Last month, some new things happened in the aviation industry. From the NOTAM system going offline to a new guidance for heliports from the FAA to money being allocated for research into unleaded fuel in general aviation. Here are some of the important headlines from the aviation industry last month.
FAA’s NOTAM System Went Offline, Wreaking Havoc
Last month, on January 11, 2023 at around 3:28 a.m., the FAA’s NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system went offline, grounding planes across the U.S.. 800 flights were canceled, and 5,000 were delayed. The system was returned to normal at 9 a.m., and Newark Liberty and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson were two of the first airports to resume normal operations because of traffic congestion. No suspicious activity was suspected. The White House said there was no cyberattack, but there was an investigation. Read more about it here or here.
FAA Releases a New Guidance for Heliport Planning and Construction
The FAA released a new and anticipated guidance for heliport planning, designs, and construction in its Advisor Circular. It is a mostly volunteer guideline, but the guidelines for such haven’t been updated in over ten years, since 2012. The FAA feels that the new guidelines are best to help establish a level of safety and performance for heliports. These new guidelines are only necessary and mandated if federally-funded programs are being used to fund heliports. Also, this new advisory circular does not cover advanced air mobility or eVTOL operations. Read more about the FAA’s new heliport guidance.
$10 Million for Research and Testing of Unleaded Fuel in General Aviation
A new legislation has been signed into effect that gives $10 million to research and test unleaded fuel in general aviation. According to General Aviation News, “The new legislation also recognizes the collaborative industry-government effort to move general aviation to a fleetwide drop-in, lead-free fuel solution no later than 2030 through its Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative.” The hope is to eliminate lead fuel by 2030 without any unfavorable effects on the piston-engine fleet. There will be four pillars to this initiative, and that’s broken down in this article as well as more information about the new initiative.
Women in Aviation are Racing Across the U.S. in June
Women in aviation have a chance to race cross-country during the Air Race Classic in June. The Air Race Classic has roots back to the National Women’s Air Derby in 1929 where Amelia Earhart, Florence “Pancho” Barnes, Louise Thaden, and other women flew from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH. But, instead of taking that path, women this year will be flying out of Grand Forks, North Dakota to Homestead, FL. Registration is open until March 31, 2023. Find out more about the race and even sign up here!
Walter Cunningham, Last Surviving Member of the Apollo 7 Crew, Dead at 90
The last surviving member of the Apollo 7 Crew has died. On January 3, former astronaut Walter Cunningham died at the age of 90. Cunningham piloted the lunar module on its 11-day flight. With his crew, they tested maneuvers important for docking and lunar orbit rendezvous. They traveled 263 hours and 4.5 million miles. Cunningham was also a member of the Navy and served on active duty in the Marine Corps. He flew 54 missions as a night fighter pilot in Korea. Cunningham also logged more than 4,500 hours in 40 different aircraft which included more than 3,400 hours in jet aircraft. Read more about Walter Cunningham here.
Follow our blog for regular news updates and more aviation stories at www.rebelservices.net/latestnews.
