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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
For the second time within a week, the U.S. Navy has lost an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea. According to reports, this time, the Super Hornet crashed while attempting to land. The arresting gear is said to have failed and the “bolter” go around was unsuccessful. The pilot and weapons systems officer ejected and were recovered from the water by helicopter with only minor injuries.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
Moody’s contacted AVweb today to announce it has published a for the U.S. airport financial sector.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announced today it would call a full committee hearing for May 14 titled “FAA Reauthorization One Year Later: Aviation Safety, Air Traffic, and Next Generation Technology.” The bipartisan FAA Reauthorization bill was passed on May 16, 2024.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
During a May 6 airshow performance, a midair collision involving three Aermacchi MB-339 jet aircraft of the Italian Air Force Frecce Tricolori (“three-color arrow”) demonstration team ended with all aircraft landing under control, though one of the three veered off the runway due to suspected nosewheel damage. Of the three pilots involved, one was hospitalized for a reported leg fracture. No one on the ground was injured.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
Yesterday, (May 5), more than 3,000 members of Machinist (IAM) Locals 700 and 1746 went on strike at Pratt & Whitney’s Middletown and East Hartford, Connecticut plants. Those locations are where P&W manufactures its geared turbofan (GTF) engines for Airbus airliners and military F135 engines for the F-35 Lightning II fighter. Employee grievances include inadequate wage increases, weakened retirement benefits, rising health insurance costs, and a lack of job security assurance.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
Many years ago, during my first year working for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s publications department during the midsummer extravaganza (now known as AirVenture), I learned a secret for shortcutting the traffic into Wittman Field. I had tagged along on an early morning air-to-air photo shoot and when we turned back inbound, I overheard the photo plane pilot identifying the flight with a discreet coded phrase.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
Earlier this year, the Colorado Division of Aeronautics established VFR GPS waypoints throughout key mountain passes in the state. The initiative was spurred by a similar program in Alaska. But while Alaskan pilots are challenged by flying under weather through lower, longer passes, mountain flying in Colorado is more likely to involve different techniques due to higher and shorter passes. Pilots there are trained to use orographic winds and thermals, crossing the passes as a 45-degree angle.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
Following “a two-year project that’s now in its 13th year,” Seattle-based Legend Flyers owner Bob Hammer described for AVweb the first flights of the restoration shop’s Mitsubishi A6M3-32 Zero fighter this week. Mike Spalding, chief pilot for the Military Aircraft Museum of Virginia Beach, Virginia, performed the two test flights, marking the first time the aircraft has broken ground since WWII.
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1 week ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
I had some first-hand experience with the recent craziness involving Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR). Living just a half hour away, I have grown familiar with travel to and from EWR, and most of my airline experience has been positive. I have marveled at the fact that I can pack up my bags, drive to the airport, and then find myself emerging from the cabin door on the other side of the planet.
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3 weeks ago | 
avweb.com | Mark Phelps
Earlier this week, The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) issued a dark warning to airmen and former service members. The office cautioned against “foreign intelligence entities” using a phony recruitment scheme to trick unsuspecting veterans and current service members. Special Agent Lee Russ executive director of AFOSI Office of Special Projects, said, “These aren’t just job offers, they’re intelligence operations in disguise.
