Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said this week that ex-Viper pilots can likely get a combat job if they want one.

“If you’re a retired F-16 pilot and you’re looking to fight for freedom, they will hire you here,” Graham told reporters after a meeting with Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. “They’re going to look throughout NATO nations for willing fighter pilots who retired to come help them until they can get their pilots trained. So we’re going to get these jets in the air sooner rather than later.”

Ukraine received its first few F-16s in late July, and there should be about 20 ready for combat by the end of the year, but training pilots is a slow process.

Only about 20 Ukrainian Air Force pilots will be qualified by the end of the year, and that’s about half the number needed for the available aircraft. The Vipers are expected to act as a deterrence to long-range attacks from the Russian side of the line by forcing it to release weapons from a greater distance.

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

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Tough as nails, able to get in and out of small unimproved runways or high mountain lakes, while carrying a ton of freight, ponderously slow and superbly stable, the Beaver led a renaissance in backcountry air service. It also set standards for safety and reliability in the far-flung wilderness of northern North America.

It spread those attributes around the world, achieving previously impossible results from the Sahara to Mount Everest and both poles. There were 1,167 built, and they remain coveted and useful platforms in myriad roles almost 80 years after the first was finished in 1947.

• READ MORE: WWII-Era ‘Philippine Mars’ Transport Seaplane Headed to Arizona Museum

CF-JOS (now C-FJOS) has toiled most of its life on British Columbia’s rugged West Coast, initially as a lifeline for loggers, miners, and anglers, and most recently, as one of dozens of Beavers providing scheduled floatplane passenger service for Harbour Air Seaplanes between Vancouver and Seattle and about a dozen coastal communities. 

C-FJOShas been written off twice and rebuilt (Beavers are often rebuilt from the data plate alone), has tens of thousands of hours and a million stories, including its own electrifying one. Now, at 68 years old, this seemingly vintage aircraft sits at the forefront of a massive technological renaissance in air travel. 

In 2019, Harbour Air fitted C-FJOS with a magniX electric motor, batteries, and control system, and it has since accumulated more than 78 flights. Based on the experience of the past four years with C-FJOS, Harbour Air has ordered 50 electric propulsion systems from magniX to convert its whole fleet of Beavers and will likely become the first airline to use electric power in scheduled passenger service, possibly by 2026.

In doing so, the chunky, awkward-looking, sheet-metal creation of another era will climb slowly past sleekly modern multicopters and other futuristic designs to serve the market the new aircraft were supposed to generate.

It’s a story of innovation tempered with practicality that is a common thread in the development of aviation as it takes on a future that demands a nimble and responsible industry.

The original Beaver was a fuel hog whose radial engine spewed so much oil in normal operation that de Havilland put an oil filler spout in the cockpit so the sump could be replenished in flight. That unrestrained use of petroleum products is receiving considerable scrutiny these days and the public, through its governments and regulators, want an aviation industry that can get it anywhere on earth in less than a day without beating up the planet.

• READ MORE: Elfly Adds Facilities at Torp Airport to Build Fjord-Hopping Electric Seaplane

It’s a tall order. It takes a lot of energy to hoist a few hundred people to 35,000 feet and move them thousands of miles. But progress is being made, and the goal of making aviation a net-zero-carbon creator by 2050 is considered doable.

Electric aviation is just part of that solution. Hybrid systems using hydrogen show promise, but it’s unlikely that hydrocarbon-fueled aircraft will become obsolete anytime soon. But with developments in the production of sustainable aviation fuels, much of it from agricultural waste and overcapacity, they can be made much better for the environment.

The quest for environmental stewardship in aviation has already paid dividends. The latest  aircraft engines are up to 30 percent more fuel efficient and have the side benefit of being much quieter than previous generations because noise is the sound of energy being wasted.

The environmental shift is also leading to a change in aircraft design philosophy, although it’s fair to say that most of the futuristic designs on the drawing boards are nothing new. 

The physics of flight are well understood, and the blended bodies and truss-braced wing concepts now being explored are the results of technology catching up to those seemingly radical designs.

In the longer term, there are concepts that seem right out of science fiction that are being seriously studied. One that stands out is using nuclear fusion to power aircraft.

• READ MORE: Connecticut Airport Keeping Seaplanes on the River

But if that sounds ridiculously far-fetched (and by the way the concept of nuclear-powered aircraft emerged in the late 1950s), imagine telling one of the folks at de Havilland in 1956 building CF-JOS that it would fly on electric power. 

The plane was built at the height of the Beaver’s popularity. Orders were pouring in from all over the world, and its many innovative and performance features for the time made it a state-of-the-art aircraft.

Creativity and big ideas have always driven aviation, and there’s no sign of that letting up. But what’s interesting and different about the industry is that when something is developed that just plain works, its life is practically endless through continuous improvement. Just ask a Harbour Air pilot, or the crew of a B-52, which is about the same age as a Beaver and is forecast to have a service life of 100 years.

