State Aviation Journal – Page 2 – Your Best Source of State Aviation News

Lucid Bots Raises $20 Million to Accelerate the Buildout of America’s Leading Exterior Cleaning Platform
Lucid Bots has announced it has raised an oversubscribed $20 million Series B round co-led by Cubit Capital and Idea Fund Partners, with participation from Taylor Rhodes, WaterStone Impact Fund, and Front Porch Ventures, in addition to existing investors. The raise brings total funding to $34 million and will be used to scale the company’s […]
SAS Marks 80 Years with Anniversary Aircraft
SAS marks the start of its 80th year of operations with a specially painted Airbus A330-300, celebrating eight decades of connecting Scandinavia with the world. Throughout 2026, the airline will highlight its heritage and continued role in linking people, businesses and societies. The anniversary comes 80 years after SAS’s first intercontinental flight on September 17, […]
Textron Aviation Names Five 2026 Top Hawk Recipients as Program Enters Its Second Decade of Workforce Impact
Photo – Factory-new Cessna Skyhawks (Model 172) to take flight as Textron Aviation names five 2026 Top Hawk recipients—helping train the next generation of pilots Textron Aviation Inc., announced Brazos Valley Flight Services, Executive Air Taxi Corporation, Fairmont State University, Sterling Flight Training and Victors Aviation as its 2026 Top Hawk program recipients, continuing a […]
When Wireless Networks Falter, Drones Can Provide Backup Connectivity, According to Stevens Researchers
Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a drone-based system designed to provide temporary wireless coverage during network outages or periods of high demand. The system, named AURA-GreeN, deploys a coordinated swarm of aerial vehicles that function as mobile cell towers, intelligently managing spectrum allocation, data routing and energy use in real time. As […]

State News

Iowa DOT Aviation Director Tim McClung Announces Retirement Date

Photo – Tim and Debbie McClung are retiring together in June – and along with Tommy are excited to start a new chapter in their life. By Kim Stevens Tim McClung has announced his upcoming retirement as Aviation Director for the Iowa DOT, concluding a career that spans more than 30 years in aviation. Tim McClung During his tenure, Tim advanced aviation policy, planning, legislative engagement, and air service development, while playing a key role in integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Iowa. After becoming Aviation Director in 2021, he added oversight of aviation funding programs, public-use airport certification, and aircraft registration. “Iowa has a great aviation system and the partnerships with pilots, aviation groups, airports, FAA officials, and decision makers at all levels are what has meant a lot,” said Tim. “During my tenure as director, our team was able to administer $160M of funding on top of normal FAA AIP funds. Add investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and we have witnessed a generational investment in building a safe and functional aviation system that includes major airport terminal enhancements, hangar, fuel system, and airside investment.” Tim was hired to work in aviation at the Iowa DOT in 2003 and never had any desire to do anything at the DOT but that. “It’s hard to believe how fast 23 years can go by. Iowa DOT leadership has always been tremendously supportive so it’s a great place to work for people who are passionate about aviation.” Tammy Nicholson, director of the Iowa DOT’s Modal Transportation Bureau said, “Tim’s passion for aviation has driven improvements in aviation safety, increased funding, and created strong partnerships across the aviation community.” Reflecting on how he got interested in aviation, Tim said his dad was a pilot, and his early years involved flying with him in his Cherokee 235. “At age 16 I started skydiving and eventually made more than 100 jumps before I took an interest in airports and flying, said Tim. “I started flying at age 17. A kind FBO operator allowed me to hang around at the airport and my flight instructor became a mentor and lifelong friend. During college years I decided to start adding ratings and eventually found my way into managing a small airport and FBO. Little did I know that would plant the seed for a long aviation career.” In June, Tim and his wife Debbie are retiring together and excited to start a new chapter in life. “We know that will involve volunteering, helping people, focusing on health, travel, time with family, and spending a lot of time with our family dog, Tommy. Aviation will likely continue to play a role in our lives in some fashion, but strictly at the personal and volunteer level. A few of my bucket list items include snowmobiling around Yellowstone, boating the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, and skiing the Colorado slopes during the week when the crowds are small. Reflecting on his time at the DOT, Tim shared, “The Iowa DOT’s Aviation Team is strong, knowledgeable, and passionate about their mission. I can’t thank our partners and Iowa’s aviation community enough for making my career so rewarding.” Tim’s last day will be June 19, with a transition from the director role occurring in May.
$7.3 Million in FY26 Airport Improvement Program Grants Announced in New Jersey

