Polly Trottenberg, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT),  is expected to be named the next interim head of the FAA, according to news agency Reuters.   

Trottenberg would be replacing current acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen, and several sources say his departure from the agency could be as early as this week. Nolen will still have close ties to the industry as he plans to join eVTOL startup Archer Aviation. 

In an email to FLYING, the FAA noted, “Billy Nolen is departing the FAA in the coming weeks and is continuing to ensure a smooth transition at the agency. Nolen will abide by the agency’s strict ethical requirements during the transition.”

• READ MORE: FAA Administrator Billy Nolen To Join eVTOL Manufacturer Archer

Trottenberg has experience in the public sector, having served as New York City’s transportation commissioner from 2014-2020. She also served as a senior policy official for the DOT during the Barack Obama administration and  aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

But unlike Nolen, Trottenberg has no apparent aviation experience—something that could be a significant challenge as the aviation industry faces a myriad of issues, such as staffing shortages, outdated technology, and safety concerns. Of specific note, inadequate FAA staffing and bureaucratic friction has slowed a number of key processes affecting general aviation, including the certification of aircraft and other equipment, as well as implementing new technology.

While Trottenberg is expected to be named the interim FAA leader, Reuters’ report clarified that her appointment is not certain and the situation could still change.

The FAA has been without a Senate-confirmed permanent leader since Steve Dickson, appointed by President Donald Trump, stepped down in 2022. The White House’s pick to head the agency, Phil Washington, failed to garner enough support from Republican leaders and withdrew his nomination in March.  

• READ MORE: Phil Washington Withdraws Nomination for FAA Administrator

Trottenberg’s appointment would also come as summer air travel is booming and airlines are anticipating flying roughly 4.35 billion passengers this year. According to Transportation Security Administration data, the recent Memorial Day holiday saw 9.8 million passengers screened over the four-day weekend—roughly 300,000 more than the same period in 2019. 

The strong travel demand has pressured the FAA to make changes to avoid flight disruptions, including launching new flight routes to mitigate congestion. The agency is also working to hire more air traffic controllers since it is currently understaffed by about 3,000.

The recent changes to ease flight disruptions seem to have played out well during Memorial Day Weekend. According to FlightAware, airlines canceled fewer than 1 percent of flights each day between Thursday and Sunday, while fewer than one-fifth of flights arrived late. Good weather played a key role in the lack of delays, the flight-tracking company said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted, “Low levels of delays and cancellations over the holiday weekend are evidence that sector-wide collaboration to improve airline reliability is on the right track.”

The post Report: Deputy Transportation Secretary Expected To Be Next Interim Head of FAA appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Authorities are trying to determine what caused the pilot of a Cessna 560 Citation V Encore to become unresponsive and overfly the nation’s capital Sunday afternoon, triggering an intercept by military fighter jets. 

The presence of the unauthorized aircraft triggered North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to scramble F-16s out of Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, resulting in a sonic boom as the military aircraft closed on the wayward civilian jet.

The Citation subsequently entered a steep spiraling descent over rural Virginia and crashed, killing all aboard.

According to the FAA, the civilian airplane took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport (0A9) in Tennessee on Sunday and was headed for Long Island’s MacArthur Airport (KISP). The aircraft turned toward the northeast then veered toward Virginia. 

The FAA noted the uncommunicative jet “flew directly over the nation’s capital, though it was technically flying above some of the most heavily restricted airspace in the nation.” 

Flight tracking sites showed the jet diving rapidly, at one point at a rate of more than 30,000 feet per minute, before making impact in mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m. EST.

According to the Associated Press, Virginia State Police were dispatched to the scene but found no survivors.

The Intercept

According to a statement from NORAD, “the F-16s were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region. During this event, the NORAD aircraft also used flares—which may have been visible to the public—in an attempt to draw attention from the pilot. Flares are employed with highest regard for safety of the intercepted aircraft and people on the ground. Flares burn out quickly and completely and there is no danger to the people on the ground when dispensed.”

Sonic Boom as heard by my dog Rocket in Fairfax Station. Shook the house. #sonicboom pic.twitter.com/WudmPif7uB

— Jared McQueen (@goodguyguybrush) June 4, 2023

NORAD noted the F-16s intercepted the civilian aircraft at approximately 3:20 p.m. EST and made repeated attempts to establish contact with the Citation pilot with no success. Flight tracking sites show the Citation descending at 20,000 feet to 30,000 feet a minute in a steep, spiraling descent before impact.

The Accident

At approximately 3:30 p.m.,Virginia State Police were notified of a possible aircraft accident and were dispatched to the area. Upon reaching the site in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley, they found the wreckage and reported there were no survivors.

The Citation was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc., based in Florida. The company is owned by John and Barbara Rumpel. John Rumpel, who is also a pilot, told The New York Times that his daughter, 2-year-old granddaughter, her nanny, and the pilot were aboard the jet, flying home to Long Island after visiting his home in North Carolina.

Airspace Violations, Military Intercept

“Violation of airspace and military intercept does not mean the aircraft will be shot down,” said Heather Penney, senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. 

Penney is a 4,000-hour airline transport pilot (ATP) who was an F-16 pilot scrambled on 9/11.

When an aircraft enters or appears to be heading toward restricted or prohibited airspace, there is a protocol to follow. The first step is attempting radio communication followed by identifying the threat level, which is usually initiated by intercepting the aircraft.

Penney notes that most general aviation aircraft fly too low and too slow to allow them to be intercepted by fighter jets.

“This is why the air defense system is multilayered,” said Penney, explaining that depending on the situation, aircraft interception may be performed by a sheriff’s department, the U.S. Coast Guard or, as in this case, fighters from NORAD. 

She said the interceptors must evaluate the situation to determine if the wayward aircraft has hostile intent. On Sunday, this began with the interceptors expediting reaching the non-communicative aircraft, so supersonic airspeed was authorized, resulting in a widely heard sonic boom.

“The Citation was up at 34,000 feet and heading toward the D.C. area. Air defense needed to get to them before they got to D.C. to go through attempts to get them up on the radio,” Penney said. “They need to determine if they are NORDO (no radio) and determine the condition of pilots if possible. This means a close formation to see the condition of the pilots and a battle damage check of the aircraft to see if there is something wrong that could explain the situation.”

In this case radio contact could not be established, and when that happens, the interceptors provide an escort for the stricken aircraft in part to keep away other air traffic from it and keep eyes on the aircraft being escorted until the threat terminates.

Shooting down an aircraft is unlikely, she said, noting the wreckage from such an event would likely spread over a wide area and could inflict significant damage to people or structures on the ground, posing too much of a hazard to justify the action.

“When an aircraft drifts into restricted airspace, it’s often a case of innocence or ignorance, even in the highly regulated D.C. area,” Penney said. “In these cases the erring pilot can expect further education or perhaps certificate action. Just because you violate airspace doesn’t mean you will be shot down. You will be held accountable by other means.”

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.

The post Investigation Underway After Citation Encore Intercepted in Washington appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Following the implosion of Jet It during the week of May 22, Honda Aircraft Company has stepped in to offer logistical and management support to those Jet It customers left in the lurch as the fractional operator ceased operations.

As reported exclusively by FLYING, the initial grounding of Jet It’s HondaJet fleet just started the snowball rolling. Soon after, Jet It grounded its entire fleet—including its Embraer Phenoms—and terminated its employees through a letter sent on May 26. The share owners of Jet It aircraft had also been told to find new homes for their assets.

While operators such as Volato and Jet Token have swooped in to court customers—and hopefully find positions for the type-rated pilots and other employees left hanging—the manufacturer of the HA-420 series is also standing ready to assist. 

Honda Aircraft has established a team that will help provide “seamless transitions to alternative aircraft management options for the HondaJet fractional owners who have been released from Jet It,” according to a statement from the company. This includes parking at HACI headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, for up to 90 days, including any pilot services needed to move those aircraft into position—free of charge to the customers.

This is no small thing, as several tails had been left in various states of “hangar limbo” following the Jet It shutdown—and some have been parked for nonpayment of maintenance and other outstanding bills.

“We understand the challenges faced by fractional owners who have been impacted by the suspension of their aircraft management after being released from contract by Jet It, and are now seeking alternative arrangements,” said Amod Kelkar, chief commercial officer and vice president of customer service for Honda Aircraft. “Consistent with our dedication to customer satisfaction, we have developed and established this assistance plan for those HondaJet owners in need of additional support during this transition period.”

Owners who think they might be eligible are encouraged to contact Honda Aircraft at hacifieldsupport@haci.honda.com.

The company is collaborating with the HondaJet Owners and Pilots Association and other groups on an upcoming safety standdown to address recent incidents involving runway overruns in the past 12 months. Runway excursions form a hot topic amongst business jet pilots and operators across the industry, as they make up the most common type of accident in business aviation, according to the National Business Aviation Association. Mitigating the risk will be the focus of the standdown.

“The HondaJet remains a reliable and safe aircraft to operate, and we reaffirm our confidence in the aircraft’s safety through our engineering and analysis,” said Kelkar, supporting the model. Honda Aircraft has delivered a total of 227 of the HA-420 series since 2015 through the first quarter of 2023, with approximately 212 of those on FAA registration. Jet It operated 21 tails through its program, encompassing roughly 10 percent of the total fleet.

