Regulatory

The FAA-NASA ASRS program, vital for aviation safety, is under review. Pilots urged to submit supportive comments by July 7.

An FAA Public ADS-B Performance Report is an easy way to know if your system is airspace compliant.

So far the FAA has been lenient in enforcing ADS-B Out equipment failures for aircraft flying in ADS-B mandated airspace, but there are signs that a crackdown is coming. In this video, Larry Anglisano and Sy Pinkert talk about what you need to do if the FAA puts your aircraft on the No Services list […]

The California legislature passed a leaded avgas ban for 2031. There’s a fleet-wide, high-octane unleaded avgas that is ready to go, but distributors won’t deliver.

This MOSAIC acronym has become the buzzword of the year and for good reason. It’s about time that the FAA’s July 2023 notice of proposed rulemaking on the MOSAIC initiative might significantly change the way sport pilots fly. There has been a lot of confusion around MOSAIC and there is a lot to sift through, […]

V-band couplings—or more simply, the clamps used to secure the engine’s tailpipe to the exhaust housing—are a well-known maintenance concern on turbocharged engines. Like the FAA and NTSB, mechanics have seen plenty of clamp failures over the years, so it’s no surprise that the FAA has adopted AD 2023-09-09, a means to keep a focused […]

You probably heard the buzz about 5G wireless broadband cell towers interfering with aircraft radar altimeter systems (also called radio altimeters). And now there are two FAA Airworthiness Directives (AD 2021-23-12 and 2021-23-13) in place. The latter is focused on helicopter operations. In part, the ADs say that radio altimeters are unreliable if they experience […]

If you do it right, they say, you may never have to touch the brakes while landing. But it seldom happens that way, and that’s why tires and brakes take a beating. We lock the brakes, we ride them, we overheat them. And the chain reaction—at best—means premature brake wear. At the worst, it’s a […]

As we’ve reported, thanks to space-saving, small-supply oxygen systems from Aerox and Aithre, more pilots and their passengers may be using O2 in the cabin who otherwise wouldn’t. But we’re also hearing about the challenges of getting these little cylinders filled.  Some FBOs and maintenance shops unfamiliar with these new bottles (some as small as […]

After a Cessna T210M experienced an inflight breakup in Australia in 2019, the FAA issued AD 2020-03-16, effective March 9, 2020, for the visual and eddy current inspections of the carry-through spar lower cap. The AD isn’t isolated to M-model Centurions, but also applies to the 210G, T210G, 210H, T210H, 210J, T210J, 210K, T210K, 210L […]

Not surprisingly, the FAA has issued specific guidance for airman (and air traffic control specialists) who plan to get any of the available COVID-19 vaccines.  According to a release issued by the federal air surgeon (via the FAA’s Office of Aerospace medicine), FAA medical certificate holders may not act as pilot in command, or in […]

As expected, the proposed Airworthiness Directive to inspect the wing spar on thousands of Piper PA-28 and PA-32-series aircraft (including retracs) has been finalized. As we reported last fall, the AD was prompted after an Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University Piper Arrow lost a wing on a commercial checkride flight in Florida back in 2018.  The […]