The New Jersey Governor’s Office announced the awarding of 11 FY26 Airport Improvement Program grants to 11 airports totaling more than $6.5 million in state funds, and an additional $800,000 in FAA matching grant funds to support airport safety and improvement projects. These grants, which leverage state funding and airport contributions, will support approximately $7.3 million worth of work. “Airport Improvement Program grants provide funding to make safety improvements at New Jersey’s public-use airports and ensure they are well maintained,” NJDOT Commissioner Priya Jain said. “General aviation airports serve as key economic engines for local communities by providing transportation opportunities for businesses, residents, and visitors.” Grants are awarded through a competitive process, with an emphasis on projects designed to enhance safety, remove obstructions, rehabilitate existing facilities and equipment, and make capital improvements. The projects receiving funds this year include airport master plan development, taxiway design and construction, lighting improvements, obstruction removal, transient apron design & construction and safety improvements at 11 airports in nine counties throughout the state. To see a list of airports receiving grants, click here. The 11 FY26 grants will be funded solely through NJDOT’s Transportation Trust Fund and Airport Safety Fund, with the state providing 90 percent of the eligible cost and the remaining 10 percent covered by the airport owner. In last five years, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has invested more than $31.7 million in New Jersey’s general aviation airports to date, leveraging an additional $38.1 million in federal grants and $5.2 million from airport owners, for a total of $75 million to support New Jersey’s General Aviation Airports and aeronautics infrastructure.

National News

CAN Appoints Aviation Pioneer Joan Sullivan Garrett to Board of Directors

Corporate Angel Network (CAN) has announced the appointment of Joan Sullivan Garrett to its Board of Directors. A pioneering entrepreneur and aviation medical innovator, Garrett is the Founder and Chairman of MedAire, a global leader in integrated medical, travel, and safety services for aviation and maritime industries. Since founding MedAire in 1985, she has been instrumental in developing real-time, ground-based medical support systems for in-flight emergencies—helping establish industry standards that continue to save lives worldwide. Joan Sullivan Garrett Garrett’s work has shaped how the aviation industry approaches passenger and crew health, with MedAire now supporting hundreds of airlines and thousands of aircraft globally. A widely recognized authority in aviation medicine and remote care, she has advised government agencies, testified before Congress, and contributed extensively to advancing health and safety protocols across the industry. “Joan is a true trailblazer whose career has been defined by innovation and a deep commitment to protecting and saving lives,” said Jean Rosanvallon, Chairman of the Corporate Angel Network Board of Directors. “Her unique perspective at the intersection of aviation and healthcare aligns seamlessly with CAN’s mission. We are excited to welcome her insight and leadership as we continue expanding access to life-saving treatment for cancer patients.” Garrett’s distinguished career includes service on numerous aviation and nonprofit boards, as well as numerous awards and honors, including the National Aeronautic Association Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, NBAA’s Meritorious Service to Aviation Award and inductions into the International Air and Space Hall of Fame, National Aviation Hall of Fame and Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame. Her longstanding dedication to improving safety, care, and access within aviation brings a powerful dimension to CAN’s work. “I am honored to join the Board of Corporate Angel Network and support its extraordinary mission,” said Garrett. “The ability to remove barriers to care—especially for patients facing serious illness—is both impactful and deeply meaningful. CAN’s work exemplifies how aviation can be used as a force for good, and I look forward to contributing to its continued growth and reach.” Garrett will be joining other CAN Board members, including: Michael Amalfitano, Embraer Executive Jets; W.W. (Bill) Boisture, Jr., AE Industrial Partners; Derek DeCross, Signature Aviation; Scott Donnelly, Textron; Dan Drohan, Solairus; Elise Eberwein, formerly American Airlines; Jennifer Leach English, AIN Publications; Patrick Gallagher, NetJets Aviation; Matthew Greene, Safe Flight Instrument; Jeannine Haas, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation; Dawne Hickton, Cumberland Additive; David Hurley, ALOFT Aero Architects; Ève Laurier, Bombardier; Wilson Leach, Aviation International News; Jean Rosanvallon (Chairman), formerly Dassault Falcon Jet; and Dr. Bret Schipper, Hartford HealthCare.
Lucid Bots Raises $20 Million to Accelerate the Buildout of America’s Leading Exterior Cleaning Platform

