During the public comment period after formal presentations, Tim Roehl, president of General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI), challenged a couple of points made during the presentations of members and support staff from the End Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions. He told the crowd—smaller than in previous years—that contrary to assertions made during the formal part of the forum, GAMI’s G100UL is indeed ready for distribution and sale.

Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative member Pete Bunce, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), stood up and dismissed Roehl’s assertion.

“I totally disagree, but that’s a discussion for another day,” said Bunce.

• READ MORE: GAMI’s G100UL Unleaded Fuel Successfully Powers Historic WWII Aircraft

In earlier comments, Bunce said his organization remains adamant that any new fuel will be approved through “transparency and a peer reviewed process,” which has traditionally been done through ASTM International.

“Transparency is so absolutely vital for us,” said Bunce.

Refiner Vitol Aviation has 1.3 million gallons of G100UL in tanks in Louisiana and says it has been completely vetted as ready for sale through its supplemental type certificate (STC). GAMI and Vitol have consistently said the FAA approval of an STC covering all gasoline engines on the agency’s registry satisfies all the regulatory and safety requirements to begin retail distribution of the fuel, but there are critics who contend it needs a consensus standard determined by an independent organization like ASTM to satisfy concerns about materials compatibility.

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) president Mark Baker said his organization is using G100UL in a Beech Baron it operates and, based on the 200 hours of experience with the fuel, “GAMI is as good or better” than 100LL. He also said the process has to “move forward” to get the correct fuel.

• READ MORE: Cirrus Service Advisory Throws Fuel on G100UL Maintenance Debate

The balance of the meeting was a reiteration of the stated goals of EAGLE, which increasingly has become focused on maintaining the supply of 100LL. The existence of the commercial quantity of G100UL has prompted politicians in California and Colorado to try to ban 100LL in favor of filling airport tanks with G100UL. Legislative and legal initiatives in both states are moving through their respective processes.

Meanwhile, testing of the last remaining candidate under the congressionally mandated Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative (PAFI) is slowly progressing at the FAA’s Atlantic City, New Jersey, test facility.

About 23 percent of materials compliance testing, 25 percent of durability testing, and a few percent of several other categories have been done on Lyondell/Basell/VP Racing’s entry. It’s also been fully tested on the airframe of a Lancair Legacy and on a Continental TSIO 550K engine.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Unleaded Fuel Debate Heats Up in Oshkosh appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

After a few months of success with air force pilots and rear gunners with shotguns taking out Russian drones in a Yak-52, the Ukraine military is now training pilots and gunners to use the rag-and-tube A-22 to do the same. Previously the light sport aircraft (LSA) have been used as single-use flying bombs and have taken out some high-value targets. 

According to Forbes, Russian bloggers say it’s time to do something about the new role and its inspiration.

“The Yak-52 flew over Odessa and with high efficiency shot down our reconnaissance UAVs for a week, causing laughter in some circles,” Forbes quoted a translation of the blogs as saying. “This has not been funny to UAV operators and us for a long time.”

What, exactly, the Russians might do to counteract the low-and-slow platforms wasn’t discussed on the blog. The Yak has reportedly taken out 12 drones that cost about $100,000 each.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Drone-Downing Ukrainian Piston Planes Annoying Russians appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The South China Morning Post, an independent newspaper in Hong Kong, said the expert, a man named Tang, an executive of Beijing-based antivirus and security company Rising Information Technology, reviewed some of the documents posted on the encrypted forum Telegram by Ivan Ivanof, who claims to be a Russian military pilot.

• READ MORE: China’s Military Catching Up with Western Air Forces, DOD Says

The expert told the Morning Post the documents “appear authentic” and Ivanof, who goes by the Telegram name of Fighterbomber, claims to have 250 gigabytes more of the same.

In his post, Ivanof said he received the documents from an American company. In addition to information on the aircraft, they appear to have data on the Switchblade drone and guided missile systems.

