Rob Mark

Who says the era of the Airbus A380’s use is waning when clever minds can still find unique uses for the aircraft, or at least creations that look an awful lot like an A380? A select group of gardeners in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates city that doubles as home base to Emirates Airlines, think […]

The Navy recently proved that rushing through aircraft maintenance work could result in expensive consequences. Imagine a mistake multiplied by 12, as the service did when six E-2C twin-turboprop Hawkeye early warning aircraft were put out of commission just a few days before they were expected to leave port. The Hawkeyes belong to Airborne Early […]

Helicopter safety statistics released this week by the FAA indicate that years’ worth of hard work by the agency and a number of industry groups to improve operational safety are paying off. The agency reported that the raw accident rate, as well as the fatal accident rate in helicopters, recorded a downturn for the third […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2016 Transportation Statistics Annual Report released last week presents a cornucopia of aviation industry data. The report’s introductory look at a hot topic, infrastructure, may surprise some readers. “The majority of airport runways (commercial service, reliever, and select general aviation) are in good condition; only 2 percent are considered poor.” […]

Most Americans could be forgiven for assuming commercial balloon pilots were held to the same medical standards as commercial airplane or helicopter pilots since all accept money for their work. Commercial balloon pilots, however, actually are held to only a minimal self-reporting of their fitness to fly, a fact that became apparent last summer after […]

The FAA yesterday awarded its 2016 Diamond of Excellence award for maintenance and safety to Las Vegas-based Maverick Helicopters, the sixth consecutive time the company has earned the distinction for its Las Vegas and Grand Canyon South Rim locations, and the second consecutive award for its Maui, Hawaii, facility. The Diamond award is part of […]

Drone proponents are quick to point to the safeguard of UAVs’ ability to fly safely back to their owners should the communications link between the two be inadvertently severed. A recent incident in Australia shows even these systems are not foolproof if and when a drone heads out on a solo adventure. Luckily, the region […]

Four aerospace projects and accomplishments are competing for the 2016 Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America.” The 2016 nominees are Blue Origin New Shepard, Boeing’s 737 Max, Dassault Aviation’s FalconEye Combined Vision System and the U.S. Air Force 212th Rescue […]

Lightspeed’s family grew a little bigger this week with the company’s release of the Zulu 3 automatic noise reduction headset, designed to build on the success of the earlier Zulu and Zulu 2 products. While incorporating enhancements that boost comfort and durability, the Lightspeed Zulu 3 retains the sleek, high-tech look of its predecessors and […]

Palo Alto-based uAvionix has announced the creation of an ADS-B transceiver not much larger than a contact lens — and weighing in at just 1 gram — aimed at the drone market’s yet unresolved problem of identifying themselves to other aircraft and drones while operating in the national airspace system. uAvionix CEO Paul Beard said […]