Lucid Bots has announced it has raised an oversubscribed $20 million Series B round co-led by Cubit Capital and Idea Fund Partners, with participation from Taylor Rhodes, WaterStone Impact Fund, and Front Porch Ventures, in addition to existing investors. The raise brings total funding to $34 million and will be used to scale the company’s commercial operations, expand its domestic manufacturing capacity in Charlotte, and accelerate the rollout of its RaaS offering Lucid Refresh — the company’s full-service subscription platform for exterior cleaning operators. “We’re on an ambitious journey to give software a body to do physically productive work that the world needs and become the USA’s leading supplier of modular drones and robots,” said Andrew Ashur, Founder and CEO of Lucid Bots. “This capital allows us to meet the massive market demand we’re seeing today while expanding our product offerings and accelerating our manufacturing and autonomy goals. The next 18 months will be transformative for our product roadmap and the industry at large.” Watch Video Launch of Lucid Refresh Lucid Bots builds the robots, software, and support infrastructure that professional cleaning operators deploy on their jobs. Where a cleaning company traditionally needs to choose between turning down high-value exterior work or taking on the capital, training, and operational burden of robotics themselves, Lucid Refresh gives them a third option: access to a complete autonomous cleaning capability, including the Sherpa cleaning drone, the newly launched Lavo AI autonomous pressure washing robot, Lucid Command fleet management software, operator training, job intelligence, and an equipment loaner guarantee, as a single ongoing subscription. The operator brings the contract, and Lucid delivers everything needed to fulfill it. “Our customers are running cleaning businesses,” said Vic Pellicano, President and Chief Platform Officer of Lucid Bots. “They don’t need a robot — they need a way to take on jobs they couldn’t do before, execute them better than the competition, and do it without betting their company on a capital purchase. That’s what we built. It’s less like buying equipment and more like adding a robotics division to your business that you can deploy on any job, any time.” A Platform Built on Operator Success Lucid Bots’ operator network has generated more than $75 million in exterior cleaning revenue using Lucid systems — a figure that reflects the core thesis behind the company’s model: that Lucid wins when its operators win. The Sherpa drone platform reduces job completion time by 2–5x, and operators report payback periods of less than two months. With approaching 1,000 robots now in active operator hands, and 93% of new business originating from inbound interest, the company generated as much revenue in 2025 as it did in its first seven years combined. The company’s customer base spans independent operators to enterprise-scale accounts including Disney, Sunbelt Rentals, and commercial facilities managers across the country. The Data Advantage No Competitor Can Close The Series B accelerates Lucid’s two flagship product lines. The Sherpa drone continues to expand its autonomous capabilities, and Lucid Bots recently launched Lavo AI, a fully autonomous pressure washing robot designed for unattended operation, complete with its own mobile app and proprietary cloud data layer. What makes both platforms genuinely different is not the hardware. It is the data behind them. Lucid Bots’ systems have now logged hundreds of thousands of hours of real-world exterior cleaning across building types, surface materials, weather conditions, and job configurations that no competitor can replicate. That operational dataset trains the AI systems embedded in every Lucid robot and improves with every job completed. The result is cleaning performance that compounds over time: Lucid robots clean more precisely, adapt more intelligently to job conditions, and produce more consistent results than any service relying on human judgment or a thinner data foundation ever could. Every new deployment makes the system smarter. Every hour logged extends a lead that started years ago and widens by the day. Both platforms are manufactured at the company’s 25,000-square-foot facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, a domestic manufacturing footprint that provides compliance advantages under federal mandates for US-built robotic systems and positions Lucid to serve the growing number of commercial and government customers who require it. “At Cubit Capital, we invest in companies with courageous leadership confronting meaningful societal challenges, and Lucid Bots represents exactly that,” said Philip Carson, Partner at Cubit Capital. “The labor crisis in industrial work is real, and Lucid has achieved genuine innovation with technology that empowers workers and creates safer workplaces. Their traction speaks for itself, and we’re excited to support a team that’s striving for redemptive outcomes by empowering workers rather than replacing them.” “What excites us about Lucid Bots is that this isn’t a single-product company. It’s a platform defining a new category,” said Lister Delgado, Managing Partner at Idea Fund Partners. “By building AI systems trained on more real-world cleaning data than anyone else in the industry, they’re creating a compounding advantage that will be difficult to replicate. When you pair that with US-based manufacturing and strong unit economics, Lucid is poised to become a defining leader in the next generation of industrial automation.” “The Lucid Sherpa drone has elevated our business to new heights opening doors and differentiating ourselves from the competition,” said Ryan Godwin, Owner of Godwin Facility Services. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without adding the Lucid Sherpa to our business.” Lucid Bots is a member of the NVIDIA Inception Program and is actively developing its AI and autonomy capabilities in partnership with NVIDIA.

