MAKE CHAPTER 288 YOUR AVIATION HOME! E-AB, TYPE CERTIFIED, VINTAGE, WARBIRD, ETC.
EAA288 WISHES OUR PAST PRESIDENT GAGGLE LEAD AND ALL AROUND GREAT GUY, KEITH PHILLIPS, A MOST HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
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EAA288 Webmaster, Rick Weiss
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CONGRATULATIONS TO GRANT BOWMAN OUR 2021 RAY SCHOLARSHIP AWARD WINNER
HE PASSED HIS CHECKRIDE ON NOV 17, 2021
Chapter 288 works to continue the spirit of general aviation in the Daytona Beach area. We host several events throughout the year for our members which feature prominent aviators and aviation technology.
Chapter 288 members also volunteer at aviation related functions throughout the community to teach people about general aviation. Volunteering at local airshows and hosting Young Eagles events are some of the ways that EAA 288 members participate in the community.
Chapter 288's members are also very involved with the EAA on a national level. The chapter also has a good turnout at the EAA's annual fly-in, 'AirVenture', in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
We welcome you to join our Chapter.
The next date is approaching and we’re already making preparations.
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This from "Propwash" - The business of building an airplane is a complex, convoluted, nigh-impossible undertaking best left to aerospace engineers and multinational corporations, yes? The folks at Sonex, the Oshkosh-based manufacturer of kit aircraft such as the Waiex-B, Sonex-B, and Onex, disagree—emphatically. To prove their assertion, Sonex owner Mark Schaible and the Sonex team have devised a compelling exercise they call One Week Wonder.
The appositely named endeavor is a seven-day undertaking during which volunteers assemble a genuine, operational, Sonex, Waiex-B aircraft from the selfsame kit the company provides its customers. Arriving bright and early on the opening day of events like AirVenture and Sun 'n Fun, volunteers get immediately about the work of turning individual parts into sub-assemblies, sub-assemblies into major-assemblies, and finally, major-assemblies into a complete Waiex-B. While some volunteers read instructions, study schematics, and rivet, others busy themselves engaging onlookers, answering questions, and even offering individuals interested in doing so opportunity to help assemble the airplane.
At the end of seven-days, the completed aircraft is ready to taxi. By the end of the airshow—after requisite inspections and sign-off by a D.A.R.—the Waiex-B is issued its airworthiness certificate. The feat is remarkable and—in addition to bringing forth a slick, eminently capable airplane—serves to foster interest in general aviation and demonstrate that regular, non-engineer types can indeed build an airplane.
Interested in Volunteering to help at the OWW? Let your webmaster know by sending a message to: EAA288Webmaster@gmail.com
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WASHINGTON—The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has added a new feature to MedXPress that allows pilots to track the status of their medical certificates online throughout the application and review process. Prior to adding this new feature, pilots had to call the Office of Aerospace Medicine to check their application status. “If you can track where your ridesharing car is or the status of a company delivering your package, pilots should be able to see online the real-time status of their application,” said Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup “We will continue to explore how we can be more transparent with the aviation community.” As soon as an application is submitted, it will appear in the pilot’s MedXPress profile. Status updates will change as the application moves through the FAA’s review process. If an application is deferred or denied, the applicant will receive detailed information through the mail. The certification process itself does not change. To learn more about the entire FAA medical certification process, click the button below.
EAA CHAPTER 72 - PIKES PEAK REGION
In 2018, a nearly completed RANS S-19 was offered to EAA Chapter 72 as a gift. After we got over the shock and pleasure of this gift, we determined the best use of this extremely well built aircraft would be to raffle the aircraft off. The proceeds of this raffle will be dedicated to scholarships for pilot and mechanic training. In addition, our Chapter will acquire a flight simulator for our region’s pilots to use for recurrency and advanced training. In the interim, until now, we have completed the aircraft with only final paint to be applied in June 2022. EAA Chapter 72 will raffle off a brand new 2022 RANS S-19. There will ONLY be 2500 tickets sold for $100 apiece and sales will begin January 1 and end on December 16, 2022, or sooner if the tickets are sold out prior. The raffle drawing will occur on December 17, 2022 or sooner if all tickets are sold.