The post Honda Aircraft Offers Free Logistics Help to Jet It Customers appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Since the completion of the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance’s (NUAIR) 50-mile drone testing corridor in 2019, the state of New York has conducted drone integration evaluations for the FAA, flown routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) tests, and even experimented with 5G technology.

New York’s drone corridor has been a major boon for the state’s wider aviation industry and the development of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies—so much so that its Tri-State area neighbor is planning to build its own.

On Thursday, the National Aerospace Research and Technology Park (NARTP), a collection of research and development facilities located just outside Atlantic City, New Jersey, announced an agreement to develop a UAS and AAM testing corridor backed by two Department of Defense entities. Once complete, the corridor could foster emerging aviation technologies such as drones and air taxis.

The project is being supported by the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), a unit of the DOD that provides the agency with air, land, and sea transportation, and the Air Mobility Command (AMC), the air component of USTRANSCOM and a major command of the U.S. Air Force.

The Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA) will provide a portion of the corridor’s funding through a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant.

The cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) between NARTP, USTRANSCOM, and AMC calls for the entities to build a prototype UAS and AAM corridor connecting New Jersey’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) to Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base, a distance of about 78 miles.

“This agreement is a significant accomplishment and will demonstrate the NARTP’s ability to facilitate aviation research,” said NARTP board chairman Mark Loeben, a retired Air Force major general. “USTRANSCOM and AMC are major players in aviation. Their interest in working with the NARTP helps to advance both the development of the NARTP and the emerging aviation industry in New Jersey’s Atlantic County.”

The NARTP and other parties have yet to produce a timeline for the New Jersey-Delaware corridor. But they expect the airspace to be “dual use,” facilitating launching and landing of civilian aircraft from non-DOD sites alongside UAS and AAM testing and experimentation.

Once established, the corridor will be used to demonstrate, develop, and evaluate military, commercial, academic, and federally backed UAS and AAM technology. NARTP said, for example, that it’s looking to enable strategic airlift capabilities for the Air Force.

In the meantime, the center has plenty more to do.

“The CRADA is an outcome of the NARTP’s work with AMC and FAA on the Airfield Autonomy Initiative (AAI),” said NARTP president Howard Kyle, “that involves the testing and demonstration of automated lawn mowing, foreign object debris sweeping, and perimeter patrol in both military and civilian airfield environments.”

The NARTP in February earned a Congressional grant for the AAI program, which aims to create the world’s first airfield-specific autonomous command and control systems. The FAA, Air Force, ACEA, and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences are all involved.

One month earlier, the center received $2 million from a federal spending bill to contract with autonomous vehicle manufacturers, which it hopes will enable driverless airport maintenance such as clearing runways and mowing grass. NARTP is adjoined to Atlantic City International Airport (KACY). 

It’s also adjacent to the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center. There, NARTP tenants are researching safety, testing, certification, and regulatory standards for UAS and AAM. And the center is working with Deloitte to launch an early AAM service in New Jersey.

The post DOD Officials Approve East Coast UAS and AAM Test Corridor appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Has your summer of flying started yet? Ours has here at FLYING with a new issue aimed for July. We’re closing in on Issue 939, which mails out in late June for subscribers before hitting newsstands and FBOs at your local airport.

On the cover we fly the sprightly new trainer from Tecnam, the P-Mentor, which is slated to deliver to flight schools across Europe and soon into the U.S.

Inside the issue, we test the new Bose A30 active noise reduction headset, and give you our assessment. We fly to Martha’s Vineyard as a classic summertime destination in the northeast U.S., and tell the story behind a special Yak 18T that the owner rescued from the clutches of war in Ukraine. Plus we give you all of the columns and proficiency articles you’ve come to expect from our deep bench of expert contributors—so make sure you’ve subscribed. You’ll also get a chance to win in our Ultimate FLYING Giveaway!

The post Pick the Next <i>FLYING</i> Cover appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on FreightWaves.com.

As the U.S. home base for Amazon Air and DHL Express, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG) moves large volumes of express shipments. Now the airport is positioning itself to attract general cargo carried by passenger and freighter operators interested in bypassing crowded international gateways for faster turnarounds.

Officials have arranged to process significant amounts of cargo to be carried by a new British Airways (LSE: IAG) passenger service and recently struck a deal with a private company to develop an air cargo warehouse facility with airside access on 4.5 acres of airport property.

British Airways is scheduled to launch nonstop service between London Heathrow and KCVG on Monday. Flights will operate five times a week utilizing Boeing 787-800 Dreamliners, switching to four times weekly on Boeing 777-200 aircraft during the winter season. Airline officials were drawn by the fact that Dayton’s population bleeds into the Cincinnati area and there are millions of people within a two-hour drive of KCVG.

British Airways selected Miami-based Alliance Ground International, a fast-growing airport services company backed by private equity, to provide warehousing and pallet buildup/breakdown and sorting. AGI is occupying a 15,000-square-foot building where staff will bring cargo offloaded from British Airways flights and send out exports. 

The only other carrier that provides trans-Atlantic service from KCVG is Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), which flies to Paris.

Although the route is ostensibly for passenger business, cargo opportunities likely factored into British Airways’ decision too. The 787-800 has room in the lower hold for more than 16 tons of cargo. Larger 777-200s can carry 22 tons of cargo and baggage. Stakeholders anticipate the new service will draw substantial interest for goods movement.

GE Aviation, aircraft engine maker Safran, Procter & Gamble, and drug and medical device research company Medpace Holdings all have headquarters and manufacturing sites in the Cincinnati area. Crane Worldwide Logistics has a 1 million-square-foot distribution center about 2 miles from the airport and is building another 600,000-square-foot facility nearby. Amazon Air and DHL Express have superhubs at KCVG, where they process millions of packages each week.

“While DHL Express maintains its own dedicated air network … the expanded commercial space that British Airways brings with its new service to [KCVG] will offer additional capacity to our express shipping network. This enhancement will benefit our customer shipments moving in both directions between the Americas and European regions,” said Joe Reusch, vice president of Americas network management at DHL Express, in a statement to FreightWaves. “It also facilitates more direct connectivity for the benefit of management teams that need to travel between our largest hub in the Americas region at [KCVG]and the extensive British Airways network.”

KCVG is a new location for Alliance Ground International, which has expanded its U.S. airport footprint over the past two years through a series of acquisitions. 

“The way Cincinnati is growing and with the freight forwarders in that area there are a lot of opportunities. So we’re very excited to be getting into that market,” said Warren Jones, AGI’s vice president of business development. 

Having a cargo agent with a large customer list and national footprint is a drawing card as the airport authority pursues other cargo airlines, said Simon Wood, director of air service development at KCVG. 

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky is the seventh-largest cargo airport in North America by tonnage, according to Airports Council International. More than 70 percent of the throughput is domestic freight, thanks to the Amazon facility.

In mid-May, KCVG officials struck a deal with Burrell Aviation on a master lease under which the Aspen, Colorado-based firm will invest a minimum of $20 million to develop an 80,000-square-foot air cargo transfer facility. Last year, the airport demolished old cargo facilities to make way for a new air logistics center on the northern end of the property. Construction planning is underway. 

“We’re expecting a lot of general air freight to take place in that new area. It’s got a huge apron on that side for large freighters. We’ve got great courier business but the missing piece here has been general airfreight and maximizing the belly freight that comes through here,” said Wood. 

Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population is within a day’s truck drive of KCVG. A new $3 billion bridge span between Covington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, made possible by the 2022 federal infrastructure law, is designed to alleviate congestion on Interstates 71 and 75 crossing the Ohio River. The current bridge handles a large volume of daily truck traffic.

Many logistics companies are looking for alternatives to Chicago O’Hare and other major airports where it often take two or more days to retrieve cargo because of labor shortages, poor truck access, limited storage capacity and other factors.

Wood said there was room for KCVG to gain air cargo without detracting from cargo-focused Rickenbacker airport, less than two hours northeast in Columbus, Ohio.

IAG Cargo, the consolidated cargo business for British Airways and IAG Group airlines, declined to comment for this story.

For more coverage on air cargo, go to FreightWaves.

The post British Airways Brings Belly Cargo to Cincinnati/N. Kentucky Airport appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Comments are starting to pour in on the FAA’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would make several changes to the regulations regarding flight instructor certificates. 

Among the most noteworthy changes is the removal of an expiration date and altering the experience requirements for instructors who can administer training to initial CFI applicants.

Currently, CFI certificates are good for 24 calendar months. The proposal would eliminate that expiration date on flight instructor certificates and instead establish recent experience requirements with a three-month grace period.

Under the new proposal, CFIs may demonstrate recent experience through current renewal requirements outlined in FAR 61.197, including passing a practical test; endorsing at least five students for a practical test with at least 80 percent passing on the first attempt; serving as a company check pilot, chief flight instructor, company check pilot, or flight instructor in a Part 121 or Part 135 operation; completing an approved FIRC; or passing an official U.S. Armed Forces military instructor pilot or pilot examiner proficiency check. A sixth method to renew CFI certificates will include teaching under the FAA-sponsored Wings program.

