According to Rob Hodgman, Senior Aviation Planner at Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), he got “bit by the aviation bug” when he joined the Army at the age of 19. His barracks were across from the airfield where military helicopters would taxi by day and night, and he remembers thinking “I want to fly […]
Author: Kim Stevens
WSU-NIAR to Develop Testing Protocols for BRS Aerospace Parachute Recovery Systems
BRS Aerospace has engaged Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (WSU-NIAR) to develop testing protocols for evaluating the safety and performance of aircraft parachute recovery systems in General Aviation (GA) and Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. Working with WSU-NIAR’s Crash Dynamics and Virtual Engineering laboratories, BRS Aerospace will develop whole aircraft parachute […]
Transport Canada grants Astro Aerospace SFOC for flight testing of their passenger drone, “Elroy”
Astro Aerospace Ltd. (OTCQB:ASDN), the company creating autonomous eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) aerial vehicles and drones, has announced this week that they have been granted a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC), a permit for the operation of an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) system, for its passenger drone project, “Elroy”. Astro CEO Bruce Bent […]
AQST Space Systems Group Opens Manufacturing Operations at Yuma Airport
(Photo above -Â Arnaldo Soto, President and CEO of AQST Space Systems with Gladys Brown, Yuma Airport Director) AQST Space Systems Group, LLC has announced the relocation of their facilities to Arizona with headquarters in Mesa and secured manufacturing in Yuma. Arizona’s statewide network of defense industry assets attracts the aerospace industry with its compatible needs […]
AOPA Air Safety Institute Releases 27TH Joseph T. Nall Report
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI) released its 27th Joseph T. Nall Report, showing general aviation’s energetic efforts to reduce fatal aircraft accidents continued to produce encouraging results in 2015. The overall accident rate per 100,000 flight hours also declined even as total flight hours increased, according to the report. […]
NATA Announces Leadership Transition
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) Board of Directors announced the selection of Gary Dempsey as its new President. He succeeds Martin (Marty) H. Hiller, who assumed the role of NATA’s President in 2016, after 6 years of service on the association’s Board of Directors. Dempsey will start his duties on October 1, 2018. “Marty […]
Wipaire Increases Grand Caravan Gross Weight to 9,187 Lbs.
Wipaire, Inc. has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to increase the Cessna Grand Caravan’s gross weight to 9,187 lbs. (4,167 kg) on Wipline 8750 floats. The Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) adds 125 lbs. (56 kg) of useful load and is available for floated aircraft equipped with the PT6A-140 engine. Eligible aircraft include production Grand […]
U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $586 Million in Airport Infrastructure Grants
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao has announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $586 million in airport infrastructure grants, as part of the total $3.18 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airports across the United States. “These airport investments will create jobs in local communities, upgrade reliability, and […]
Future of Aviation Highlighted at EAA AirVenture 2018
Eminent leaders in the aviation industry presented inventive and leading-edge developments, facts and direction for the future in the aviation industry at the recent Lindbergh Innovation Forum, held at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI on July 24th 2018. Drawing from those leading the innovation efforts at Boeing, UBER Elevate, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and six […]
Michigan Aeronautics Commission Honors MAAE Executive Director and State Transportation Director
( Photo – From left: MAC Chair J. David VanderVeen, MAAE Executive Director Shawn Jezak, MDOT Aeronautics Commission Director Mike Trout; MAAE President Dave Reid) At its Sept. 12 meeting in Harbor Springs, the Michigan Aeronautics Commission (MAC) presented its Awards of Excellence to Shawn Jezak/Michigan Association of Airport Executives (MAAE) and State Transportation Director […]