The Biden administration is planning to nominate Phillip Washington as the next FAA administrator, according to a report from The Seattle Times. Washington is currently serving as CEO of Denver International Airport (DEN), a position he has held since July 12, 2021, and his first aviation-related role. Before taking over at DEN, he worked as CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and CEO of the Denver Regional Transportation District. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Washington served in the U.S. Army for 24 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Columbia College, a master’s in management from Webster University and is a graduate of the Harvard University Kennedy School for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. In addition, Washington led the Biden administration’s transportation team during the presidential transition. As previously reported by AVweb, former FAA Administrator Steve Dickson announced plans to resign last February and officially stepped down at the end of March. Billy Nolen, who previously worked as associate administrator for aviation safety, is serving as the agency’s acting administrator until a new administrator is chosen. If nominated for the role, Washington will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate prior to stepping into the five-year position.
The EAA AirVenture Aviation Center today issued what they consider “required reading” for OshKOSH bound pilots for 2022. The EAA will be hosting a “tips for flying in” webinar on 22 Jun 2022 at 7:00pm CDT (see FMI link below for registration). About that required reading…because of a changed FAA internal procedure, there is no longer a NOTAM for OshKOSH, the document is now called a NOTICE. Of particular importance: Two VOR’s have ben decommissioned (RFD and MBL) Several IFR routings have been changed Aircraft camping no longer allowed at KATW There are other changes, and it is highly recommended that pilots flying to OshKOSH familiarize themselves and thoroughly understand the 20220 AirVenture notice. The aforementioned NOTICE is in effect from 12:000 noon CDT on 21 July until 6:00am CDT on 1 August. That is four days before AirVenture, so early birds (vendors, exhibitors, and general attendees), consider yourself warned, that at 12:00noon CDT on the Thursday prior to AirVenture, these new NOTICE items are in effect! Mr. Sean Elliott, EAA’s VP of Advocacy and Safety stated that “although the designation may have been changed by the FAA, the document still states the official requirements and expectations for pilots. We also urge all pilots to log appropriate cross-country time prior to their trip to Oshkosh so they have the proficiency and confidence to fly safely.” As you are aware, some changes are not completed overnight, and as you see/read/hear references to NOTAM in the AirVenture material, substitute NOTICE, and heed accordingly.
FMI: https://eaa.org, https://pages.eaa.org/WBN2022-06-22FlyingintoAirVenture_LP-Registration.html
Section 61.65(d) contains the aeronautical experience requirements for a person applying for an instrument-airplane rating. Section 61.65(d)(2)(ii)(C) states, in relevant part, that an applicant must complete 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time that includes at least one cross country flight that is performed under instrument flight rules and involves "three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems." As noted, the FAA has previously issued two legal interpretations to address what constitutes "three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems." The Glaser interpretation, issued in 2008, concluded that an applicant for an instrument rating must use three different kinds of navigation systems to meet § 61.65(d)(2)(ii)(C). The Pratte interpretation, issued in 2012, confirmed the conclusion in Glaser and further concluded that precision approach radars (PAR) and airport surveillance radars (ASR) are not considered navigation systems for the purpose of meeting the requirements in § 61.65(d)(2)(ii)(C). For the reasons provided in this memorandum, the Office of the Chief Counsel has decided to rescind the Glaser and Pratte interpretations.
A UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE ATLAS 5 ROCKET WILL LAUNCH THE USSD 12 MISSION WITH WIDE FIELD of VIEW, EXPERIMENTAL WARNING SATELLITE FOR THE U.S. SPACE FORCE. THE LAUNCH WILL BE FROM SLC-41
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch with another batch of Starlink internet satellites.
The booster stage flying Friday — tail number B1060 — set a new record to become the most-flown member of SpaceX’s fleet of reusable rockets. It debuted June 30, 2020, with the launch of a GPS navigation satellite for the U.S. military, then flew again in September and October of 2020 on Starlink missions. It launched six times in 2021 with the Türksat 5A geostationary communications satellite, four Starlink missions, and SpaceX’s Transporter 2 small satellite rideshare mission. Friday’s launch was the booster’s fourth flight of 2022, all dedicated missions for the Starlink network. SpaceX has qualified Falcon 9 boosters for at least 15 missions, up from the previous design life of 10 flights for each Falcon 9 first stage. Landing of the first stage on Friday’s mission occurred moments before the Falcon 9’s second stage engine cuts off to deliver the Starlink satellites into orbit. Separation of the 53 spacecraft, built by SpaceX in Redmond, Washington, was confirmed at T+plus 15 minutes, 26 seconds.
Two braking burns slowed the rocket for landing on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” around 400 miles (650 kilometers) downrange approximately eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.
