FAA

The FAA website’s top story reflects the agency’s commitment to speeding the transformation to NextGen. It explains that Performance Based Navigation Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) are the key to the benefits of switching from ground-based radar to satellite-based GPS. And based on recommendations from a task force assembled by RTCA, the FAA has launched what […]

A new rule proposed by the FAA would require photo certificates for pilots. Currently, pilots carrying the “old new” tamper resistant plastic certificates must also carry a second government photo ID, such as a driver’s license. The new certificates would have to be updated every eight years with a new photo. If approved, the new […]

A rash of seat track failures in the mid 1980s led to an FAA airworthiness directive (AD) on several Cessna models. Faulty latch mechanisms led to several accidents in which the seat slid back and the pilot lost control of the airplane. Now, the FAA has published a notice of proposed rulemaking that adds new […]

If you’ve been waiting for the Aircraft Electronics Association’s take on what to expect from the FAA’s plan to implement ADS-B, you’re not going to like what you hear. In an Oct. 4, memo to the FAA, the AEA didn’t mince words. The association said the FAA’s Aug. 30 memo would “stall early equipage, delay […]

After test deployments in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, Louisville and Philadelphia, the FAA announced last week it has approved full deployment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast (ADS-B) technology. The agency reported ADS-B will be fully operational by 2013. Tests of the combination satellite and ground-based hardware proved it would operate in the most […]

Last week, the FAA announced it was merging two safety programs for efficiency and to “help guide safety decisions” in the future. Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers have long been able to confess their gaffes in a “non-punitive environment” through the FAA’s Safety Action Programs — ASAP (Aviation Safety Action Program) for pilots and ATSAP […]

A group called the Clean 100-Octane Coalition met with FAA last week and made it clear that any 100 Low Lead (100LL) replacement fuel must be able to accommodate high-power piston engines. There has been controversy surrounding proposals to develop fuels that would operate well with most piston aircraft engines, but not the higher-powered models, […]

From the ‘What were they thinking?’ department: the FAA’s Electronic Special Traffic Management Program (eSTMP) had announced it was updating its computers, beginning tomorrow and running through Monday (July 23-26). That’s the four days immediately before EAA AirVenture, the largest gathering of aircraft in the world. The eSTMP system coordinates IFR slot reservations at venues […]

As soon as this fall, owners could be required to re-register their aircraft with the FAA every three years. The current policy is a one-time registration with a five-dollar fee. The fee for re-registration, if any, has yet to be announced. The re-registration strategy was first proposed two years ago as a means of updating […]

As of April 20, a computer has been generating digital notices to airmen (NOTAMs) for Atlantic City (NJ) International Airport (KACY). The technical innovation, set to expand to several other airports soon, is said to offer numerous advantages over human-generated notams, according to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. For example, notams may now be transmitted to […]