• READ MORE: FAA Proposes Changes to Flight Instructor Certificates

Many who have commented on the NPRM are in favor of removing the expiration date, calling the need to renew “burdensome,” and that when the options are to retire from instructing due to the lapsed certificate or take another checkride with the FAA, they opt with the former.

But not everyone supports the expiration date removal. 

“The proposal to remove the expiration dates on flight instructor certificates is a disappointment,” King Schools said in comments. “The loss of the remainder of the expiration on the certificate adds the risk that the expiration date might be missed. It is hard to imagine that this is a benefit. The possible benefit of paperwork reduction is missed due to the requirement that applicants must submit 8710 forms to support their experience at the time of renewal.”

Under FAR 61.197, each CFI needs to complete a flight instructor refresher course (FIRC) every 24 calendar months in addition to the completion of a flight review every two years in order to maintain instructor privileges. Per FAR 61.56 for active CFIs, the ground portion of the flight review is waived, and the CFI need only complete the one hour of flight.

If the CFI allows their certificate to lapse, the only option for reinstatement is to pass a practical test. Several of the respondents to the NPRM remarked that removing the expiration date and allowing recency of experience to facilitate renewal would help address the CFI shortage and, in turn, the pilot shortage.

Instructor Groups Weigh In

Both the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) and the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) said they are reviewing the proposal.

Karen Kalishek, chairman of NAFI, said the group has been discussing the NPRM and expects to have an official response next week.

Meanwhile, SAFE executive director David St. George said the proposal is a mixed bag for the instructor community, noting the group supports the removal of the expiration date from the CFI certificate but has concerns over the proposal to reduce the requirements for CFIs to educate new CFIs.

At present, under FAR 61.195 (h), the qualifications of the flight instructor—for training first-time flight instructor applicants—state that for ground training the authorized instructor must hold a ground or flight instructor certificate with the appropriate rating and have held that certificate for at least 24 calendar months and given at least 40 hours of ground training; or they have held a ground or flight instructor certificate with the appropriate rating and given at least 100 hours of ground training in an FAA-approved course.

For flight training, the instructor who provides flight training to an initial instructor applicant must have held a flight instructor certificate for at least 24 months, and for training in preparation for an airplane, rotorcraft, or power-lift rating, they must have given at least 200 hours of flight training as a flight instructor.

Per the proposal, rather than requiring CFIs to have 24 months of experience, the fresh instructors could start teaching new CFIs after recommending at least five applicants for a certificate or rating with an 80 percent first-time pass rate. Alternatively, those with 200 hours dual given who graduate from an FAA-approved flight instructor enhanced qualification training program (FIEQTP) would be allowed to skip the two-year requirement. The FIEQTP has been around since the 1990s.

According to St. George, the problems stemming from low-time instructors who lack experience to teach the initial CFI certificate will likely manifest downstream as the low-time, low-experience instructors repeat the “check-the-box” type of instruction they were trained with. While this would expose the pilot applicant to the tasks and skills, it does not give them the opportunity to develop proficiency or a level of learning beyond rote memory.

“SAFE campaigns for increased instructor preparation and professionalism, not lowered preparation and professionalism! This is a very bad idea,” St. George said in the latest edition of the SAFE online newsletter.

As most pilots become CFIs to build their hours for non-instructional jobs, their focus is often on building their own hours rather than developing teaching skills. When they achieve the required 1,500 hours for the airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate—or if they qualify for the restricted ATP with as low as 750, 1,000, or 1,250 hours—they move on. For instructors at a busy flight school, achieving these hours can happen in a year or less. 

St. George adds the organization is cognizant of the number of low-time CFIs in the pilot pipeline who have not had the time to develop into solid teachers. “The pilots they train get the minimums to pass the FAA test, but they may not be capable (of getting) the job done,” he said.

The NPRM is open for public comment until June 22.

The post Flight Instructors Weigh In on FAA’s Proposed Changes to Certificates appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As it contends with a slowdown in 737 Max deliveries at present, Boeing also has its eye on the future.

According to reports this week, the aerospace powerhouse is now the sole owner of Wisk Aero, the self-flying air taxi manufacturer it has been backing since 2019, alongside Google co-founder Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk Corp. Kitty Hawk ceased operations last year but continued to invest in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer.

Now, Boeing has reportedly acquired Kitty Hawk’s shares in Wisk, making it a wholly owned subsidiary, though Wisk CEO Brian Yutko said the air taxi enterprise will retain its independence. Yutko did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

Formed in 2019 out of a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, Wisk is essentially the continuation of Page’s Zee.Aero, which merged with Kitty Hawk in 2017 and was later rebranded to Cora. Once combined with Boeing, Cora was rebranded and spun off as Wisk, which has continued to develop the Cora air taxi under the Wisk brand.

Since then, Boeing has provided Wisk with heaps of technological and industry expertise—and financial backing. In January 2022, it invested $450 million into the air taxi developer, making it one of the most well-capitalized firms in the business. 

The funding will help Wisk develop its four-seat Generation 6 air taxi prototype, unveiled in October, which is designed to obtain FAA type certification. The company attests that the eVTOL will have a 36-foot wingspan, a range of about 90 sm, with reserves, and a cruise speed of about 120 knots. It features 12 tilt-rotor propellers mounted ahead of the wings.

In January, Boeing reaffirmed its commitment to Wisk, appointing Yutko—who has fulfilled multiple leadership roles for the aviation giant—as chief executive.

Given Kitty Hawk’s unraveling and Boeing’s tight relationship with Wisk, which Yutko described as “hand in hand,” the industry titan’s move shouldn’t come as a big surprise. What’s interesting, though, is that Wisk has not yet pursued the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) route that rivals Archer and Joby Aviation did when they went public in 2021.

Also, unlike Archer and Joby, Wisk is taking its time on certification and commercialization. While its aforementioned rivals are targeting air taxi launches in 2025, the Boeing-backed firm has elected to move more deliberately. 

So far, it’s opted not to provide a timeline for certification, a process that may take longer than others due to the firm’s choice to fly autonomously. As a result, Wisk expects to reach the market after many of its competitors. That will give firms such as Archer and Joby a runway to establish market share, but Yutko is bullish on the self-flying design’s prospects in the long run.

To date, Wisk has agreed to fly air taxis for urban air mobility operator Blade and is planning to launch services in Southern California, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and elsewhere once it achieves certification for the Generation 6. 

In September, Wisk and Boeing unveiled the first operational road map for those operations, explaining exactly how they will enable safe flight and suggesting potential rules and standards that might further that goal.

Still, Wisk’s self-flying eVTOL design will have more hurdles to jump through than its crewed counterparts. The FAA has yet to outline standardized certification requirements for air taxis—rather, it’s working with a handful of manufacturers (Archer and Joby included) to certify specific models. The approach seeks to ensure safer flight, but it could create delays for Wisk.

It’ll also be worth keeping an eye on parent company Boeing. The company in April said deliveries of the 737 Max—its best-selling aircraft—had slowed, and it delivered half as many aircraft as Airbus did during the month. While Boeing is still in a good position overall, any hiccups in its main business could impact Wisk more sharply moving forward.

The post Boeing Becomes Sole Owner of Air Taxi Manufacturer Wisk Aero appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

One of the characteristics of aviation is that the community can be self-policing. If an aviator flies in such a fashion that others consider dangerous, you can be sure that peer counseling will take place. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be pushback.

Members of the Biplane Class at the Reno Air Races voted to remove John D’Alessandris, who came first in qualifying in 2022, from their class for alleged unsafe practices. D’Alessandris responded with a lawsuit, the repercussions of which, according to the Reno Air Race Association (RARA), “may affect its ability to participate in the 2023 Pylon Racing Seminar.”

FLYING obtained a copy of the complaint seeking a jury trial. Defendants named in the suit include: RARA; Fred Telling, RARA’s CEO and chairman; Professional Race Pilots Association (PRPA);  Eric Zine, president of the Biplane Class; and Sam Swift, a National Championship Air Races competitor.

According to the document, among the accusations against D’Alessandris are allegations of cheating during speed trials, reckless flying, including crossing the showline, and having his airplane inspected in his hangar, not in the biplane hangar as the rules require. Per the suit, several pilots in the Biplane Class approached officials with their concerns, but D’Alessandris was not pulled from the competition, a process known as “black flagging.” 

D’Alessandris is seeking relief for breach of contract, civil conspiracy, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

• READ MORE: Regional Growth Forces Reno Air Races To Look for New Home

According to another racer who spoke with FLYING on the condition of anonymity, “We felt like John’s flying was unsafe, and we couldn’t figure out if it was rust or attitude. The class voted that we didn’t want to fly with him.” According to the source, the RARA has a policy where pilots have the opportunity to improve their skills through a Pylon Racing Seminar, but D’Alessandris declined and instead filed the lawsuit.

Members of the Biplane Class suggest that RARA “did nothing to protect us. They let our class take the fall.”

In a letter sent to Telling, PRPA announced its decision to “cease any and all further activities in support of the 2023 National Championship Air Races and the Reno Air Race Association . Similarly, Mr. Dennis Brown, Mr. Michael Stubbs, and Mr. Eric Zine have also elected to cease any and all further activities in support of the 2023 Air Races and RARA, and hereby resign from our positions as vice president of the RARA Biplane Class, secretary/treasurer of the RARA Biplane Class, and president of the RARA Biplane Class, respectively. These resignations are effective immediately.”

