Category: Aviation

Company sees a future for autonomous cargo flights. After operating in stealth mode for the last four years, San Francisco-based Xwing said in a news release last week it has carried out a number of passenger-carrying flights from takeoff to landing using a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. Xwing’s Autoflight System retrofits existing aircraft into optionally piloted vehicles, “by integrating with onboard flight control systems that allow the aircraft to navigate, take off and land autonomously, ensuring more cost-effective operations for logistic companies.” The system is designed to be supervised by remote operators who work…

The FAA today released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the Boeing 737 MAX, listing its proposed changes for the aircraft before it can return to service. Once officially published in the Federal Register, there will be a 45 day public comment period. This will be followed by additional actions by the FAA and international regulators. Finally Boeing and airlines will need to comply with the terms set forth in any final airworthiness directives before the MAX can return to service. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking The notice of proposed rulemaking is…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Tuesday it plans to issue a proposed airworthiness directive for the Boeing 737 MAX in the “near future” to address changes made since the plane was grounded in March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. An official briefed on the matter told Reuters that the FAA is unlikely to unground the 737 MAX before sometime in October. Boeing Co (BA.N) has said it expects to resume deliveries before Sept. 30 following regulatory approval. Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said…

A Turkish military cargo plane carrying medical supplies to assist the U.K.’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic landed in London, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Friday. “Our Turkish Armed Forces plane carrying medical supplies prepared for the UK to help combat the COVID-19 virus has landed in London,” said the ministry in a tweet. The ministry announced the help operation early Friday via Twitter by saying: “At the direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Armed Forces aircraft that will transport to the United Kingdom the medical aid supplies…

In FAA lingo, the phrase “ATC Zero” means an air traffic control facility is unable to offer ATC services. Chicago Center went ATC Zero in November 2014 when an FAA contract employee cut communications lines that normally kept controllers and pilots in radio contact with each other before he set fire to the center’s equipment room. This afternoon at about 5:30 CST, the FAA Great Lakes Region public affairs contact, Tony Molinaro, informed the public that Chicago Midway tower is now ATC Zero due to at least two confirmed cases…

Construction of the Beijing Daxing International Airport finished on Sunday, five years after the project began in 2014, marking the start of the preparatory stage of the airport’s operation. The airport, located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, is designed to alleviate the pressure on Beijing Capital International Airport in the city’s northeastern suburbs. It is expected to handle 45 million passengers annually by 2021 and 72 million by 2025.

As it grapples to propel the urban air mobility (UAM) market of aerial ridesharing,  Uber will be relying on 20th-century aircraft to help shape its future. The ground-based ride-sharing company announced that starting in July it will make Uber Copter available to its Diamond and Platinum customers on one-way trips from Lower Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Helicopters for the operation will be provided by HeliFlite, an existing New York Part 135 helicopter operator. The aircraft will be twin-engine turbine models flown by two pilots on…

Have you ever filed IFR to a destination with no instrument approach? Here’s what you need to do before you take off… Filing IFR To VFR Airports You’re planning to fly your single-engine Cirrus SR22 from Denver’s Centennial Airport (KAPA) to the Hoxie-Sheridan County Airport (1F5), Kansas, under IFR. Snow showers along your route prevent you from flying VFR and you see that many airports between KAPA and 1F5 are reporting IFR or MVFR conditions. There’s another problem. Your destination doesn’t have an instrument approach and clouds in the area are…

Boeing says it has finished the development of a software fix to its troubled 737 Max, in a statement released Thursday. The plane maker says it has flown the aircraft with the updated software on 207. Boeing says it has finished the development of a software fix to its troubled 737 Max, in a statement released Thursday. The plane maker says it has flown the aircraft with the updated software on 207 flights for more than 360 hours. This is the next step in what Boeing hopes will result in the…