The U.S. has not yet issued a statement on the alleged leak. Tang also told the newspaper only government and military officials can determine whether the documents have any intelligence value.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Chinese Intel Expert: Leaked F-35, F-15 Documents ‘Appear Authentic’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The student was seriously injured but survived.

The board highlighted all the precautions that flight schools and instructors should observe before sending a new pilot aloft for the first time and reminded pilots, regardless of experience, “of the importance of being vigilant upon landing to quickly detect any signs that a go-around is required, and to be able to initiate the go-around at the appropriate time.”

A video also shows just how quickly a stall/spin can develop. The report noted this airplane was only 45 feet above the ground and crashed vertically into the infield.

The student was enrolled in a first officer’s program at Orizon Aviation and had done eight touch-and-goes before the instructor got out. The student landed nosewheel first and bounced before veering off the runway.

It was at that point the student tried the go-around and barely got off the ground. An attempt to make a turn with the plane in very slow flight stalled the left wing.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Pilot’s First Solo Ends With Stall/Spin at 45 Feet appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In a statement on Wednesday, the company said the delay is part of the program and not a failure.

• READ MORE: What to Know About Boeing Starliner’s First Crewed Test Flight

“It is a test flight,” the company said. “The mission is still going and it is going well.”

Boeing also said the Starliner was “performing well” and could return to earth at any time if necessary.

The Starliner docked with the ISS on June 6 and was supposed to leave a week later. But a total of five helium leaks and issues with the thrusters pushed that back. It was delayed again and Boeing and NASA have stopped giving projected dates.

• READ MORE: Boeing Starliner, Crew Will Return to Earth No Earlier Than June 26

The departure is now scheduled for sometime in July. Many news outlets have used the word “stranded” to describe the plight of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, which the company is emphatically rejecting.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Boeing Says Starliner Mission ‘Going Well’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In a statement to AVweb, GAMI said the service advisory appears to be linked to a single incident in which the sealant used in the fuel tank had unbonded in a company aircraft that had been fueled with G100UL. GAMI says there are indications the unbonded sealant had nothing to do with the fuel, but because the tank was not inspected before the unleaded fuel was introduced there’s no way to prove whether the fuel was a factor.

• READ MORE: GAMI Says It Has 1 Million Gallons of G100UL

In its service advisory, Cirrus said the materials compatibility of the fuel is “inconclusive.”

GAMI also noted that the fuel has been used in other aircraft with the same sealant with no issues.

“GAMI’s SR22 has had G100UL in the fuel tanks for most of the last 14 years. Recently, Cirrus engineers and management inspected the interior of those tanks, in person, using a borescope and found no evidence of any debonding by any of the factory applied sealant in that aircraft,” the company said in its statement.

• READ MORE: Aviation Consumer Live: G100UL Unleaded Avgas Flight Trial

GAMI is also disputing Cirrus’s claim that use of G100UL voids the warranties on engines supplied by Lycoming and Continental and used in its aircraft. The engine warranties both state that they will not cover damage from the use of “non-approved fuel,” but GAMI noted the FAA has approved G100UL for all models of Lycoming and Continental gasoline engines. 

AVweb has contacted Lycoming and Continental for clarification on warranty coverage for engines using G100UL.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post GAMI Responds to Cirrus G100UL Service Advisory appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“The new Tesla Roadster can fly,” he said in a post in what seems like a response to another X post on the social platform that he also owns.

• READ MORE: SpaceX Starship Will Fly Again in 3-5 Weeks, Elon Musk Predicts

Musk first teased the concept in the ill-fated interview with former X contributor Don Lemon when he described the new Tesla as “something that’s never existed before” with “Jetsons vibes.”

As always, Musk is tight-lipped about details of the new whatever-it-is, and his reaction to his seemingly straightforward post invoked skepticism and derision. Musk announced the new model electric car in 2017, and there is still no timeline on its unveiling.

