News

Washington Report, Sept-Oct 2023

• 25 Aug 2023 04:28 PM
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On July 19, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with proposed changes to the airworthiness rules for light sport aircraft (LSA).

Washington Report, Jul-Aug 2023

• 05 Jul 2023 02:39 PM
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The Biden administration is evaluating candidates to serve as Administrator of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to a May 1 report in Axios, the administration views Mike Whitaker as a frontrunner to lead the agency.

DARPA SPRINTs Toward High-Speed VTOL

• 25 Apr 2023 06:33 AM
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The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has renewed efforts to develop a high-speed, runway-independent VTOL aircraft.

Washington Report, May-June 2023

• 19 Apr 2023 11:58 PM
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On March 9, the Biden Administration unveiled its budget request for fiscal year 2024 (FY24). The Department of Defense (DoD) requested $842B for FY24, an increase of $26B over FY23. In terms of vertical lift aircraft, this year’s proposed budget is largely consistent with the request for FY23.

Washington Report, Mar-Apr 2023

• 19 Mar 2023 06:08 AM
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The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made progress towards implementing a framework for certification and operation of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and civil tiltrotor aircraft.

Melding Old and New Technology: Impact Testing for Crash Safety

• 13 Mar 2023 12:07 PM
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While NASA ponders the fate of the Gantry, tests continue with this unique historic structure.

The NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, has a noteworthy dilemma: to keep and refurbish the Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) facility — typically just called the Gantry — or dismantle the structure that has served as a valuable aircraft and spacecraft testing facility since it was constructed for the Apollo program in the 1960s.

Washington Report, Jan-Feb 2023

• 17 Dec 2022 01:28 AM
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is aiming to release a plan for regulating eVTOL aircraft operations in May. In a Nov. 17 speech at the Aero Club of Washington, Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said that the agency will release an “implementation plan” that will enable the FAA to match the level of activity occurring in industry.

Vertiport Standards Update

• 10 Nov 2022 03:41 AM
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After a substantial amount of time and effort on the part of numerous individuals (many of whom are volunteers), along with various organizations and numerous regulatory representatives, two vertiport standards have now been published to support planning for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM) operations.

Washington Report, Nov-Dec 2022

• 30 Oct 2022 09:51 AM
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Momentum is building on Capitol Hill to provide the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with directives on how to regulate the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry.

Navy Evaluates Transwing VTOL

• 30 Oct 2022 05:51 AM
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The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) announced in September that it had taken delivery of its first PteroDynamics XP-4 Transwing, an eVTOL uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) with folding wings.