Van’s Hikes Prices in Bankruptcy
Van’s Aircraft filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November and existing customers appear to support the first phase of the reorganization plan. The company’s first raised prices an average of 32 percent for kits and parts that had already been ordered by customers. Van’s said it would have lost money if it honored those deals and that would have amplified its serious cash-flow problems, perhaps sinking the company for good. About 60 percent of customers immediately agreed to the price increases and Van’s is predicting that 70 percent will stick with their orders. Those who backed out of their deals lost their deposits to become among the thousands of unsecured creditors who will share in whatever money is left when the company either comes out of bankruptcy or is liquidated.
Fully Autonomous Drones in Service
Unmonitored autonomous drones are now in service in Dallas after the FAA gave Google’s Wing drone delivery service an exemption. Wing drones can now operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without a human observer meaning the company can expand its delivery footprint into new markets. Wing said its two-pronged collision avoidance system convinced the FAA to loosen its restrictions on airspace access. Wing uses ADS-B to assess the airspace before a flight to scout for potential conflicts. There’s also an onboard detect-and-avoid system to watch out for any airborne objects the initial sweep might have missed.
Santa Clara Fights to Be Lead Free
Santa Clara County in California is trying to block congressional action that would force it to allow the sale of leaded aviation fuel at its airports. The county banned 100LL at its airports two years ago citing the risk of lead emissions to people living near them. But the FAA reauthorization bills under consideration by the House and Senate both require the sale of 100LL at airports until a universally approved unleaded replacement is available. The FAA is operating under a funding extension until March 8 after lawmakers were unable to agree to a five-year funding mandate before the last sessions ended just before Christmas.
ARSA Reports Jump
Reports to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System have gone up significantly in the last few years and that’s a good thing according to NASA. The voluntary and anonymous reporting system relies on reports from pilots and others in aviation to highlight mishaps or flag hazards and uses the information to prevent further incidents. The reports tumbled during the pandemic but have come back stronger than before. “Our intake this year will exceed 100,000 reports, a 52 percent increase over 2020 levels,” NASA said. Program Director Becky Hooey said the uptick represents “positive indication of a healthy safety culture” and that “tens of thousands of these reports contain proactive callouts and lessons-learned shared by aviation professionals committed to ensuring the safety of aviation.”
Diversity Effort Launched
Former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker formed a non-profit group to encourage women and minorities to train for jobs in aviation. Parker said Breaking Down Barriers will target specific underrepresented sections of society and expose them to opportunities in the staff-short industry. His goal is to tap those communities to help solve the severe labor crisis in aviation and “create a pipeline of pilots ready to hire.” Parker said many facets of society don’t consider flying airliners a career option because it has historically been dominated by white males.
NOTAMs
All Boeing 737NG models will need modifications to beef up engine nacelles against blade failures … Fuselage cracks prompt grounding of Coast Guard C-27s … Trevor Jacob, who intentionally crashed a Taylorcraft in a YouTube stunt, was sentenced to six months … The Air Force is offering incentives totaling up to $600,000 to retain pilots … The U.S. military grounded all V-22 Ospreys after accident in Japan killed eight Marines … The National Park Service, with the FAA’s blessing, is imposing stringent flight restrictions in some national parks, including Mount Rushmore … Find breaking news in general aviation at AVweb.com.
