Search Results for: drones

Chinese EHang Air Mobility Group has taken major steps toward making autonomous transportation a reality. The company recently conducted a public flight of its EHang 216 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) at the Generali Arena in Vienna as part of the 4GAMECHANGERS Festival, which took place April 9 through 11. While the electric VTOL is not […]

Boeing took the first steps to get its 737 MAX aircraft back in the air in March with a software update to reduce the influence of an automated pitch control system and reduce the chances that it will trigger spuriously. The focus of the update is the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which was chiefly designed to counter the MAXs tendency to pitch up at high angles of attack while being hand flown and push the nose over in the case of an impending stall. In the original design, MCAS used data from one of two angle of attack indicators to determine the deflection angle of the horizontal stabilizer. Its believed faulty data from an AOA played a role in the fatal crashes of a Lion Air MAX 8 last October and an Ethiopian Airlines MAX 8 in March. The new software is reported to draw data from both AOAs and limit the MCAS to moving the tail feathers only once, instead of repeatedly countering pilot inputs. Implementation of the software was expected in April after FAA review.

The FAA says it is establishing temporary flight restrictions (TFR) for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over dozens of federal facilities, mostly prisons and hospitals, at the request of the Defense and Justice Departments. The notam detailing the drone TFRs (FAA NOTAM FDC [9/2586]) is pending until it goes into effect on February 26. The FAA […]

The Airbus A220 became the smallest airliner to be approved for 180-minute extended diversion time operations (EDTO), formerly ETOPS, and that could open up lucrative transoceanic routes outside of the normal hubs. The former Bombardier CSeries program, which was acquired by Airbus in July of 2018, targets the 100-150-seat niche and the approval by Transport Canada widens the scope of operations for the highly regarded fly-by-wire airliner. The aircraft was also approved for steep approaches of up to six degrees last summer and with EDTO approval, direct flights from London City Centre Airport to the east coast of North America would be allowed. The approval will also allow the aircraft to be used between Hawaii and the western U.S.

The FAA’s latest Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in yesterday’s Federal Register will soon require drone operators to prominently display their FAA registration number on the outside of their machines, just like those on regular aircraft, only smaller. Owners and operators may no longer place or write registration numbers in an interior compartment. The markings […]

The next time you watch an aviation movie, there is a chance that you will notice a big difference. Van Nuys, California-based aviation cinematography firm Pursuit Aviation has integrated what it calls the Jetcam — a modified Shotover F1 video camera. The six axis, gyro-stabilized camera system allows the operator to capture stunning videos at […]

As if the holiday travel isn’t chaotic enough, passengers planning to travel in or out of London Gatwick got a rude surprise this week. Two drones were flying near the major airport around 9 pm local time on Wednesday night, according to a report by NPR, causing airport officials to close down operations. Around 3 […]

One big fear in the world of manned aviation these days is for an airplane to collide with a drone. A Grupo Aeromexico crew flying a Boeing 737-800 got the scare of a lifetime as this exact scenario likely happened last week. The commercial airliner flying from Guadalajara to Tijuana appears to have ran into […]

Another good rule of thumb is Buys Bullots law: To locate where the bad weather is coming from, put your back to the wind and extend your left arm straight out. Thats where the low pressure bad WX is coming from. It works for me.

The past few years have been the most exciting and dynamic stretch of time for me since I started flying 20 years ago. Much of it has been driven by the changes and benefits resulting from the implementation of the FAA’s NextGen plan, as the national airspace system transitions from 1950s-era ground-based radar and VHF […]