FAA

Elaine Chao, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Transportation, was noncommittal when asked about her position on ATC privatization during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, but there are signs that the incoming administration is warming to the idea. “I’d like to get confirmed first,” Chao quipped in response to a question about […]

Pilots operating under Part 91 who have held an FAA medical certificate within the past 10 years will soon have an alternative, voluntary means to certify they are healthy enough to fly, the agency announced today. The FAA said it supports the new rule called BasicMed because it “will simplify our regulations and keep general […]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear flight-sharing website Flytenow’s case against the FAA. It’s the latest development in a lengthy legal battle between the Uber-like service and the federal agency whose regulations prohibit private pilots advertising to the general public for shared flights in exchange for flight expenses, such as fuel and […]

The FAA has issued temporary flight restrictions that will be in effect for Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, with security measures in effect from January 19 to 21. Throughout the inauguration and events surrounding it, the FAA will modify the Washington Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) and Washington Metropolitan Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ). Procedures that […]

As the FAA prepares to publish its final rule ushering in long-awaited third-class medical reform, AOPA is reporting that the agency has approved an online aeromedical course developed by the AOPA Air Safety Institute and confirmed it meets requirements Congress outlined last summer. The Air Safety Institute will offer the course free to pilots, who […]

Garmin just announced G1000 NXi, a faster, modernized successor avionics suite to the G1000 integrated flight deck that made its debut in 2004. The avionics maker’s receipt of an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) clears the way to begin installing NXi systems in the King Air 200 next month, with approval for the King Air […]

At long last, Tamarack Aerospace has achieved the coveted supplemental type certificate for the Cessna Citation CJ series of bizjets for its Atlas active winglet system. The Atlas system features a wingtip extension that includes load alleviation, which eliminates the additional stress on the wing structure created by the extended wingspan. The performance enhancement realized […]

It was a year filled with big news stories that not only helped to reshape the general aviation landscape but will almost certainly continue to do so for many years to come. The past 12 months have seen aircraft milestones, major changes to FAA regulations and a presidential election unlike any we have witnessed in […]

The FAA issued its final version of an updated Part 23 that overhauls the airworthiness standards for general aviation airplanes weighing less than 19,000 pounds with 19 or fewer seats. The agency, as well as the industry, hopes the new rule reduces the time needed to economically move safety-enhancing technologies for small airplanes into the […]

The FAA plans to update aviation’s general flight rules section — Part 91.176 — with new performance-based guidelines aimed at improving flexibility for operators of aircraft equipped with an Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS). The rule, effective March 13, 2017, will allow aircraft on an IFR flight plan in most categories to fly a straight-in […]