UPDATE: Astra launched its Rocket 3.3 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:43 p.m. ET Sunday, but the mission to take two NASA payloads failed to reach orbit. The upper stage's engine cut out just over seven minutes into flight, causing a tumble and the science spacecraft were lost.
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A commercial small satellite launch vehicle developed by Astra will launch six small experimental CubeSats developed by NASA and U.S. universities. The payloads include the CubeSat Radio Interferometry Experiment, consisting of two small satellites, the BAMA 1 CubeSat, the Ionospheric Neutron Content Analyzer, QubeSat, and a mission called R5-S1. The CubeSats were selected for launch by NASA through the agency's Venture Class Launch Services program.
Astra Space is a launch vehicle company based in San Francisco, California, that develops pump-fed, liquid bipropellant propulsion engines for DARPA and NASA as well as their Astra Rocket launch vehicle.
SpaceX's next cargo mission to the International Space Station won't launch this week after all. The robotic flight, called CRS-25, will send a SpaceX Dragon capsule toward the orbiting lab atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The liftoff had been scheduled for Friday (June 10), but that's not going to happen. "NASA and SpaceX are standing down from this week’s Falcon 9 launch of the CRS-25 cargo mission to the International Space Station," NASA officials wrote in an emailed statement this afternoon (June 6). "Officials from NASA and SpaceX met today to discuss an issue identified over the weekend and the best path forward."
UPDATE JUNE 23, 3033
NASA failed to complete a fourth critical “wet dress rehearsal” of its massive Space Launch System moon rocket Monday June 20 . That could mean a delay in the launch of Artemis I, the uncrewed around-the-moon mission now targeted for August. Any delay will likely push the return of astronauts to the moon, now slated for 2025, further into the future. But despite not completing the countdown as planned, NASA officials said they considered the exercise a success as they had reached most of their objectives and collected tons of data to review. NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Thomas Whitmeyer compared the rehearsal to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. “We got an awful lot of the pieces put together,” he said during a teleconference with reporters Tuesday. “And we have a pretty good idea what the puzzle looks like.” Whitmeyer said officials will have a better idea if an August launch was still viable in a few days after reviewing the data from the rehearsal. Teams at Kennedy Space Center began the exercise Saturday evening with the goal of going through all the prelaunch checklists — including fueling the rocket's tanks — and counting down to nearly T-0 as if it were launch day for the rocket's uncrewed trip around the moon. They made it to T-10 minutes before a leaky hydrogen valve forced officials to end the rehearsal early. “There is the possibility of another WDR out there,” said NASA spokesman Derrol Nail, during a NASA broadcast of the countdown, though NASA officials Tuesday said they had not made a decision on whether or not to repeat th exercise.
UPDATE JUNE 6th
Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. During this flight, the spacecraft will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.
UPDATE APRIL 26TH
NASA will roll its Artemis 1 moon rocket off the launch pad today (April 25), and you can watch the action live. The huge Artemis 1 stack — a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with an Orion crew capsule on top — is scheduled to roll off Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today at about 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT). Watch it live at space.com
UPDATE APRIL 18TH
Artemis 1's Space Launch System was attempting to complete a "wet dress rehearsal" that began April 1, but after several failed attempts at fueling, the team has decided to roll the stack off Pad 39B and back to KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building to replace a faulty valve and address a leaky umbilical.
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Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars.
Artemis 1 is a planned uncrewed test flight for NASA's Artemis program. It is the first flight of the agency's Space Launch System super heavy-lift launch vehicle and the first flight of the Orion MPCV. NASA began the Artemis 1 wet dress on April 1 and intended to wrap it up on April 3. But several technical issues cropped up, twice foiling efforts to load propellant into the SLS' tanks. The mission team initially delayed and ultimately aborted the test, to accommodate the launch of the private Ax-1 astronaut mission, which lifted off from a neighboring pad at KSC on April 8. The plan was to resume the wet dress on April 11. But team members soon discovered a faulty valve in the Artemis 1 stack's mobile launch tower, a problem that pushed the beginning of the procedure back to April 12 and caused a modification to the test design: The team decided to fuel up only the SLS core stage, not its upper stage as well. The wet dress was supposed to conclude April 14, but that's not happening, given that the mission team won't perform the scheduled simulated countdowns. We'll have to stay tuned to learn about the agency's next steps. Uncertainty also surrounds the Artemis 1 launch date; NASA will not set one until the wet dress is done and the resulting data analyzed, agency officials have said. Artemis 1 is a prelude to Artemis 2, which is expected to launch astronauts around the moon in 2024. Artemis 3 will land astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2025 or 2026, if all goes according to plan.
