I was recently poking around the FAA website when I came across the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Fact Sheet for fiscal year 2016. It was like re-reading a section of the FARs after too many years. The trust fund was created in 1970 to fund aviation programs with aviation-related excise taxes on passengers, cargo, […]
FAA
Former FAA chief gets a new job
Macquarie Group has appointed Michael Huerta as a senior advisor. In his new role, the former FAA administrator will support Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group, and provide insight to the firm and its clients and partners to build on existing initiatives and seek new opportunities in […]
Aeronautical Chart User’s Guide updated
The FAA recently released an update to the online and PDF versions of the Chart Users Guide. The guide’s website provides easier navigation and access to information, chart updates, and expanded content including the “What’s New” section to highlight recent changes. The guide provides chart symbology information for VFR charts, helicopter charts, Flyway Planning charts, […]
New report: Only a small percentage of drone reports pose safety risk
The Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST) Drone Sightings Working Group has released a new report on the FAA’s 3,714 drone sightings reports collected by flight crews, air traffic controllers and citizens from November 2015 to March 2017. The report found that only a small percentage of drone reports pose a safety risk, while the vast […]
How will you be found?
Can you still use a 121.5 MHz ELT? The vast majority of Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) in operation today are based on 1950s technology. Back in February 2009, satellite monitoring of 121.5 and 243 MHz ELT signals was terminated. What does that mean for you? To help answer those questions – and more — WINGsReality EDU […]
FAA publishes Super Bowl NOTAM
Pilots flying in the Minneapolis area Jan. 31-Feb. 5, 2018, should familiarize themselves with the FAA’s air traffic procedures NOTAM for the area on those dates. Super Bowl LII takes place on Sunday, Feb. 4, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, with kick-off set for 5:30 p.m. (CST). Reservations will be required for arrivals and departures […]
Tracking drones in flight
The FAA has released a report from its Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) on technologies available to identify and track drones in flight. The ARC’s 74 members included aviation community and industry member organizations, law enforcement agencies and public safety organizations, manufacturers, and researchers. According to FAA officials, the […]
FAA restricts drone operations over Department of Energy facilities
At the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies, the FAA has restricted drone operations over seven Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. The FAA and DOE have agreed to restrict drone flights up to 400 feet within the lateral boundaries of these sites: Hanford Site, Franklin County, Washington; Pantex Site, Panhandle, Texas; Los […]
Holiday lights can be a pilot hazard
The FAA has issued a warning to those who decorate the outside of their houses with holiday lights, including laser-light displays. “Each holiday season for the past several years, the FAA has received reports from pilots who said they were distracted or temporarily blinded by residential laser-light displays,” officials said in a prepared release. The […]