Search Results for: drones

While reports of drone near-misses from airline pilots at major airports tend to be sensational, most of us believe that for small consumer-grade drones that weigh less than a pound, the safety risk is similar to wildlife strikes, which occur daily, NOTAM or no NOTAM.

The FAA announced the formation of an advisory committee to guide it on the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace, a group that will be led by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. The committee will help the FAA finalize hotly anticipated regulations for the commercial operation of drones in civil airspace, which […]

Authorities in London are investigating a possible collision between an airliner and a drone last weekend. British Airways Flight BA727 was approaching Heathrow on Sunday afternoon when something the pilot believes to be a drone struck the front of the airplane. The Airbus A320 landed safely, with no significant damage to the airliner, but authorities […]

Spend enough time at a non-towered airport, as I have, and youll eventually see every traffic-pattern variation you thought possible. Traffic patterns at towered facilities, of course, are subject to ATC management. The controllers job is to sequence and separate traffic on the runway(s). In the absence of local controllers, non-towered airports use the traffic-pattern procedures first drummed into primary students during landing practice.

Breitling Exospace B55 Connected. A stylish aviator’s smartwatch: Breitling’s new Exospace B55 connected chronograph has the coolest name of any watch we’ve seen lately to go along with a great look and some amazing new features. Unlike other smartwatches, the Exospace line keeps a firm grip on its traditional timepiece roots. The companion smartphone app […]

As you probably know, the movie The Martian concerns an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and contrives to survive there until rescuers can come to get him. It has a kind of Potemkin village verisimilitude: a facade of scientific-sounding talk concealing ramshackle structures of crossed fingers and nonsense. Screenwriters are not under oath, but unfortunately […]

As a pilot you most certainly know that just about everything in aviation has a checklist. We controllers have our own checklists for a multitude of hazardous situations, unauthorized laser illumination included. I pulled up the appropriate checklist while the helo maneuvered.

A recent report by Markets and Markets estimates the current UAS market value at $2.24 billion and projects that value to double in the next five years. To tap into this growing industry, Lufthansa Aerial Services, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Consulting, has teamed up with Chinese UAS-manufacturer DJI to develop commercial applications for drones suitable […]

After over 18 years in development, Honda Aircrafts first airplane, a twin-engine single-pilot light jet, received FAA certification in December. When the FAA opened their drone registry in December, they succeeded in getting plenty of media attention, but they had less success getting the entire user community on board. In November, the SkiGull, Burt Rutans 47th (and last, he said) aircraft design flew for the first time, from a lake in Idaho. The one-of-a-kind two-seat seaplane is equipped to land on water, runways or snow. Private pilots can let their friends chip in for gas under the FAAs rules, but that doesnt mean they can advertise online to fill empty seats on a private plane and cost-share, the FAA has said. JetBlue announced in November it plans an ab-initio training program for its Embraer SA E190 crews.

I’m not sure how many people I expected would actually sign up for the FAA’s new UAS registry program that went live just before Christmas. Since the agency is waiving the $5 registration fee for the first month, I figured many would take advantage and fill out the online form. But I was surprised when […]