Stephen Pope

(April 2011) TAKE A CLOSE LOOK at the inner workings of a modern turbofan engine and you’ll be glimpsing mankind’s ultimate triumph over that most fundamental of untamed ancient natural elements — fire. The science behind basic turbine engine design, after all, represents simplicity at its minimalist best: A single moving part compresses the air […]

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt made clear yesterday that he has had enough of air traffic controllers falling asleep during their shifts, and to get his point across he has vowed to start making personal visits to ATC facilities around the country starting next week. The final straw came Tuesday night when the lone tower controller […]

In a selection process reminiscent of the bidding for an Olympic host city, NASA on Tuesday announced the new retirement homes for the four remaining space shuttles, which have been carrying astronauts into space for three decades. The space shuttle Atlantis will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, which observers […]

The FAA on Monday said the new David J. Hurley Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Warrenton, Virginia, is fully operational and ready to coordinate traffic flows across the national airspace system. “If you think of our national airspace system as an orchestra, the Command Center’s the conductor,” said Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari. […]

Giving in to pressure from the FAA and pilots’ groups, the Federal Communications Commission has officially abandoned a plan to ban the sale, manufacture or use of emergency locator transmitter beacons that transmit on 121.5 MHz. The FCC last June issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that sought to outlaw the use of 121.5-MHz ELTs […]

It might have been quickly forgotten as just another case of ramp rash at one of the world’s busiest airports if it wasn’t for an amateur video capturing the dramatic footage of an Air France Airbus A380 clipping the tail of a Comair regional jet and spinning it almost 90 degrees. The incident on Monday […]

Peter Thiel, the hedge fund manager and PayPal co-founder, correctly foresaw the dot-com and subprime busts, so when he makes a prediction about the next big bubble that’s likely about to burst, people would be wise to at least listen to what the man has to say. So where does Thiel think the next spectacular […]

(March 2011) — As an icy wind whipped from the Hudson River and buffeted the heliport’s aluminum chain-link fence with an unrelenting ferocity, settling into the cockpit of a Sikorsky S-76 instead of some lesser machine made me stop and appreciate the size and power of one of the best-selling helicopters of all time. “I’m […]

It turns out there’s a teensy bit more to the story of why a single-engine Piper Warrior made a precautionary landing on a Queens beach on Monday. According to police, 24-year-old pilot Jason Maloney got the idea from watching the TV show “Flying Wild Alaska,” which often depicts off-airport landings. An ATC recording of the […]

Cessna has joined with King Schools and Redbird Flight Simulations to develop a new pilot training program that couples guided video instruction and demonstrations with hands-on simulator work. Designed to give students a new way of practicing flight maneuvers, the program, called Guided Independent Flight Training (GIFT), kicks off in May and is exclusive to […]