UPDATED: JUNE 20, 2022
In a bid to avoid potential disruptions in air-travel, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has urged the chief executives of major U.S. airlines to expediently address risks posed by the imminent roll-out of nationwide, 5G wireless networks.
Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said in a letter that AT&T and Verizon—after previously delaying plans to do so—are looking to boost C-Band 5G services around some airports by July. Concerns that the 5G service could interfere with radio-altimeters led to disruptions at some U.S. airports earlier this year. Nolen urged airlines to step-up efforts to retrofit aircraft with newer radio-altimeters, saying: “There are no guarantees that all large markets will retain the current [5G] safeguards.” He warned that as wireless carriers boost signals, some “less capable aircraft” may be unable to access certain airports without altimeter retrofits. Susceptibility to C-Band 5G signals is a characteristic of older, RF-filter-equipped radio-altimeters. Such devices lack protection from neighboring frequency bands. The conflation of general aircraft capability and 5G susceptibility is apocryphal.
On 17 January 2022, Airlines CEOs warned that 5G deployment would precipitate a “catastrophic” aviation crisis that would see the majority of commercial air-traffic grounded. Under pressure from the White House, AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay their respective 5G roll-outs through 05 July. The telecommunications giants subsequently enabled some wireless towers while powering-down those near airports.
The FAA states it is in the early stages of working with AT&T and Verizon to identify markets where either a new tower or an increase in signal power will cause the least disruption. Compliant tenors notwithstanding, Verizon and AT&T plan to pursue a full rollout of their networks by the end of 2023.” Aviation industry officials, meanwhile, have identified a pathway to retrofit the most vulnerable radio altimeters by the end of 2022. In addition to AT&T and Verizon, another 19 telecommunication companies are expected to enter the 5G market during that time-frame. Nolen expressed the hope that those companies would weigh their plans and potential profits against the lives of millions of air-travelers. Verizon asserted that it was working with the FAA, Federal Communications Commission, and aviation industry, and was confident it would achieve “robust deployment of C-Band without significant disruptions to the traveling public.” Airlines for America, an industry trade-group representing American, Delta, and United Airlines, among others, put forth that the industry recognized the need to implement a permanent solution, while continuing to ensure the highest level of safety. AT&T did not comment. Some airlines have raised concerns about footing the bill to retrofit altimeters only to face paying for a replacement in a few years. Nolen posited that in the absence of FCC action capping EM transmissions at current power levels, additional disruptions remain likely.
UPDATED May 8, 2022
FAA Says Some Radar Altimeters Need Replacing (This by by Russ Niles - AvWeb)
Reuters is reporting the FAA met with airlines and cellular service providers last Wednesday to plan the eventual replacement of the 10 percent of radar altimeters considered susceptible to interference from 5G C-Band signals. The news agency got a look at a letter to those invited to the meeting and the agency isn’t interested in hearing any other opinions on the topic. Reuters quoted the letter as saying the purpose of the meeting was to set “an achievable timeframe to retrofit/replace radar altimeters in the U.S. fleet.” It further directed aviation representatives “to offer options and commit to actions necessary to meet these objectives.” In the frenzy that followed the fractured rollout of 5G in January, the FAA quickly cleared about 90 percent of the fleet for operations where 5G is available, but the remainder are restricted in the types of instrument landings they can do. As an interim measure, some of the altimeters might be fitted with filters that can suppress the interference, but the agency seems determined to get rid of the offending equipment. There was no mention of who will be paying for the new equipment but it’s bound to come up. It’s also unclear what will happen after the July 6 deadline set by the telecoms to end the restricted operation of 5G near 50 airports that was part of a deal struck with them by the FAA in January. Last week Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said issues with 5G would linger for years.