The letter references the lawsuit filed by D’Alessandris.

“While we disagree with the plaintiff’s characterizations therein and strenuously maintain that no wrongdoing warranting this lawsuit occurred, the suit has brought to light potential liabilities and exposures to costs that were not previously appreciated and/or fully understood,” the letter continued. “In light of this, the PRPA, as well as Mr. Brown, Mr. Stubbs, and Mr. Zine believe the risks of potential liability to be too great to warrant further voluntary participation and/or support of the 2023 Air Races at this time.”

2023 Reno Air Races

The Reno Air Races are slated for September 13-17. The organization notes this will be the last time the races are held at Reno-Stead Airport (KRTS).

Earlier this year, organizers said they expect more than 150 airplanes and pilots to attend this year’s air races. There will also be several hands-on displays and experiences, including a STEM Education Discovery Zone, the ever popular heritage displays, military demonstrations, and static displays and more.

The event will also mark the third year of competition for the STOL (short take-off and landing) Drag series. Tickets can be purchased here.

The races have been held at Reno-Stead since 1964. A location for next year has not been announced.

The post Lawsuit Potentially Upends Biplane Class at 2023 Reno Air Races appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In the 1940s, Russian-born engineer Igor Sikorsky designed the R-4, the first large-scale, mass-produced helicopter in history. Shortly after Sikorsky became the first American to successfully fly a helicopter of his own design, Frank Piasecki became the second, flying his PV-2 in 1943.

Today, both men’s legacies live on: The former’s Sikorsky Aircraft is now the vertical lift subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, while the latter’s Piasecki Aircraft Corp. (PiAC) continues to manufacture rotorcraft and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

This week, one firm’s former manufacturing plant is on the path to become the other’s state-of-the-art facility. PiAC on Wednesday announced it has acquired Sikorsky’s 219,000-square-foot Coatesville, Pennsylvania center—which closed in 2022—and plans to turn it into a research, development, and testing site for VTOL aircraft, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and other emerging aviation technologies.

More specifically, PiAC will use the Coatesville facility to execute several ongoing projects. Those include production and testing of the company’s forthcoming PA-890 aircraft, a slowed-rotor, winged compound electric VTOL (eVTOL) helicopter. PA-890, when completed, would be the world’s first zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell rotorcraft.

The facility is slated to reopen this fall and expected to attract around 400 workers within five years.

“We chose to expand our development capabilities in the Delaware Valley because of its deep roots within the helicopter industry, its highly talented workforce, and its robust supplier network,” said PiAC CEO John Piasecki, Frank Piasecki’s son, who now leads the company alongside brother and chief technology officer Fred Piasecki. “PiAC is committed to creating local jobs by fostering cutting-edge innovation, and we’re excited to support a community that has long prided itself on delivering aviation excellence.”

PiAC’s use of the Coatesville center—which contains facilities for engineering development, aircraft assembly, paint and finishing, flight testing, and delivery—has the support of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, former governor Tom Wolf, Sen. Robert Casey, Rep. Chrissy Houlihan, and the local Chester County Economic Development Council.

Much of the site’s resources appear to be concentrated on the PA-890, the production of which is being supported in part by the U.S. Air Force. Currently, PiAC is working with partner ZeroAvia to incorporate its High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HTPEM) hydrogen fuel cell tech into PA-890 and other VTOL applications.

Ultimately, the eVTOL is expected to reduce noise and cut direct operating costs in half compared to today’s fossil-fuel-burning turbine helicopters. Its applications will include emergency medical services, on-demand logistics, personnel air transport, and other commercial use cases. The aircraft is expected to begin crewed flight tests later this year.

“It’s incredibly exciting to see a company like (PiAC), a longtime aviation industry innovator, continue their commitment to developing new technologies like the PA-890 hydrogen fuel cell-powered helicopter right here in PA’s sixth district,” said Houlihan. “These advancements have the potential to transform vertical lift flight and help eliminate carbon emissions.”

In addition to supporting work on PA-890, the Coatesville facility will progress other PiAC projects such as the Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES), a multi-use, tilt-ducted VTOL aircraft that can fly crewed or uncrewed missions.

ARES was first developed with Lockheed Martin and is funded by the Air Force, the U.S. Army, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). PiAC is now working with Honeywell on a triplex fly-by-wire flight control system, which it hopes will enable ARES flight testing later this year.

Another PiAC project in development is Adaptive Digital Automated Pilotage Technology (ADAPT), a flight control software package designed to improve safety and affordability. The intelligent system automatically reallocates commands between redundant control effectors—devices that generate control forces or moments on the aircraft—to respond to changes in flight, such as aircraft damage or reduced performance.

After the Coatesville center is up and running, PiAC will continue to conduct ground testing, design and engineering operations out of its current facility in nearby Essington. At the moment, the firm has no plans for a full relocation.

The post Longtime Rotorcraft and UAV Developer Acquires Former Sikorsky Plant appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In the wake of a “banner year,” CubCrafters’ price of shares in their Regulation A+ public offering has risen to $5.45, according to the company.

The light sport and Part 23-certificated aircraft manufacturer began accepting investments in November at $5 per share with a minimum $400 investment.

“Since that time, investors have enthusiastically responded and subscribed to the stock offering,” the company reported Thursday.

• READ MORE: CubCrafters Unveils Carbon Cub UL

The past year has been a good one for the company, according to its recent report to investors. Its revenue rose 5 percent in 2022, doubling its net profits over those reported in 2021. CubCrafters broadened its product lineup through the acquisition of Summit Aircraft Skis, and it launched  the Carbon Cub UL, designed to capture a larger share of the European ultralight market. 

“Earnings have returned to near pre-pandemic levels, with EBIDTA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) above 9 percent in 2022,” the company said.

Demand for new aircraft has also remained strong, with a nearly two-year backlog in orders.

In the past year, the company has increased its number of employees nearly 14 percent to 214. It boosted its productivity nearly 28 percent with the assembly of 65 aircraft, up from 51 produced in 2001. CubCrafters also launched initial testing of a new electric propulsion technology for fixed wing aircraft and integrated robotics into some of its aircraft parts manufacturing process.

“Since our public offering announcement, demand for our shares continued to grow,” Patrick Horgan, CubCrafters’ president and CEO, said in a statement. “The milestone achievements that we announced in 2022, such as the introduction of the new Carbon Cub UL model powered by the multi-fuel Rotax 916iS engine, two rounds of NASA funding of our Electric Lift Augmenting Slats (ELAS) project, and strong 2022 financial performance drove the share price change.” 

• READ MORE: Carbon Cub Pilot Takes STOL to the Extreme with Helipad Landing

The company reported its international profile also rose earlier this year through a collaboration with Red Bull for the incredible short landing on the helipad atop the 56-story Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Red Bull Air Race pilot and Carbon Cub owner Luke Czepiela flew a modified Carbon Cub onto the 90-foot wide pad towering 695 feet above sea level.

“We are in a unique position to serve our customers through a diverse product line that appeals to every segment of the adventure aircraft market—both domestic and international—which will serve us well to fuel continued growth,” said Brad Damm, CubCrafters’ vice president. 

• READ MORE: Behind the Scenes at CubCrafters: Crafting a Cub

The post CubCrafters Reports ‘Banner’ Year, Stock Price Boost appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a message!”—and you can probably thank SkyTypers Inc., a bicoastal skywriting company for putting it there.

SkyTypers Inc. is a family owned company dating back to the 1930s. It began in New York, said Stephen Stinis, an accomplished pilot who has been the president and CEO of SkyTypers Inc. since 2004.

In a promotional video, the company proudly notes there are more astronauts who have landed on the moon or been to space than there are skywriters.

“My grandfather started the company,” Stinis said. “He began as a skywriter for Pepsi Cola. Grandad used a Travel Air and Curtiss Jennys back in the day. Post World War II he bought a lot of AT-6s and SNJs—we had 18 of them.”

According to Stinis, the nature of the company took them all over the country, and it was a contract with Laura Scudder’s Potato Chips in California that changed everything.

“It was 1965 when dad and granddad came to California,” he said. “Dad saw the weather and said, ‘We’re not going back to New York!'”

After some discussion, the decision was made to make the business bicoastal.

“We had six airplanes on the East Coast, six airplanes on the West Coast,” Stinis said.

In the 1990s, the company started a joint venture in Japan that involved moving the West Coast fleet to Japan. The airplanes were crated and shipped to the country, but unfortunately the company there did not have the infrastructure to fly them. The runways weren’t long enough, said Stinis. The aircraft sat, unflown for a time with the elements taking their toll, until eventually the Stinis family bought them back and set to restoring airplane No. 6.

These days, the AT-6 fleet lives on the East Coast. On the West Coast, they use a fleet of six Grumman Tiger 180 AA-5-Bs.

The smoke is generated by paraffin oil injected into the aircraft exhaust. It is different from the smoke used in air shows because the aircraft are higher and in cooler temperatures, resulting in a vapor fog that forms like a cloud and lingers for five to seven minutes. A typical message contains 20-25 characters.

