FAA

The FAA announced that on January 13, 2020, it would launch changes to the pilot certification process, including the requirement for an FAA Tracking Number for knowledge exam testing, and additional updates for airman knowledge exam results. The FAA Tracking Number, or FTN, should be familiar to those who have undergone a practical test in […]

The Monday, December 16, 2019, announcement at Boeing’s Chicago headquarters of the company’s plan to halt 737 Max production in January 2020 was not much of a surprise to anyone. Despite the troubled airplane’s grounding in March 2019, America’s top manufacturing exporter continued building 42 airframes each month, creating a backlog of more than 400 […]

With the growing use of real-time weather by pilots who have access to ADS-B In or other weather services in the cockpit, the FAA is making changes to its weather-related services. In a notice to the Federal Register issued on December 9, the FAA announced its intent to discontinue the Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service […]

After an investigation process, the FAA has responded to a complaint filed by AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association), NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) and several airport tenants from February 5, 2016. The complainants claimed that the city has violated leasing policies, implemented an unjust landing fee structure and diverted airport revenues from the airport. […]

For decades, pilots holding a first or second class medical were automatically disqualified from flying commercially if they were diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetic pilots are subject to losing consciousness and suffering seizures if their illness is not properly treated. To the FAA, the risk of a pilot passing out at the controls was always too […]

Part of preparing for your flight training means making sure you have the right tools with you—whether your day’s learning session involves time in the sim, ground lessons, or a flight. Here, we assemble a representative kit that will outfit you for training, with a selection of ideas from products we’ve tested over the long […]

With the FAA January 2020 deadline for U.S. aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B Out looming, the agency said last week it has completed the last of the necessary work on the new state-of-the-art surveillance system that will enable air traffic controllers to track aircraft with greater accuracy and reliability. The last two of the […]

When pilots talk about “the regs,” they refer in general to the portion of the Code of Federal Regulations that govern aeronautical activity. To be specific, the regulations that cover the flying you will do initially as a student and as a certificated pilot live in the 14th volume of the CFR and divvy up […]

Handling emergencies and unusual situations is a significant part of learning to fly and remaining current to fly any airplane. Flight training can’t possibly teach pilots how to handle every single event they could encounter, however. With that concept in mind, pilots are often taught to look for the similarities between one event and another […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced the award of $986 million in airport infrastructure grants to 354 airports in 44 states, Puerto Rico and Micronesia. The awards will be used for runway reconstruction and rehabilitation, construction of firefighting facilities, noise mitigation, emissions reduction, and the maintenance of taxiways, aprons, and terminals. With 3,332 […]