UPDATED May 3, 2022
Back in April 2021 the FCC auctioned off a new cellular frequency range for use with the new 5G cellular technology, this frequency range is called C-band. However, neither the FCC nor the FAA checked to see if this new frequency wouldn't interfere with existing aircraft radio altimeters. They assumed it would not since they are different frequency ranges; however, since these frequency ranges sit very close together on the spectrum, many aircraft’s radio altimeters receive mask produced interference with the C-band frequencies, this causes radio altimeters installed on aircraft to produce incorrect readings. AT&T and Verizon both agreed on Jan. 18 to delay switching on about 500 5G C-band antennas near key airports until July 5. The FAA conducted a study aimed at finding out which aircraft/models of radio altimeters were prone to interference/inaccurate readings, the agency started work on a fix for this issue a couple of months ago. However, FAA administrator Steve Dickson said that the fix is not fully reliable and while it is a good stop gap, they should work on a more permanent solution to the issue. Dickson previously said that the FAA was working with radio altimeter manufacturers, cellular service providers and the RTCA to develop new radio altimeter standards, and that they hoped to settle on these new standards by early next year.
The FAA has been holding daily meetings with AT&T and Verizon that it said had “enabled us to closely tailor the areas requiring mitigation while aviation stakeholders take the necessary steps to retrofit existing radio altimeters with antenna filters.”. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been holding at least weekly meetings on the issue and has told Congress that they were making progress but that it wouldn’t be completely resolved by this summer. The FAA will be holding a meeting on Wednesday May 4, with telecom and airline industry officials, it wants to use the meeting to establish an achievable timeframe to retrofit/replace the radar altimeters which have not been cleared, it will also look at what will happen after July 5 and said that there would be “changes to U.S. national airspace operating environment as a result of future 5G C-band deployment in the coming months.”. The meeting will also include a discussion on prioritizing retrofits with antenna filters which mitigate potential interference from 5G, officials said these filters are currently in production and are able to be retrofitted onto existing radio altimeters, and that a key question was how to determine which aircraft are most at risk of interference from C-band and should therefore get retrofitted with these first.
UPDATED May 2, 2022
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Congress that the issues surrounding the potential interference with aircraft radar altimeters and the full rollout of 5G cell service won’t all be fixed by the July deadline set in an agreement with Verizon and AT&T. He also said he doesn’t expect the Cabinet-level standoff that happened in January as the industry moved forward with the rollout. After White House intervention, the FAA, FCC and the telecoms agreed to a plan to limit 5G service near airports while the technical details of preventing the interference with the altimeters is worked out. Buttigieg told Congress that all parties are working toward a calm solution “largely because we have much better dialogue and collaboration, not just among regulators but among industries, and have been directly engaging with the airlines, the aviation equipment manufacturers and with the telecom carriers to make sure that we’re on a better path.” There have only been a few scattered reports of 5G interference since the network went live despite dire predictions by airlines and technical groups. There were significant cancellations in Washington State but virtually all were resolved.
UPDATED FEB 4, 2022
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson briefed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 3 about the ongoing effort to enable 5G C-band wireless network activation without compromising aviation safety. General aviation advocates watched with concern that mitigations for many aircraft could be a long time coming.
READ ABOUT IT AT THIS LINK:
UPDATED JAN 24, 2022
The CEOs of American Airlines and United Airlines say cooperation and collaboration in the past week between airlines, telecommunications companies and government agencies minimized the effect of the rollout of 5G cell service to airline service. The release of details on the strength and nature of the 5G signals by the telecoms made it possible to avert the crisis they’d been predicting a week earlier.
UPDATED JAN 18, 2022
(From Flying Magazine)
AT&T on Tuesday said it would delay rolling out 5G service on newly available frequencies, a day after U.S. airlines warned of widespread disruptions in air travel. “At our sole discretion, we have voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment, since they have not utilized the two years they’ve had to responsibly plan for this deployment,” AT&T said in a statement.
“We are frustrated by the FAA’s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it do so in a timely manner. We are launching our advanced 5G services everywhere else as planned with the temporary exception of this limited number of towers. ”AT&T along with another 5G carrier, Verizon Communications, had said they would create buffer zones at 50 airports in 46 markets, where they would turn off transmitters and make other adjustments.
On Monday, U.S. airlines warned the White House that possible interference with radio altimeters could cause delays and cancellations across the passenger and shipping sectors. “It’s the transmission towers for 5G, not the use of 5G in cellphones, that is the issue. It is important to make that distinction. Les Abend, FLYING contributing editor in a letter to the Biden administration obtained by FLYING, airline CEOs warned that if the rollout is allowed to move forward, “the nation’s commerce will grind to a halt. … Unless major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded.”
