Officials with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) are calling a court’s decision to deny — on procedural grounds — the association’s petition to overturn a questionable agreement between the FAA and the city of Santa Monica regarding Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) “disappointing.” But NBAA officials note the ruling does not address the merits […]
FAA
FAA publishes Means to Comply with Part 23, seeks public comment
Last August, the final rule overhauling the Part 23 airworthiness standards for general aviation airplanes officially went into effect. Now, the FAA has issued 63 means of compliance (MOCs) for Part 23 that will foster faster installation of innovative, safety-enhancing technologies into small airplanes, while reducing costs for the aviation industry, FAA officials say. On […]
Aeronautix offers free BasicMed STC for Piper owners
COLUMBIA, Missouri — The FAA’s BasicMed regulation created a greatly simplified medical requirement that serves as a replacement for the Third Class Medical, allowing pilots to operate any aircraft with six seats or less with the submission of a simple medical form and a copy of a valid driver’s license, similar to the LSA Pilot […]
Video: Unmasking offshore storms
It looks like the radar images you’d see your local TV meteorologist use, and that’s by design, but this new product from the FAA is called Offshore Precipitation Capability (OPC), and it shows precipitation in areas where you couldn’t see it before. The FAA’s NextGen Outreach and Reporting group has a new video showing how […]
Completion of unleaded avgas testing pushed up another year
The FAA issued an update June 4, 2018, on its evaluation of unleaded fuels for general aviation, noting the completion of the testing is now expected in late 2019. According to agency officials, Phase Two of the testing continues, reaching the two-and-a-half year mark since the two finalists in the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) […]
Revisions to airmen certification standards take effect June 11
Several revisions to the FAA’s airman certification standards (ACS) will take effect June 11, 2018. The revisions, called “Major Enhancements” by FAA officials, were made to the ACS for Private Pilot-Airplane, Instrument Rating-Airplane, Commercial Pilot-Airplane, and Remote Pilot-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Some of the revisions in Version FAA-S-ACS-6B include: Revised Introduction and appendices to account for […]
Worldwide ADS-B coverage closer to reality
On May 22, 2018, Aireon reported the sixth successful launch and deployment of its space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) payloads, hosted by the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation. At 12:47:58 p.m. PDT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, bringing the total number of Aireon payloads in orbit to […]
FAA offers series of drone webinars
FAA Safety Inspector Kevin Morris and a team of experts will launch a series of webinars June 5, 2018, on drone waivers. The series of free webinars will cover the most requested Part 107 waivers under the FAA’s Small UAS Rule. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and talk to FAA experts, agency […]
Video: Controlled Flight Into Terrain: What more can we do?
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents continue to occur in general aviation despite enhanced technologies available in the cockpit. An FAA video helps pilots learn more about the causes and potential mitigation strategies for addressing these accidents and improving safety in the national airspace system.