According to a 1935 promotional film made by Chevrolet and found on the SkyTypers’ website, “Skywriting needs to be done into the wind so the letters won’t spread too much and out of the sun so the people watching won’t have the glare in their eyes.”

Skywriting and SkyTyping are two different things, Stinis pointed out.

“Skywriting is done using one aircraft, and it’s like handwriting on a piece of paper,” he said. “Skywriting is an illusion. It looks vertical, but actually we are maneuvering on a horizontal plane. We’re up at 10,000 feet or more, which puts us above most airspace, so there are no restrictions from the FAA, (and) the airplane is traveling about 100 mph. Skywriting can be seen 15-20 miles away on a clear day because it is massive.”

SkyTyping involves a team of six aircraft flying in formation releasing puffs of smoke in synchronicity.

“Think of it like a dot matrix printer,” explained, adding that his father invented and patented the SkyTyping. “The aircraft all let out a puff of smoke at the same time, every four seconds. A typical 20-character message spans 5 miles in length.”

Cost of Spelling It in the Sky

Per the company, SkyTyping has a minimum requirement per flight of 10 messages, and sometimes it will do add-ons of single messages at $2,500 per extra message.

The cost of the messages depends on location because the company has to factor in ferry costs based on distance and a per diem for pilots if they have to stay overnight.

“Costs start at $17,500 for 10 messages on the West Coast and start at $20,000 for 10 messages on the East Coast,” Stins said. “Skywriting is done with one airplane/one pilot and starts at $3,500 for one message, which is the same size of the skytyped message with each character 2.5 miles high.”

According to Stinis, it takes about two and a half minutes to write a letter. It can be challenging, as everything is done with timed turns and coordination for wind drift.

“Remember: Once you put the smoke down, it starts drifting,” he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the aircraft often went up to put inspirational messages in the sky to thank first responders and the medical community for their actions during lockdown.

“It was something that I wanted to do,” Stinis said of messages like “BE SAFE” that hung over both coasts. “I felt a duty to do that.”

The cost of putting up a personal message is $2,500, and it takes at least 10 messages per flight to get the team to launch.

The company handles a lot of personal and corporate messages, usually over large groups of people such as the Super Bowl, popular beaches, parades, and other special events.

“A blue-sky day gives you the best results,” Stinis said. “The message can be 3-5 miles away, but at 10,000 feet it looks like the message is right over the target although the pilots have made a 10-mile arc.”

In addition to writing letters in the sky, the company also has the ability to produce simple pictures.

“We’ve done smiley faces, hearts, a peace symbol—we’ve even done the Playboy bunny in the sky for Hugh Hefner when he opened his mansion,” he said. “My dad did that one—the bunny had to be 5,000 feet tall.”

About the Pilots

The pilots who perform the skywriting and skytyping need to hold a commercial certificate with at least 750 hours total time. They also need to be experienced in formation flying. It is the latter qualification that is the hardest to come by, according to Stinis, unlike decades ago when most of their pilots were drawn from the military.

“Now most of our pilots are from civilian backgrounds who learned formation flying as a hobby,” he said. “We do training for safety and operations, and there are preflight briefings and debriefings.”

The briefings are exceedingly important, said Stinis, since the nature of skywriting involves the aircraft flying wing tip to wing tip at the same altitude, “and that is not taught in any formation class.”

There are approximately 20 pilots on the roster now, with most having between 4,000 and 30,000 flight hours. They do it for the fun, not the money.

“There’s something about flying formation with your buddies and getting paid for it,” he said.

The post SkyTyping: It’s All Up in the Air appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

When you hear the words “black swan,” you probably think of the award-winning Natalie Portman movie. But the phrase originated centuries ago as a metaphor for events thought to be impossible, or “black swan events.”

As it turns out, however, black swans actually exist, which gives the symbol new meaning: the pursuit of feats that are rare but not impossible.

That’s exactly the mindset of brothers Konstantin and Svilen Rangelov, the co-founders of Bulgaria-based drone cargo airline Dronamics. Last week, the firm completed the successful first flight of its flagship Black Swan aircraft near Bulgaria’s Balchik Airport (LBWB), flown remotely by two commercial airline pilots.

Now, the bearded brothers, who vowed to stop shaving until Black Swan’s first flight, have finally shed the biggest concerns they had about their technology—and their beards.

“Since the day we first imagined what the Black Swan aircraft could look like, we’ve worked towards this flight,” said Konstantin Rangelov, Dronamics CTO. “Today we’ve made history and are proud to have demonstrated the validity of our drone technology.”

The flight, spanning 16 miles and lasting a little more than 10 minutes, won’t be enough to enable a full launch for Dronamics, which is targeting commercial flights in Europe later this year. But with the firm moving steadily through European Union certification of Black Swan, the test served as a partial validation of its technology, which could swing the pendulum in its favor.

“It’s taken an enormous amount of hard work, belief, and drive to prove that what we envisioned works,” said Svilen Rangelov, the firm’s CEO. “We can now focus on the next step, the rollout of our commercial operations, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

While existing cargo airlines regularly carry several tons of payload, that’s not what Dronamics is about. Nor is it attempting to enter the crowded last-mile delivery space, which has been the focus for most drone startups. Rather, Black Swan is designed to stand in for delivery vans.

The aircraft’s maximum payload of 770 pounds places it in line with middle-mile ground transportation. And with a range of more than 1,500 miles, it’ll be able to cover the distance between Chicago and Los Angeles or any two points in mainland Europe. The drone also has a capacity of 125 cubic feet, similar to that of a minivan.

With Black Swan, Dronamics is promising to halve overall costs, reduce delivery times by up to 80 percent, and remove up to 60 percent of emissions compared to other modes of transport, including air freight. Flying within the firm’s network of Droneports, it will initially complete time-sensitive deliveries in industries such as e-commerce, health care, perishables, engineering, and mining.

The company is able to bring down the cost of those trips in part by removing pilots from the aircraft, allowing it to offer deliveries for less than $2.50 per pound—up to 50 percent less than existing same-day air cargo services. However, Black Swan can be flown fully or semi-autonomously.

With last week’s maiden voyage in the books, Dronamics appears to be well positioned for its planned commercial launch later this year: At last year’s European Business Aviation Convention and Expo trade show in Switzerland, the firm announced it had received an EU light UAS operator certificate, the first for a drone cargo airline.

Awarded by Transport Malta Civil Aviation Directorate (TM – CAD), the license allows Dronamics to self-authorize flights across EU member states—including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, which are some of the most regulated in unmanned aviation. Malta is slated as the firm’s base for European operations and, along with Italy, the site of its first commercial flights.

Now, Dronamics is preparing to scale up Black Swan. When that time comes, the firm will leverage the mass production partnerships it signed last year with Cotesa Holdings in Europe and Quickstep in Australia, as well as the $40 million it raised in pre-Series A funding this past February. Laying the groundwork for a potential Series A round later this year, the raise included participation by investors and venture capital funds from 12 countries.

The company also has a few more partnerships with an eye toward the future. Its agreements with Zero Petroleum and Cranfield Aerospace will support fossil-free alternatives to power Black Swan’s engine, which does not rely on electric or hybrid-electric power like the aircraft of rivals Elroy Air, Drone Delivery Canada, or Destinus.

And through its participation in the Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland (CAELUS) program, a consortium led by AGS Airports to develop the U.K.’s first nationwide medical drone distribution network, Dronamics will complete more Black Swan flight trials by 2024. Eventually, CAELUS hopes to enable deliveries of blood, organs, essential medicines, and more, which could make it a valuable partner moving forward.

The post Drone Cargo Airline Dronamics Completes 1st Flight of Flagship Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The FAA is seeking comments on proposed changes to flight instructor certificates, including the removal of expiration dates, according to a newly released Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

The FAA’s May 23 proposal outlined several changes that would make it easier for flight instructors to maintain proficiency while keeping their certificates in line with other airman certificates that do not expire. Among the changes is eliminating the 24-month expiration on flight instructor certificates and instead establishing recent experience requirements with a three-month grace period.

As it stands under FAR 61. 197, the CFI needs to complete a Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC) every 24 calendar months to maintain privileges as an instructor in addition to the completion of a flight review every two years, which all pilots must abide by. Should a CFI allow their certificates to lapse, the only option to reinstate their flight instructor certificate is to pass a practical test.

With the proposed changes, CFIs may demonstrate recent experience through current renewal requirements outlined in 14 CFR 61.197, including passing a practical test; endorsing at least five students for a practical test with at least 80 percent passing on the first attempt; serving as a company check pilot, chief flight instructor, company check airman, or flight instructor in a Part 121 or Part 135 operation; completing an approved FIRC; or passing an official U.S. Armed Forces military instructor pilot or pilot examiner proficiency check. A sixth method to renew CFI certificates will include teaching under the FAA-sponsored Wings program.

In its NPRM, the FAA noted that organizations, such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), have long backed changes to instructor certificates. 

“Industry advocates have expressed support for removing the expiration date on a flight instructor certificate and amending the renewal and reinstatement requirements,” the FAA said. “These industry advocates asserted that requiring an expiration date on a flight instructor certificate is overly burdensome, costly, and provides no safety benefits.”