International News

The Air Charter Association Joins Industry’s CLIMBING. FAST. Advocacy Campaign

Today, the CLIMBING. FAST. campaign welcomed The Air Charter Association (The ACA) as its newest partner, expanding the coalition’s global reach and bolstering its efforts to showcase business aviation’s economic value and other essential societal benefits, including sustainability leadership. The partnership will be officially announced at The ACA’s European Regional Forum held as part of AERO Friedrichshafen, taking place from April 22-25, 2026. CLIMBING. FAST. is an international advocacy campaign focused on informing policymakers and opinion leaders about the essential contributions of business aviation, including the industry’s role in creating jobs, supporting economic development, connecting communities, advancing humanitarian missions, empowering businesses to succeed and driving more sustainable aviation through innovation on the ground and in the air. At the campaign’s launch in 2023, stakeholder partners noted the campaign would focus on setting the record straight about the sector’s importance in part through a multimedia campaign, which today incorporates a dedicated website, social media presence, media relations and storytelling functions, advocacy resources and more. The ACA is the leading worldwide trade association for the air charter industry with more than 450 member companies across 64 countries. The ACA provides accreditation and training, works with industry regulators and governing bodies, promotes best practices, delivers unrivalled networking opportunities and advocacy support, as well as workforce development through its internship program. “As we continue to expand our presence across the US, initiatives like CLIMBING. FAST. ensure we can better coordinate our air charter advocacy efforts with our industry partners,” said Glenn Hogben, Chief Executive, The ACA. “The air charter industry is a significant driver of employment, economic growth and technological innovation around the world, and it is important we continue to get that message across.” “NBAA is excited to welcome The Air Charter Association as a CLIMBING. FAST. partner,” said National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Business aviation is a global industry, and having The ACA aboard will strengthen our international presence and expand our opportunities for advocacy.” The ACA is the 17th organization to join the award-winning CLIMBING. FAST. program. The British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) and Irish Business & General Aviation Association (IBGAA) were the most recent to join, in 2025. In addition to NBAA, BBGA and IBGAA, CLIMBING. FAST. coalition members include the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), Alpha Eta Rho fraternity, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA), the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), the National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA), the National Air Transport Association (NATA), Vertical Association International VAI) and Women in Corporate Aviation (WCA).
Q&A with State Aviation Journal – What Airport Leaders Should Know about Evolving Baggage Safety Risks: Expert

