Rob Mark

In an era when technology has evolved as the solution to just about every problem the aviation industry confronts, it’s refreshing to hear a story in which a pilot’s hunch, a gut feeling, played a role in the safe operation of an airplane full of people. The story is worth reading because, although it all […]

An FAA review of helicopter incidents and accidents over the past five years has identified several accidents in which loss of control (LOC) was encountered immediately after liftoff while light on the skids/gear, or from other issues caused by missed checklist items. With those operational issues in mind, the agency recently issued a safety alert […]

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) says that, according to FAA data, fatal accidents in experimental amateur-built aircraft declined 17 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2016, compared to figures from a year earlier. The FAA specifically listed 33 accidents in the most recent period versus 40 during the prior year and 51 for the […]

uAvionix recently earned approval from the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) under the new Electronic Conspicuity (EC) program for two new portable, low-power ADS-B transceivers providing both ADS-B In and Out capabilities. EC is an umbrella term for a range of technologies that, in their most basic form, transmit the position of the host aircraft […]

Eighteen months ago NATS, the UK’s ATC provider, announced implementation of time-based separation standards at London Heathrow Airport, designed to increase the arrival rate at Europe’s busiest hub airport. NATS says an effort it began in 2014 called XMAN, in which ATC in the UK coordinates with controllers in France, the Netherlands and Ireland, is […]

With experts claiming it’s only a matter of time before a drone and a manned aircraft tangle, the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security are trying to stay ahead of the problem by conducting drone-detection research in the vicinity of Denver International Airport. A House report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2016 federal appropriations law […]

A decade ago, some people scoffed when Embraer announced its intention to create a complete line of business airplanes, from entry-level jets to behemoth bizliners, especially when the sum total of the company’s bizav experience to that point had been creating the Legacy 600 from the ERJ-135 regional jet. But once the Phenom series of […]

While talk of drones in all shapes and sizes — aircraft capable of tasks like snapping photos from 200 feet above a hazardous situation — has become almost a part of daily life around the world, some companies are already hard at work on the next generation of autonomous vehicle. An Israeli company, Tactical Robotics, […]

When the U.S. Navy flew an EA-18 Growler in September, 100 percent powered by fuel created from renewable sources, ARA lead engineer Ed Coppola said, “Initial results showed our CHCJ-5 performed just like petroleum-based JP5.” Coppola works for Applied Research Associates, the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based co-creator of the new fuel. ARA worked closely with Chevron […]

In aviation circles, the story of former Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Elaine Harmon’s remains being moved to Arlington National Cemetery last September was a big deal. It meant America’s memorial resting place for veterans was finally open to everyone who served, including the more than 20,000 women who flew as WASPs during World War […]