In 2007, a similar proposal to eliminate expiration dates was introduced but later retracted as the FAA determined that “revising its application procedures could achieve equivalent results.”  

According to AOPA, it has been discussing the measure with the FAA in recent months as the shortage of professional pilots (including instructors) has become more severe.

“AOPA appreciates the FAA’s recognition and proposed adoption of AOPA’s recommendations to make it easier for CFIs to remain current, proficient, and knowledgeable,” said AOPA president and CEO Mark Baker. “These steps will create significant savings in both time and money for thousands of CFIs, while maintaining the highest levels of pilot training and safety for the general aviation community.”

Additional changes in the NPRM include two new methods for flight instructors to qualify to provide training to other flight instructor applicants. One is to train and endorse at least five practical test applicants with at least 80 percent passing on their first attempt. The second requires the instructor to graduate from an FAA-approved, flight instructor-enhanced qualification training program and have at least 200 hours of flight training.

The NPRM is open for public comment until June 22.

The post FAA Proposes Changes to Flight Instructor Certificates appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Much of the action in the advanced air mobility space happens behind closed doors. Unless you’re friends with an Amazon Prime Air engineer or a U.S. military flight tester, the inner workings of modern flying innovation are opaque at best.

But every now and then, innovators give us a peek behind the curtain—if you know where to look.

Welcome to Patent Pending, FLYING’s monthly roundup of the biggest drone, unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), and advanced air mobility (AAM)-related patents. Each month, we’ll save you hours of parsing through U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filings by breaking down the most interesting, outlandish, and eye-popping technologies that have yet to hit the market.

A few notes: Just because a patent was published does not mean it has been granted, and there is no guarantee a company will develop patented technology. That being said, published patents can provide some insight into a firm’s research and innovation priorities—and a lot of them are just cool.

To View Patents

Here are a few published in May—to view these patents yourself, go to the U.S. Public Patent Search, enter the corresponding document ID in the search bar, and click “PN.”

Alef Aeronautics

You may not have heard of San Mateo, California-based Alef Aeronautics, but it’s a name you may see more of soon. Since 2015, the firm has been developing what it hopes will become the world’s first flying car—and a patent published this month gives us a peek behind the curtain.

Alef’s flying car, which is expected to be available for $300,000 by 2025 and has already received 440 preorders, is funny looking. But the design, if it proves capable, would be a marvel of modern engineering, allowing users to drive like a car and fly like a helicopter in the same trip.

The vehicle looks like the love child of a typical car and a cheese grater, with a vented body that houses eight propellers. At its center is a capsule where the pilot sits, and the “sides” of the vehicle are actually its wings. 

When transitioning to vertical flight, the capsule is rotated so the pilot is facing the sky—and once the vehicle is off the ground, the whole thing rotates to align itself (and the pilot) in the direction of forward flight.

Document ID: US 20230159161 A1

Istanbul University

Cities are typically the enemy of drone delivery, with massive buildings, limited landing space, and millions of people who pose potential safety hazards. But a patent filed by Istanbul University offers a possible solution.

The patent, filed in 2021, proposes installing modular landing and docking platforms on structures such as apartment buildings. When not in use, these platforms could be enclosed in protective covering. But they would be capable of communicating with drones, opening up when one is approaching with a delivery.

A manual operator or autonomous software would be responsible for sending the drones to the proper platforms, where a docking system would ensure they stay in place while completing the delivery. The platforms could even be outfitted with QR codes, allowing the drone to “see” them and guide itself to its destination.

Document ID: US 20230159193 A1

NEC Corp.

Flying a drone is kind of like playing a video game—similar to an Xbox controller, drone remote controllers typically have an array of joysticks and buttons. 

But soon it might be more like virtual reality. A 2021 patent filing from Japan’s NEC Corp. describes a remote control device that uses a camera to capture the operator’s hand gestures, conveying them into instructions for a drone.

NEC has its toes dipped in several different industries, but if it gets around to developing this design, it could be a game-changer for drone operators. Imagine pointing a finger to move your drone forward, using a “stop” gesture to make it hover in place, or waving to tell it to land.

Document ID: US 20230161339 A1

Rhombus Systems

The FAA is still developing a beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) rule for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), one that would allow remote pilots to fly drones where they can’t see them. But right now surveillance and detect-and-avoid technologies aren’t quite developed enough to enable safe BVLOS flights.

That’s where a company like Rhombus Systems can help. Per a 2022 patent filing, the firm has devised a solution that would use a network of antennae, such as cell towers, to create a low-altitude radar system for UAVs.

Rhombus essentially wants to fill in the gaps not covered by air traffic control, which cannot “see” at the elevation drones fly. The system would also track other objects in low-altitude airspace—such as birds or balloons—to give UAVs greater detection capabilities.

Primarily a home and business security firm, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Rhombus pursue a drone radar and low-altitude airspace security system. And if it were to reach scale, it would surely be a boon for BVLOS operations.

Document ID: US 11656354 B2

And a Few More Patents

Believe it or not, AT&T operates a fleet of drones, and it may be planning to automate its network. 

The telecommunications giant is trying to turn its COW (Cell on Wings) drones into mobile cell towers, with each aircraft transmitting 5G coverage over 10 square miles. And per a 2021 patent filing, it appears the company is building a system that would automatically route COW drones to areas that lack coverage.

The system would autonomously determine where the drones are needed, orchestrating their movement between storage or staging hubs and service areas. It would also tell each drone where and when it needs to charge.

Document ID: US 20230147814 A1

Toyota, meanwhile, filed a patent that calls for drones to provide a different kind of service: roadside assistance. 

The company hasn’t made any public statements to suggest it’s currently operating drones. But its 2021 filing describes a network of UAVs that could issue warnings to drivers (i.e. icy roads or construction), deliver equipment to personnel, and perform other tasks.

These drones would be coordinated by a real-time traffic detection system, taking in road congestion data and mapping it to identify places where an accident might occur. The system would then direct drones to busy intersections or congested highways, putting them in position to provide service if needed.

Document ID: US 20230135603 A1

Drones are getting most of the attention in the modern flying space these days, but advanced air mobility technology is also on the rise. The problem? The vast majority of pilots haven’t been trained to operate aircraft such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis.

But Beta Air, one of the leaders in the young space, may have a way to make life easy on prospective eVTOL pilots. The firm in December filed a patent for a hover-and-thrust control assembly, which would essentially turn the pilot’s arm into a flight controller.

The mechanism looks like an extra long stick shift—moving the stick up would increase vertical thrust, while moving it down would decrease it. At the end of the stick, the pilot would use a thumbwheel to increase or decrease forward thrust, enabling propulsion in four directions through a single control system.

Document ID: US 20230159160 A1

Meanwhile, a patent filed by Kia, which is decidedly not an eVTOL manufacturer, could give Beta Air and other air taxi firms a lift.

The filing calls for a charging system that would stay attached to the aircraft during takeoff, giving it some extra juice during the most energy-consuming stage of flight. To pull it off, the system would deploy a smaller drone that ascends with the air taxi, keeping the aircraft attached to a power source as it climbs. The smaller UAV would then release and fly back to the ground.

Document ID: US 20230135344 A1

The system, if it comes to fruition, could be the key to enabling longer flight times for air taxis. Keep in mind, though, that Kia’s invention and those described above may be several years away from development—and they may never be developed at all.

See anything I missed this month? Reach out to jack@flying.media or @jack_daleo on Twitter.

The post A Flying Car Design Among Recently Published Patents appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Buying a fractional share of an airplane is supposed to make personal jet aviation effortless, but for Jet It clients it has become a nightmare. On Monday, May 22, Jet It fractional owners were told that their airplanes were being grounded because of safety concerns about the HondaJet. 

At the time of the grounding, Jet It claimed that it was taking the action out of an abundance of caution in light of an incident with a HondaJet. The airplane ran off the end of a runway in South Carolina. Jet It CEO Glenn Gonzales told owners that he was concerned about the safety of the aircraft and wanted to understand the reason that HondaJets were more susceptible to runway excursions than similar aircraft. 

Coming from the largest operator of HondaJets in the U.S., it was a shocking statement. The problem was that Jet It also grounded its other aircraft in the fleet, not just the HondaJets, leaving many owners questioning whether this was a “negotiating tactic” to allow the company to exercise the force majeure clauses in fractional contracts, enabling the company to cancel the programs and agreements altogether. 

After all, if Jet It could stand behind the story that the HondaJet was an unsafe aircraft, it would shield the company from liability stemming from potential owner lawsuits and damages caused by an abrupt shutdown and service disruption. 

The problem is that the safety issue doesn’t appear to be the cause of Jet It’s sudden service disruption—but cash does. 

On Friday, May 26, Jet It informed employees in a letter that their jobs were permanently terminated, and the company was closing down. There was not a mention of a bankruptcy, but that is likely not far behind. 

Sources tell FLYING that at least two employees—aircraft sales executives for the company—are both owed more than $200,000. 

• READ MORE: Jet It Tells Owners To Find New Home for Aircraft

Meanwhile, Jet It aircraft have been grounded all over the country. They sit at FBOs and maintenance shops, where the owners will have to cover all unpaid expenses that have accumulated on their aircraft tail. This includes any unpaid fuel, maintenance, and storage bills that the aircraft may have accrued.

