EAA’s Young Eagles Aims for 2.5 Million Introductory Flights The Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program, which over three decades has become the largest youth aviation education program, is focusing its efforts on reaching 2.5 million Young Eagles flown by the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in convention in July 2026. “From those first Young Eagle flights…
Legislation Introduced to Stop ADS-B Misuse Companion bills introduced by Congress seek to address growing concerns about the misuse of ADS-B flight tracking data that has been increasingly used by some airports and state governments to collect fees from pilots. U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., drafted the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act while U.S. Rep.…
Call to Action: Pause for GA Safety This spring more than a dozen pilot organizations launched the 2025 National Pause for General Aviation Safety campaign with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team. The initiative encourages every general aviation pilot to take at least 15 to 60 minutes in the remainder of the…
AOPA Applauds FAA Withdrawal of Proposed Airman Medical Denial Policy The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association applauds the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to withdraw its proposed changes to the airman medical certification process – changes that would have replaced the longstanding practice of deferring incomplete medical applications with the issuance of immediate denials. The policy,…
Laser Strikes on Aircraft Continue To Be Dangerously High Pilots reported 12,840 laser strikes to the Federal Aviation Administration last year. While that is a 3% decrease from 2023, shining a laser at an aircraft poses a serious safety threat and is a federal crime. People who shine lasers at aircraft face FAA fines of…
Senate Forms Sustainable Aviation Caucus A bipartisan Senate Sustainable Aviation Caucus formed in late September 2024, bringing praise from business aviation leaders. Senators founding the caucus include Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), with Moran and Duckworth serving as caucus chairs. The House established a similar caucus in…
Deicing Safety Alert The National Transportation Safety Board issued Safety Alert SA-097 ahead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, reminding operators that flying in icing conditions can present operational risks, including the adverse effects of airframe and propeller icing on aircraft performance, which can make managing the airplane’s flightpath and airspeed more difficult and can…
Per the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule expanding safety management systems (SMS) to Part 135 on-demand operators, certain Part 21 certificate holders and 91.147 air tour operations may pose challenges to business aircraft operators as they work to adapt the rule’s requirements to their specific operations. The 160-page…
President Biden signed the bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024, May 16, which renews authority for the agency for the next five years and invests in air travel infrastructure nationwide. Regarding the passage of the bill, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said, “Both sides of the aisle, on both sides of…
Mental Health FAA Committee Releases Recommendation Report The Mental Health & Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) recently released their Recommendation Report. The ARC was formed in December 2023 to mitigate potential aviation safety risks due to mental health. The ARC provided a forum for the U.S. aviation community to discuss the barriers preventing…