This feature first appeared in the Summer 2024 Ultimate Issue print edition.

The post Ultimate Issue: From Radial to Radical appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The flights were conducted at the Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base under a waiver from the Air Force. Merlin has contracts to develop autonomous flight systems for several Air Force platforms and the 1960s-era tankers are the first in line.

• READ MORE: U.S. Air Force, Merlin Partner for KC-135 Autonomous Flight Demo

Merlin said the first flights gathered data on how to design and fine-tune the robotic controls.

“Autonomous capabilities are essential to increasing operational capacity for the USAF and enhancing national security, emphasizing the importance of these data collection flights to properly inform the integration design ahead of flight demonstrations,” Merlin CEO Matt George said in a news release. “Over the last few months, we’ve achieved important milestones on the KC-135 that allow us to strengthen the relationship between the pilot and the aircraft as well as enhance safety and operational efficiency aboard a vital military aircraft.”

This article first appeared on AVweb.com.

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According to Federal News Network, negotiators for the 11,000 members of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) union said this week they’ve reached a tentative deal with the FAA after two years of negotiations. It has yet to be ratified and will also have to go through a legal review to make sure it fits within federal labor relations rules, but PASS president Dave Spero told the Federal News Network he expects the process to lead to a final deal.

PASS represents aviation safety inspectors and technicians. The work-from-home provisions seemed to be the sticking point. The new deal doesn’t guarantee a set schedule for office visits but instead makes it more difficult for the agency to deny requests for remote work.

In an email to the workers late last year, the FAA threw in the towel in its effort to make them come into work at least three days a week.

“All agreed that building and maintaining a high-performing workforce of dedicated employees and having FAA continue to be a great place to work remain our top priorities,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker and other brass said in the email.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVWeb.com.

The post FAA Safety Inspectors Will Receive $5,000 Contract Bonus appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The scheduled service, which used a company-owned base in Boston Harbor and the 23rd Street seaplane dock in Manhattan, began service in 2021 but didn’t make enough money to keep going. It used amphibious Cessna Caravans and also flew from Boston to Nantucket and Provincetown and from Manhattan to the Hamptons.

The main sales pitch was saving time. Boston to New York took about 90 minutes.

Tailwind Air CEO Alan Ram told the Boston Globe traffic increased by 10 percent in the past year, but only about 3,000 people flew on the Caravans and that wasn’t enough to keep it going. A one-way fare was $400-$800.

It took more than five years to get all the approvals in place and they remain valid, so Ram isn’t ruling out another group of investors reviving the service.

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

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The Baron is being used as a test bed to compare the performance of General Aviation Modifications Inc.’s (GAMI’s) G100UL unleaded avgas with 100LL. The stains are on the wing with the tank holding G100UL, but it has not been determined that they came from the fuel.

• READ MORE: GAMI Responds to Cirrus G100UL Service Advisory

“We have scheduled a mechanic to determine the cause of the leak coming from the left wing of the Baron, which should happen in the next few days,” AOPA senior vice president for media Kollin Stagnito told AVweb. “We are not yet sure what the substance is, nor where it is coming from.”

Word of the stains has been a hot topic on various forums, and speculation is rampant as to their cause.

• READ MORE: Unleaded Fuel Debate Heats Up in Oshkosh

GAMI chief engineer George Braly told AVweb the cause is most likely a faulty or improperly installed fuel cell bladder or patch inside the bladder. Braly said the bladders in the Baron may be more than 40 years old. He said G100UL has been tested for compatibility with the bladder material and there were no problems. He also added that fuel bladder leaks are a relatively common issue with Barons.

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

The post Stains Reported on Wing of AOPA Aircraft Fueled by GAMI G100UL appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Only six Ukrainian air force pilots have been fully trained to fly the Vipers, and Ukraine is expected to take a conservative approach to their deployment.

According to the Washington Post, the first few F-16s will likely be used in defensive roles rather than mixing it up with Russian MiGs and Sukhois. In fact, it’s still not known what operating restrictions have been imposed by the NATO countries donating the aircraft.

At first, the F-16s will operate well out of harm’s way, shooting down drones and doing other defensive tasks. Ukraine says the training process for its pilots is an issue because it takes more than six months to get them the language and technical skills they need to operate a Western aircraft using much different systems and control doctrines than the old Soviet airframes they normally fly. And since only the best Ukrainian pilots are selected for F-16 training, their commanders are loathe to lose them because of the gaps they leave in the ranks of experienced pilots.

Despite all the problems, Ukraine is still welcoming the addition of F-16s, particularly their longer-range radars and flexibility and the fear factor they will instill in opposing Russian pilots.

Becca Wasser, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, told the Post it makes sense for the Ukrainians to integrate the F-16s slowly.

“If you have this exquisite capability, are you going to use it immediately, knowing that there’s a greater risk of it being expended or are you going to withhold it and use it so it has broader strategic value?” Wasser said.

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

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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.

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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.

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