FAA Simplifies Avionics Upgrades
The FAA now will allow airplane owners and operators to replace their vacuum-driven attitude indicators with new electronic devices without a vacuum-driven backup, as long as there’s a backup power source, the agency said in October. The new policy applies to aircraft weighing less than 6,000 pounds. The FAA said electronic attitude indicators are more reliable and not prone to “insidious” gradual failures like their ancestors. The action “is part of the FAA’s effort to increase the flexibility of improving aircraft safety quickly and efficiently with new technological advancements,” the agency said in a Facebook post.
Drone Registry In The Works
In anticipation of up to a million drones being bought as holiday gifts this December, the FAA in October put together a joint industry-government task force to come up with a registration procedure before the end of the year. FAA officials said they are logging about 100 reports per month of drone conflicts with aircraft. They hope the registration process will help ensure that buyers know the rules, and make enforcement easier. A comprehensive proposal for governing the use of drones in the national airspace is expected sometime next summer.
