New NOTAM Guidance Issued
The FAA has issued new guidance to airport operators on how and when to issue a NOTAM and it appears to be an effort to clean up a system bogged down in irrelevant and confusing information. Advisory Circular 150/5200-28G has a host of housekeeping and updating sections, but it also issues some pointed instructions to those who send out NOTAMs on what they can and cannot contain. The AC says NOTAMs provide “timely information on unanticipated or temporary changes to components of, or hazards in, the National Airspace System (NAS).” It also says they’re not to be used for noise abatement procedures and if they last longer than 90 days they should either become a permanent NOTAM or become part of the regulations. It also specifies that Flight Service Stations be responsible to flag persistent NOTAMs and check with the operators about the “validity of NOTAMs lingering in the NOTAM system.”
United Pilots Could Come From American Eagle
Newly-minted United First Officers may spend the bulk of their experience-building time flying the regional aircraft of arch rival American Airlines as part of deal struck with ALPA and Mesa Airlines. Mesa operates both United Express and American Eagle flights and has a deal with United to take graduates of United Aviate, its in-house training academy, as FO candidates. But until now, those new pilots had to work for United Express for their experience to count toward a shot at a right seat on the main line. Under the new arrangement, the candidates can work for any of Mesa’s business units, including the regionals and its DHL freight division.
Foreflight Introduces ADS-B In
Foreflight introduced an ADS-B In receiver to its lineup. The Sentry Plus portable ADS-B receiver was developed with uAvionix, which makes the device, and offers all the standard functions of similar devices with some novel extra features that include ADS-B In weather and traffic, WAAS GPS, carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring and alerting and AHRS pitch and bank. The Sentry Plus also offers a 1.3-inch OLED screen, G-load meter, high-performance flight data recorder and 18-hour battery life. “We continue to expand the Sentry family of affordable ADS-B products with the most advanced portable receiver yet,” said ForeFlight President Tim Schuetze.
Remote Tower Planned For Selma, Alabama
The first U.S. remotely-operated air traffic control tower will be set up at Craig Field in Selma, Alabama. The facility is expected to be the first of its kind in operation in the U.S. and is designed to allow air traffic controllers to “perform all the functions of a traditional control tower from a different location through the extensive use of cameras, real-time video and other advances” according to a press announcement. The facility will cost $4.7 million and will have 28 employees. The project will be led by Valdosta, Georgia-based air traffic control academy Advanced ATC Inc., and conducted in partnership with Spain’s Indra Corp., which will provide staffing, software and logistics support.
Honeywell Builds Hybrid Aircraft Generator
Honeywell has advanced progress toward viable hybrid-electric aircraft with a lightweight (280 pound) generator that produces a megawatt of power and is designed to be mated to a small gas turbine. The generator would be housed in the fuselage of commuter and small cargo aircraft to supply power to their electric motors, among other things. “[The generator] delivers enough energy to power an entire neighborhood block,” Honeywell said in a news release. “Its compact size, low system weight and fuel savings translate into sustainable and operational benefits for hybrid-electric propulsion and other applications such as mobile charging stations, turbogenerator systems that can be flown in remote areas, and directed energy systems.”
NOTAMs
The FAA has cut Boeing’s usual five-year in-house certification authority to three years because of quality control issues … Australian pilot groups are lobbying for BasicMed … AOPA objecting to Canadian satellite ADS-B mandate … Earl Lawrence has left FAA for Xwing … Bombardier is studying blended-wing business jets … See AVweb.com for breaking news in general aviation.
