ve applied it to everything in my life,” said Wooldridge. 

 

 

US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight Simulation Test Aircraft, or VISTA, to illustrate just how far autonomous aircraft have come. The aircraft sounds much snazzier than it is in reality, being a 30-year old, 2-seat F-16D with a nifty paint job and an R2-D2 in one of the seats. The aircraft has long been in the US Air Force Test Pilot School, where it received modifications for multi-axis thrust vectoring and aerodynamics. AgEagle Aerial Systems will ship 40 of its eBee VISION systems, along with 9 more eBees, with all the parts, support, connections, control stations, and miscellany required to keep the fleet operational in French army service. Maxar Intelligence has confirmed that the first two WorldView Legion satellites are performing well after being launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 roc

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