• READ MORE: Doroni Aerospace Unveils H1-X Personal ‘Flying Car’

Musk did reiterate that the new Tesla will accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than a second and that it is a collaboration with SpaceX.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Elon Musk: New Tesla ‘Can Fly’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Although the description of the resulting aircraft is that they have “reduced aircrew capability,” one of the requirements for the contract is that they be able to fly takeoff to touchdown without human intervention.

• READ MORE: Merlin Developing Autonomous Flight Tech With Air Force Pilot Input

“The contract award marks a milestone in the collaboration between USSOCOM and Merlin, accelerating our ability to bring high levels of autonomy to a variety of fixed wing platforms to support the warfighter,” said Merlin CEO Matt George in a news release.

The contract is apparently designed to get these aircraft in USSOCOM’s hands as quickly as possible. Since it’s never been done before, the contract is an indefinite delivery, indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract that presumably frees the contractor to create the end product without a lot of government folks looking over their shoulders.

• READ MORE: Merlin Advances Toward Autonomous Flight Tech STC with Simulator 

“The magnitude of the contract is an important proof point that USSOCOM continues to bring innovative capabilities out of testing and into production track programs,” said George.

Merlin has a similar deal with the Air Force to automate KC-135 tankers.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Merlin to Automate U.S. Special Operations Command C-130s appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Unity took a pilot and four passengers to an altitude of 54.4 miles, just shy of the Kármán line (62 miles) commonly considered to the be the edge of space. It was Unity’s seventh passenger flight in less than a year, and the craft has served its purpose, according to an arstechnica report.

“The learnings we have built over our last seven space flights have enormously benefited our spaceship design,” the science publication quoted Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier as saying in a recent earnings call. “In addition, we have also learned a great deal about the performance of our mothership, VMS Eve.”

• READ MORE: Virgin Galactic Grounded After Alignment Pin Detaches

Virgin Galactic is now building two larger vehicles it calls the Delta-class. They will seat six passengers and are designed to be more quickly turned around for their next flight. It hopes to begin flying them in 2026 but won’t get major structures for them until later this year, according to arstechnica.

At the same time Virgin Galactic is taking a hard look at its launch aircraft, Eve. The 20-year-old purpose-built aircraft can now manage just one flight a month, but a new maintenance plan is targeting up to three flights a week.

All this is required to get the program to the break-even point. Virgin Galactic now loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year and has a backlog of 600 advance customers who bought tickets for $250,000 to $450,000. Once they’ve had their ride, the company will raise prices to $600,000 a seat and try to fly 750 people a year for total revenue of $450 million.

If that works out, the company will add more vehicles and a second launch plane to expand the business to profitability.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Virgin Galactic Retires ‘Unity,’ Plans Bigger Replacement appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

SkyAlyne, which is a partnership of simulator training company CAE and MRO KF Aerospace, will buy 71 new aircraft to be used by RCAF instructors to train new pilots for almost all of its frontline platforms. The Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program will also support the training of air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators. Both companies are involved in the current training program.

SkyAlyne will buy 23 Grob G 120TP turboprop singles for basic flight training and seven Beechcraft King Air 260s for multi-IFR training, and helicopter pilots will get 19 Airbus H135s. There will also be three de Havilland Dash-8 Q400s with mission training systems aboard.

Future F-35 fighter pilots will take advanced training on 19 Pilatus PC-21s but will be sent to Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas for the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot training program and to the International Flying Training School at Decimomannu, Italy, for actual jet time. The company will buy its own advanced jet trainers by 2028.

Most of the fixed-wing training will happen at Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, but the Dash-8s will be based at CFB Winnipeg. All helicopter training will occur at Southport, Manitoba.

The RCAF is undergoing a fleetwide renewal with tens of billions in new equipment, including 85 F-35s, 16 P-8s and nine A330 tanker/transports. It’s also standing up a squadron of 11 MQ-9B Reaper drones.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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