Over half of the fleet is in maintenance, with tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars owed by Jet It that will have to be paid by the fractional aircraft owners of the various tail numbers.

Owners are scrambling to find new homes for their aircraft, but they are on the hook for any expenses that have been incurred before they can be moved. 

The primary hangar for Jet It, where all of the aircraft logbooks were kept, is in Greensboro, North Carolina. The entity at KGSO hasn’t been paid in recent months, so the hangar owners permanently locked Jet It out of the hangar.  

• READ MORE: What’s Next for Jet It Fractional Owners

For vendors that have worked with the company for a few years, this was not a surprise. 

Many of the companies that Jet It has done business with have struggled to get paid in a timely manner, if at all. 

Jet It would string vendors along for months—especially maintenance providers. 

Of the 21 HondaJets that Jet It managed, at least 10 are currently in a maintenance shop. Three of the airplanes in the fleet currently have maintenance liens for unpaid bills.  

A representative for one maintenance shop said it has had one of the jets in the shop for months and wouldn’t release it because Jet It would not pay its $24,000 bill. 

Jet It gained a reputation among HondaJet service centers for being slow or delinquent on payment, so the shops often requested payment up-front. This would often delay the time it took for the HondaJets to be serviced and severely impacted the company’s operations. 

Honda Aircraft Company, Jet It’s most important vendor, also wasn’t paid on time. Sources told FLYING that Jet It owes Honda Aircraft more than $1.6 million in its service contracts under a program known as “Flight Ready” and the engine maintenance program “EMC2.” 

Honda Aircraft intends to work with fractional owners, helping them navigate the mess that Jet It has left behind.

Too Good To Be True 

According to sources familiar with the company’s business model, Jet It’s ability to scale was largely a result of how attractive the Jet It program was to prospective customers. In fact, the program may have been too attractive, driving robust growth and feeding a business model with core flaws. 

Jet It generated revenue through several major sources: fractional-owner hourly fees; monthly maintenance fees; up-front selling of aircraft fractional positions; and off-network charter flights. 

Jet It priced its hourly charter rates for clients at incredibly attractive rates. At just $1,600 per hour, the Jet It program was a dream for prospective jet owners. By comparison, Volato, Jet It’s biggest competitor in the HondaJet market, charges $3,450 per hour, plus fuel pass-through.

Initially, Jet It’s per-hour rate included the cost of fuel, but in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, Jet It implemented a fuel surcharge program at $250 per-hour.

Jet It’s contracts also did not require the fractional owner to pay for deadhead to reposition the jet. The owners only paid for the time they were in the aircraft.

A source familiar with Jet It’s revenue model suggested that the operating cost per hour for owners, including deadhead time, was likely around $2,700 per hour. This means that although most flights were a screaming deal for fractional owners on an hourly basis, they incurred a loss for the company.  

The original proforma for Jet It assumed that fractional owners would have access to their airplanes for 250 days per year, with the balance available for Jet It to sell for network charter operations at a substantial premium over the owner rate. 

This may have worked, but Jet It’s aircraft were often unavailable because they were out of service for maintenance. Earlier this year, Jet It told fractional owners that nearly 75 percent of the fleet was out of commission because they were in the shop for maintenance. Some of the aircraft were in the shop for routine maintenance, others were being held for lack of payment. 

The Major Flaw in Jet It’s Model 

Jet It prided itself on offering exceptional customer service and contractually guaranteeing fractional owners aircraft availability, as long as the aircraft was booked 72 hours in advance. If an in-network aircraft was not available, Jet It was required to go into the charter market and purchase aircraft time at the charter market’s clearing rate—often at rates that were five times the rate that the fractional owner was paying Jet It for the same service.

In a letter sent to fractional jet owners in November 2022, Gonzales stated that Jet It had to “absorb in excess of $20 million in off-fleet expenses,” just to fulfill fractional owner flight demand. In the same letter, Gonzales blamed Honda for its service woes. 

The monthly maintenance expense provided some level of recurring revenue for the company, but not enough to cover the cost of the company’s extensive back-office and operational systems. 

The company always made money selling fractional aircraft positions, and this was a key driver of cash flow for the company, yielding more than $500,000 per aircraft the company was able to place into its owner network. In the early days of COVID, as interest around personal aviation exploded, so did cash flow opportunities for Jet It. In fact, it is likely that the company relied too heavily on this source of cash to fund its operations. 

But like many businesses in 2021 to 2022, supply chain issues began to impact Honda Aircraft Company, and Jet It could not source as many airplanes to sell to members. This led to the cash flow coming from new fractional sales drying up. That was a major blow to the company’s business model. 

In 2022, the company raised $16 million in structured finance from Loeb.nyc, the private equity firm of former Time Warner executive Michael Loeb and Blue Equity, LLC, another private equity firm. This provided a lifeline to the company as it dealt with supply chain challenges. 

Then the demand for fractional ownership slowed, as the COVID crisis died down. This also coincided with the easing of some of Honda Aircraft’s supply chain issues. 

On October 6, 2022, Jet It was allocated three HondaJets for its network. With the imminent delivery of new aircraft and an operating deficit that had built over the past couple of years, Jet It found an opportunity.   

Gonzales was a former Honda Aircraft salesman who understood the cash flow opportunity in flipping an aircraft. He did it very well. With the waiting time for a new HondaJet measured in years, buyers were willing to pay a vast premium over the wholesale price that Jet It had negotiated. 

Under Jet It’s contract with Honda Aircraft, it was allocated aircraft only for charter or fractional ownership. It was not permitted to sell new HondaJets to owners, unless it was for their own network use. However, Jet It sold at least one airplane to a buyer for exclusive use, a clear violation of the agreement with HondaJet. Therefore, Honda Aircraft Company sued Jet It. 

The lawsuit was later settled, but not until after Gonzales had gone public about his frustrations with Honda Aircraft, calling into question the service, safety, and maintenance record of the HondaJet. He suggested that the reason that he sold the airplane was that he had decided to move away from HondaJets and into Embraer Phenoms as the aircraft of choice for Jet It. 

Meanwhile, because of the purchase of the HondaJet and its subsequent sale to a sole owner, Gonzales received a quick cash lifeline for the company, which enabled him to fight another day. 

Erratic Customer Service During a Cash Crunch

But Jet It’s cash flow woes continued. The operating model was starting to break down, and customers noticed a deterioration in service. Flights that had been booked weeks or months before were suddenly canceled owing to the lack of aircraft availability. Jet It stopped offering off-network charter flights, which was in violation of its fractional customer agreements (even for maintenance issues). 

In an effort to deflect blame for service, operational, and financial issues, Jet It has tried to push the blame for these issues onto its primary business partner, Honda Aircraft Company. 

The poor service reputation that Gonzales attempted to pin on Honda Aircraft was likely a result of Jet It’s inability to pay its vendors, and not the HondaJet’s lack of quality. This was explained to FLYING by one vendor in the HondaJet service ecosystem.

Jet It’s poor service reputation also exacerbated the company’s problems. 

With aircraft stuck in maintenance and bills continuing to pile up, Jet It had fewer aircraft for its fractional network and almost no lift available for the much more lucrative charter network. Over time, more aircraft went into maintenance, taking more of Jet It’s network down. 

On May 24, 2023, it all ended.

Gonzales called fractional owners and told them that their aircraft would need to be moved out of the Jet It network and that those airplanes would “not fly with Jet It” any longer. 

The fractional owners that thought they were getting a great deal on a HondaJet learned that it was a deal too good to be true. 

Do you have a news tip to share? Send me a message @freightalley on Twitter. Your name will not be used without your permission.

The post Why Jet It Failed  appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation has been a major beneficiary of acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen’s leadership on modern aviation technology, like the company’s air taxis. 

But Nolen, who is departing the agency this summer, may soon take that relationship to new heights.

This week, sources told Reuters that Nolen is expected to take a position with Archer after leaving the FAA, a move that would likely aid the firm in its quest to certify its flagship Midnight air taxi. Given his familiarity with the FAA’s certification process and road map for eVTOL operations, Nolen would appear to be a valuable asset to the company.

“Billy Nolen is departing the FAA in the coming weeks and is continuing to ensure a smooth transition at the agency,” the FAA told FLYING in an email. “Nolen will abide by the agency’s strict ethical requirements during the transition.”

Before being appointed acting FAA Administrator, Nolen had previously served as the agency’s associate administrator for aviation safety. He also led safety, security, and regulatory affairs for several airlines, including WestJet, Qantas, and American Airlines, where he spent 26 years as a managing director.

Nolen received his Bachelor of Science in aviation management from the world-renowned Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and owns aviation safety certifications from the University of South Carolina and the Naval Postgraduate School.

Should he join Archer, the move would mirror one that rival Joby made in March, when it appointed former FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to its board of directors.

Earlier this month, Archer completed the final assembly of Midnight, shipping it to its Salinas, California, flight test facility in anticipation of its maiden voyage this summer. First unveiled in November, the aircraft is designed to complete back-to-back 20-mile flights with just 12 minutes of charging between them.

