Rob Mark

The Ninety-Nines Inc.—the international nonprofit organization of women pilots dedicated to aerospace training and education—learned last week that their endowment fund was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The grant honors Barron Hilton’s legacy as a supporter of aviation. The Ninety-Nines said in a news release the grant will enable the […]

The FAA last week approved Garmin’s GFC 600 autopilot for retrofit installation in a select group of Beechcraft King Air C90 and E90 aircraft. Garmin said in a news release the GFC 600 digital autopilot is optimized for this class of aircraft and features new operational capabilities such as vertical navigation (VNAV), automatic course deviation indicator (CDI) […]

To most of the aviation industry, the name Richard Collins is known for quality journalism accented with a passion for telling stories about nearly aspect of general aviation with a special knack for telling it like it is. Richard Collins’ career as an aviation journalist spanned 60 years, including more than 10 years as editor-in-chief […]

The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) said in May 2019 a relatively new flight instructor managed to wrestle control of a Cessna 152 away from a student pilot at just 400 feet agl after the aircraft abruptly pitched down into a steep dive at 2,000 feet agl. The instructor sustained minor injuries while the student […]

The FAA recently published an airworthiness directive—2020-26-16—covering many single-engine Pipers that carry either a PA-28 or PA-32 model number. “This AD was prompted by a report of a wing separation caused by fatigue cracking in a visually inaccessible area of the lower main wing spar cap,” the directive said. “This AD requires calculating the factored […]

If you think back to the days when you regularly travelled aboard an airliner, you’ll remember it’s a federal crime to interfere with a flight crewmember carrying out their normal duties. Practically, that usually meant some poor flight attendant trying to deal with a passenger who’d had too much to drink. Since the pandemic hit […]

California-based Archer, creating the world’s first all-electric airline, plans to collaborate with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to access the automobile giant’s low-cost supply chain, advanced composite material capabilities, and engineering and design experience. Archer will manufacture high-volume, composite, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with the intent of starting production in 2023. FCA, the parent company […]

The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered the cockpit voice recorder from a Cessna Citation 560—N3RB—that crashed on January 9 on the Warm Springs Reservation approximately 75 miles southeast of Portland, Oregon. The aircraft was headed to Boise, Idaho, on an IFR flight plan and departed Portland Troutdale Airport at 1:08 pm local time (PST). […]

Whistleblowers exist to shine the light of day on topics that others hoped would fade into the background. Because confirming stories that others deny often makes them unpopular with their employer, laws exist to deter retaliation against them. Nonetheless, whistleblowers are often the recipients of job terminations, demotions, suspensions, discrimination, harassment, and denial-of-benefits promotions. Delta […]

When people are madly in love, they usually want to share their joy and passion. When those people happen to be pilots and their passion is an airplane, they join a type club—in which others share their love for the Bonanza or a Cirrus or a Cessna 120 and also to soak up the latest […]