Tara Riggs As baggage operations grow more complex and integrated with overall airport performance, safety in these environments is becoming a more visible concern to airport leaders. Tara Riggs, who brings over a decade of experience in baggage handling operations, has spent much of her career working inside these pressure-cooker environments. Now leading A-SAFE’s airport safety efforts, she focuses on how infrastructure and design decisions can better support operations. Why should leaders in the airport industry be paying closer attention to safety risks in baggage handling areas right now? “There’s a growing responsibility to support airports that are handling more volume with increasingly complex operations. Baggage areas are no longer static environments – they’re evoking very fast with more equipment, tighter timelines, and more pressure on throughput. What we are seeing is that these spaces can become points of friction if they’re not designed to handle that complexity. For aviation leaders, it’s less about isolated incidents and more about ensuring long-term stability.” How are rising passenger volumes and terminal modernization projects changing the risk profile in these environments? “As airports expand and modernize, they are layering new systems into environments that weren’t always designed for that level of activity. You’re seeing more overlap between vehicle traffic, personnel, and infrastructure, often within the same constrained footprint. At one of Europe’s busiest regional hubs, Malpensa Airport, for example: the reopening of their terminal 2 forced the airport to rethink how passengers could move safely through active apron areas, leading to the installation of protected pedestrian pathways that could handle both operations and changing gate configurations. I think that was a good example of how modernization can reshape your risk profile.” Where do airports most commonly underestimate the operational impact of minor vehicle collisions and infrastructure strikes? “The biggest blind spots tend to be in high-traffic, behind-the-scenes-areas like baggage halls, service coordinators, and airside zones where ground support vehicles are constantly moving. In those environments, low-speed impacts can appear routine but can have broader consequences than expected. In our experience, a small hit to a conveyor, column, or barrier can trigger equipment checks and temporary shutdowns that reduce throughput. Over time, those disruptions add up, especially in environments where operations are tightly scheduled.” As airports invest in automation, what steps should they take to keep baggage areas safe and efficient at the same time? “The key is making sure the physical environment keeps pace with the technology being introduced – and this comes down to material science. Steel barriers come with extended damage and downtime that don’t play well with automated machines, where we have seen that polymer is much lower maintenance and more energy absorbent. We have seen similar challenges in warehouses and smart factories, where those levels of robotics require an entirely different infrastructure to support it, challenging the designers. For airports, it’s about taking that same approach.” Why should traffic segregation and impact protection be viewed as part of long-term airport infrastructure planning rather than short-term fixes? “Because once an airport starts growing, those pressure points do not sit isolated for long. Areas with mixed traffic tend to become more vulnerable over time if the layout was not built to manage that flow. Brussel’s airport is a good example: repeated vehicle impacts were causing damage to two mission-critical baggage conveyors, making it clear that it was not a maintenance issue, but an infrastructure one. By putting in more flexible impact protection, the airport was able to better protect key assets and realize a noticeable ROI within the year.” What should airport operators and aviation authorities prioritize in 2026 to make baggage handling systems more resilient? “Baggage handling may be out of sight for most passengers, but for airports it is becoming one of the most operationally complex areas of the terminal environment. And in spaces like that, short term fixes may solve the immediate problem, but they rarely solve the pattern behind it. In 2026, the priority should be the environment itself – how the space is designed, how the traffic moves through it, whether the layout can handle pressure without creatine bottlenecks. That resilience should be measured through reduced downtime and time directly back to ROI. Put simply, operators will start reexamining airports for smarter spaces, not just systems.”

Unmanned Systems

Lucid Bots Raises $20 Million to Accelerate the Buildout of America’s Leading Exterior Cleaning Platform

Lucid Bots has announced it has raised an oversubscribed $20 million Series B round co-led by Cubit Capital and Idea Fund Partners, with participation from Taylor Rhodes, WaterStone Impact Fund, and Front Porch Ventures, in addition to existing investors. The raise brings total funding to $34 million and will be used to scale the company’s READ MORE
When Wireless Networks Falter, Drones Can Provide Backup Connectivity, According to Stevens Researchers

Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a drone-based system designed to provide temporary wireless coverage during network outages or periods of high demand. The system, named AURA-GreeN, deploys a coordinated swarm of aerial vehicles that function as mobile cell towers, intelligently managing spectrum allocation, data routing and energy use in real time. As READ MORE

Aviation Education

CAP’s New Jersey Wing Assists U.S. Air Force with Critical Blood Processing Mission

Members of Civil Air Patrol’s New Jersey Wing recently mobilized to assist the U.S. Air Force in processing blood products destined for deployed service members. This effort expands the reach of Operation Pulse Lift, CAP’s ongoing humanitarian blood collection mission, and supports the need for blood for U.S. forces overseas. Civil Air Patrol’s Maj Megan READ MORE
Innovation Soars at State Capitol as Leaders Celebrate Oklahoma’s $44 Billion Aerospace Economy

Photo – The crowd of aerospace industry stakeholders, military members, educators and students filled the second-floor rotunda of the Oklahoma State Capitol for the 2026 AERO Oklahoma Day. The event brought together more than 1,000 attendees to advocate for the state’s $44 billion aerospace and defense industry. The second floor rotunda of the Oklahoma State READ MORE