With a maximum payload of 1,000 pounds, Midnight can carry a pilot and four passengers. Archer hopes it will replace congested, hourlong commutes with 10- to 20-minute air taxi flights, which it believes will make the company cost-competitive with ground transportation services like Uber.

After conducting flight tests with its current aircraft this summer, Archer expects to finish building a type-conforming Midnight model by late 2023. That version is the one the company will fly during “official” testing with the FAA, and the hope is for that process to conclude—and for Midnight to be certified—by the end of next year.

It will then be ready to take to the skies in Chicago, where Archer plans to launch an air taxi route with United Airlines by 2025. Initially, the service will offer trips between the city’s O’Hare International Airport (KORD) and Vertiport Chicago (43IL)—the largest VTOL facility in North America—before branching into new routes.

Archer and United are also eyeing an air taxi link between Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (KJRB).

The company’s efforts are being aided by a $150 million investment from automaker Stellantis, which in January agreed to help mass produce Midnight aircraft after certification. Archer and the rest of the industry may also receive a boost from the FAA’s advanced air mobility implementation plan, which is expected to be released in the coming days.

The implementation plan will build on the FAA’s air taxi blueprint, released earlier this month to provide guidance on future urban air mobility policy. The agency will also host an AAM Summit in Baltimore in August, though it will do so without Nolen, whose successor has yet to be named.

President Joe Biden initially nominated Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington for the position, but he quickly bowed out of the race. No official nominee has been announced since. But reports suggest Biden is now considering nominating AAM executive Mike Whitaker or current FAA Chief of Staff Katie Thompson.

Ultimately, the decision on Nolen’s successor could help or hurt Archer and other air taxi manufacturers. But Whitaker, the COO of Hyundai eVTOL subsidiary Supernal, and Thompson, a direct adviser to Nolen in her role, are likely candidates to continue the departing administrator’s work.

The post FAA Administrator Billy Nolen To Join eVTOL Manufacturer Archer appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Earlier this week, the FAA announced it’s eyeing beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) exemption approvals for four top aviation firms, opening the door to expanded unmanned operations. Now we know exactly what permissions they’re asking for.

On Thursday, the FAA published the requests of the four companies—Phoenix Air Unmanned, uAvionix, UPS Flight Forward, and Zipline—and is seeking comments from the public. Stakeholders have until June 14 to share their suggestions or concerns with the requests. 

Considering the agency’s reliance on granting exemptions to gather information as it works toward a final BVLOS rule, the FAA will likely approve the four requests, even if they require the inclusion of special conditions or restrictions.

But if granted, what exactly would these permissions do? Let’s break down what the requested exemptions mean for each of the four companies.

Describing itself as an aerial data acquisition services provider, Phoenix Air Unmanned is looking to operate BVLOS as well as over people and roads. To do so, it’s requesting relief from several sections of FAA Part 61 and Part 91.

The firm wants to use its SVO 50 V2 aircraft from SwissDrones to perform aerial work, photography, surveying, patrols, and inspections of any powerline infrastructure owned or operated by a Department of Energy-recognized electric utility. The turbine-powered drone is capable of flying up to two hours with a 30-pound payload.

“Our petition for exemption process has included a safety risk management review alongside the FAA, demonstration of the aircraft, and on-site evaluation of BVLOS inspection operations within the proposed concept of operations,” Phoenix told FLYING. “The exemption request is in the interest of the public, and we welcome public comment as a next step of the authorization process.”

The exemption, if approved, would build on Phoenix’s Part 107 waiver, issued in March, that permits BVLOS operations for aircraft under 55 pounds. The approval did not cover the SVO 50 V2, which weighs 190 pounds.

Autonomous flight services provider—and avionics developer—uAvionix is also seeking exemptions from Parts 61 and 91…but not for its own operations.

• READ MORE: uAvionix Introduces Combo Tailbeacon ADS-B

Rather, the firm wants to conduct research and development on BVLOS operations for others—using an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft—as part of the Vantis unmanned aerial systems (UAS) project at the FAA’s North Dakota UAS test site.

“Our application is unique in that we are not seeking this exemption as a means to further our own BVLOS flight objectives….instead we are trying to unlock that capability for the rest of industry, and this is one way to achieve those goals,” Christian Ramsey, managing director at uAvionix, told FLYING.

The aircraft, called Rapace, was granted a special airworthiness certificate—experimental class (SAC-EC) from the FAA and has a maximum takeoff weight of 26.5 pounds. It’s custom built, with uAvionix-designed internal avionics, command and control radios, autopilot, and positioning sensors. Through Vantis, the firm is working with partners such as Thales and the state of North Dakota to provide additional infrastructure for the program.

“The concept here is that the program team works out the ‘recipe’ for BVLOS exemptions, which are repeatable by other operators in the future,” Ramsey said. “In the end, this exemption isn’t about our operations… it’s about trailblazing and developing an infrastructure that others can use to achieve their own operational and business goals.”

UPS Flight Forward, the first FAA-approved Part 135 drone operator, is requesting slightly different permissions, including exemptions from Part 135.

The exemptions, if approved, would incorporate remote operations centers across the company’s network and enable “flights in outlying locations from (an) ROC in a different location” —essentially BVLOS flights.

But the request goes further. Flight Forward also wants to fly its M2 drone from Matternet with a ground-based surveillance system coupled to a suite of situational awareness tools that would replace the visual observer in BVLOS operations. That means the company will be able to fly farther than it would have had it opted for a simple section 107.31 waiver.

And then there’s Zipline. Its request is simple: The company wants to revise its previous exemption in order to replace visual observers with its patented acoustic detect-and-avoid system (DAA). DAA was a key factor in securing the company’s Part 135 certification, the most permissive the FAA has awarded so far and enables BVLOS operations.

Flight Forward and Zipline did not immediately respond to FLYING’s request for comment.

Each of the four exemption requests has its own petition for public comment, and they can be found within the Federal Register. Anyone can comment, but take that with a grain of salt—the FAA may make some modifications but will most likely approve all four requests.

However, there may be a better way to make your voice heard. Concurrently with the four requests, the FAA released a petition for comment on a proposed rule for BVLOS, asking industry stakeholders to provide input on the agency’s potential approaches.

The document outlines several areas of proposed rulemaking—such as detect-and-avoid performance standards, well-clear boundaries, and a new class of “shielded” operations—each with a few questions for the public to answer. The comment period for that petition also expires June 14.

The post FAA Releases BVLOS Waiver Requests for Public Comment appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

At FLYING we have had a front-row seat for all of the cool new advances in the last year—and it keeps us charged up about the industry we love. Though we have a few favorites, we want to know what you think took the top prize for the Coolest New Product of the Year. We looked at the full year of 2022 to review as much new stuff as possible, and we came up with the following options. What captures your vote? The winner will take the new FLYING Readers’ Choice Award for 2023.

The post Vote Now for the 2023 <i>FLYING</i> Readers Choice Award appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As millions of Americans are set to travel on Memorial Day Weekend, pressure is mounting on airlines, the FAA, and other industry stakeholders to minimize flight disruptions across the country.

Often called the unofficial start to summer, experts are predicting the holiday weekend to be one of the busiest on record as some 43 million travelers are expected to take to the roads and skies. 

According to AAA, there’s an anticipated 11 percent increase in the number of people planning to fly compared to last year and a 5.4 percent increase from 2019 levels.

• READ MORE: Flying GA on Memorial Day: What Pilots Can Expect

“We know for sure that there is going to be a very high level of demand, a lot of traffic and a lot of pressure on the system,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with ABC News.

Airlines also expect to see an increase in passengers. United Airlines says the holiday will be its busiest in more than a decade, transporting 2.9 million passengers between Thursday and Tuesday, while Delta Air Lines expects to carry 2.8 million passengers over that period—a 17 percent increase from last year. American Airlines plans to operate more than 26,000 flights.

The surge will be an early test for the industry after having been plagued with a string of recent woes, such as technical glitches, flight disruptions, safety concerns, and staffing shortages.

The Southwest Airlines debacle in December resulted in the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights after the company’s outdated scheduling software crashed. 

Unfortunately, Southwest’s meltdown was only the beginning of other industry issues, including the FAA’s NOTAM system crash in January that led to the first nationwide ground stop since 9/11.

On top of the technical problems, 2023 has only highlighted the need for safety reform after several near-misses at U.S. airports—many  still under National Transportation Safety Board investigation. The FAA also is facing a serious shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers, reportingreports that 1-in-5 positions remain unfilled nationwide.

However, airlines and the FAA are working together to alleviate these difficulties. Airlines have complied with the agency’s request to minimize flights to the Northeast by using larger aircraft to help with capacity because of a controller shortage at a key New York-area facility. The FAA also added 169 new flight routes along the East Coast to ease congestion.

While the dearth of controllers remains an obstacle, Buttigieg maintains it  is not the cause of most delays. FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen also backed that sentiment in a letter to Congress, noting that “about 5 percent of delay minutes can be attributed to FAA staff shortages.”

“Cancellation and delay rates were at unacceptable proportions last year,” Buttigieg said. “It’s important that (does not) not happen again.”

While he believes improvements have been made, he also admitted it’s “no guarantee that summer is going to go well.”

The post Memorial Day Travel Marks 1st Big Test for Aviation Industry appeared first on FLYING Magazine.