Kim Brown Announced as New Deer Valley Airport Manager

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

The City of Phoenix Aviation Department has announced the appointment of Kim Brown as the new Airport Manager for Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT), following the retirement of longtime Airport Manager Ed Faron, who concluded nearly 24 years of distinguished service to the department on Monday, March 30. “Faron’s dedication and leadership have been instrumental […]

Textron Aviation Names Five 2026 Top Hawk Recipients as Program Enters Its Second Decade of Workforce Impact

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

Photo – Factory-new Cessna Skyhawks (Model 172) to take flight as Textron Aviation names five 2026 Top Hawk recipients—helping train the next generation of pilots Textron Aviation Inc., announced Brazos Valley Flight Services, Executive Air Taxi Corporation, Fairmont State University, Sterling Flight Training and Victors Aviation as its 2026 Top Hawk program recipients, continuing a […]

Nebraska Aviation Council’s Holds 34th Annual Symposium, Recognizes Retired State Aviation Official and Aviation Hall of Fame Inductees

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

The 34th annual Nebraska Aviation Council held its annual symposium on January 28~31, 2026 at the Crowne Plaza, Kearney, NE. The annual event kicked off with sessions directed at airport officials and management, with the last two days focusing on IA Renewal for aircraft mechanics. Keynote events included the presentations of the 2025 Airport and […]

NBAA Cheers Grassroots Success in Repealing Onerous Washington State Aircraft Tax

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today welcomed the repeal of an unduly burdensome tax on most general aviation (GA) aircraft in Washington state, which was enacted last year and set to take effect on April 1. Specifically, the repealed measure (SB 5801) would have established an onerous 10% tax on the purchase of new […]

CAP’s New Jersey Wing Assists U.S. Air Force with Critical Blood Processing Mission

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

Members of Civil Air Patrol’s New Jersey Wing recently mobilized to assist the U.S. Air Force in processing blood products destined for deployed service members. This effort expands the reach of Operation Pulse Lift, CAP’s ongoing humanitarian blood collection mission, and supports the need for blood for U.S. forces overseas. Responding to a request from […]

When Wireless Networks Falter, Drones Can Provide Backup Connectivity, According to Stevens Researchers

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a drone-based system designed to provide temporary wireless coverage during network outages or periods of high demand. The system, named AURA-GreeN, deploys a coordinated swarm of aerial vehicles that function as mobile cell towers, intelligently managing spectrum allocation, data routing and energy use in real time. As […]

NBAA Marks Passing of GA Industry Standard-Bearer John Sheehan

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has paid tribute to the legacy of John J. Sheehan, III, decorated U.S. Navy aviator, general aviation advocate, safety expert and author, who recently passed away after devoting decades of his life to the general aviation industry. Sheehan, a frequent presenter at NBAA events, was the author of the […]

OU’s Max Westheimer Airport Earns Airport of the Year Award

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

By Jacob Guthrie The University of Oklahoma’s Max Westheimer Airport has received the prestigious Airport of the Year Award for 2026 from the Oklahoma Airport Operators Association. Airport Director Lance Lamkin was also named the 2026 Airport Manager of the Year. “This recognition is a direct reflection of the grit, pride and behind-the-scenes effort our […]

David Smith, PE, Joins McFarland Johnson as Regional Director

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 Kim Stevens

McFarland-Johnson, Inc. (MJ) has announced the appointment of David P. Smith, P.E., as Regional Director for New York, further strengthening MJ’s expertise and expanding its leadership presence in the region. Smith will lead the growth of MJ’s transportation practice in New York, with a specific focus on Central New York. With an impressive 33-year career […]

ODAA, OSIDA Celebrate Historic Artemis II Launch, Highlights Contributions from Oklahoma-Based Frontier Electronic Systems

April 4, 2026April 4, 2026 Kim Stevens

Photo – NASA’s Space Launch System rocket successfully launched Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from Operations and Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Oklahoma-based Frontier Electronic Systems supported the mission by manufacturing more than 20 components for the Orion spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls As NASA’s Artemis II mission journeys toward the […]

Lucid Bots Raises $20 Million to Accelerate the Buildout of America’s Leading Exterior Cleaning Platform

SAS Marks 80 Years with Anniversary Aircraft

Textron Aviation Names Five 2026 Top Hawk Recipients as Program Enters Its Second Decade of Workforce Impact

When Wireless Networks Falter, Drones Can Provide Backup Connectivity, According to Stevens Researchers