The FCC has authorized AT&T and Verizon to start using the frequencies Wednesday. “This means that on a day like [Saturday], more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be subjected to cancellations, diversions or delays,” the letter says. The letter requests that “5G be implemented everywhere in the country except within the approximate two miles of airport runways at affected airports as defined by the FAA. ”Executives signing the letter—organized by industry group Airlines for America—represented passenger carriers Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU), and Hawaiian Airlines. Cargo airlines included Atlas Air Worldwide (NASDAQ:AAWW), FedEx Express (NYSE:FDX), and UPS Airlines (NYSE:UPS). It was sent to top officials at the FAA, Federal Communications Commission, Department of Transportation, and the National Economic Council. Phone carriers have long pointed out that 5G is already in use in France, and American air carriers fly there on a daily basis with no issues.
Les Abend, FLYING contributing editor and retired Boeing 777 captain, has been watching the 5G issue unfold for years, noting the technology from 1G to 5G has taken the better part of two decades to evolve.While it may seem that the airlines only recently became aware of the issue and raised the alarm, Abend notes that so many technological things—and the potential impact on industries beyond cellular technology—were not considered during its development. “It’s the transmission towers for 5G, not the use of 5G in cellphones, that is the issue,” Abend says. “It is important to make that distinction.”
The aviation industry warns that 5G transmission will disrupt the signals necessary for the proper operation of several systems on transport category aircraft—and many business jets as well—and one of the most important is the radio altimeter that gives the pilot critical information about the aircraft’s height above terrain. Radio altimeter information systems issue verbal warnings and cautions on takeoff and landing, letting the pilot know how close they are to the ground below the airplane. These callouts are critical for instrument approaches, especially during periods of extremely low visibility—what are known as CAT II and CAT III approaches. “The radio altimeter provides critical information on these approaches. Certain parameters, such as altitude, need to be correct before the approach can continue,” Abend says. For example, an approach might call for the jet to level off at a certain altitude and stay there until they reach the final approach fix before it can continue the descent. “If the pilot loses the ability to determine the aircraft’s height above ground, the pilot also won’t know when to go around,” Abend explains, adding that if the radio altimeter is unreliable, it could result in a canceled flight. “If it is part of the aircraft’s minimum equipment list, it becomes a no-go situation.” If the weather descends below certain minimums and a CAT II or CAT III approach is required, says Abend, the flight may be canceled.
Abend is skeptical of the wireless providers’ assertions that 5G is already in use in Europe where U.S. airlines fly every day without issue.
“I would like to know where those 5G towers are in relation to Paris and Heathrow,” he says. The airport buffer zones promised by Verizon and AT&T were expected to be in place for the next six months.
On Sunday, the FAA announced it has cleared about 45 percent of the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet to perform low-visibility landings at many of the airports but, “even with these new approvals, flights at some airports may still be affected,” the agency said. United Airlines issued a statement Monday saying deployment will result “in the suspension of cargo flights…causing a negative ripple-effect on an already fragile supply chain.
READ MORE about the airports and buffer zones.
The controversy over the 5G deployment came to a head earlier this month, when— after pressure from the U.S. aviation industry—AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay the release by two weeks, until Wednesday. 5G networks use a set of radio waves called the C-band spectrum. The purpose of 5G is to provide for faster internet operations; however, the FAA and other members of the aviation industry have expressed concern that 5G may interfere with aircraft radio altimeters during approach to certain airports, and therefore have a negative impact on flight safety. The FAA has long been warning about potential safety repercussions from the rollout, arguing that the restrictions could potentially disrupt air travel and cargo shipments around the world, especially when combined with airline staffing issues resulting from COVID-19 and weather delays.
UPDATE as of JAN 9, 2022
The FAA has issued its list of 50 airports that will be protected (Daytona and Sanford aren't on the list) from Verizon and AT&T’s 5G signals for six months and the criteria it used suggests the list would have been a lot longer if the FAA had its way. The list was released Friday, a few days after the telecoms agreed to push back their major rollout of 5G cell service from Jan. 5 to Jan.19 and to put buffer zones around a maximum of 50 airports picked by the FAA until next July 19.
UPDATE as of JAN 4, 2022
The main event between corporate heavyweights—the airline and telecom industries— will have to hold off for another two weeks. Both sides today confirmed the agreement to delay launching the latter’s 5G network, in deference to the former’s concerns over mass flight cancellations due to safety concerns that the powerful broadband signals were close enough on the frequency range that they could corrupt airliners’ radar altimeters. Those altimeters are critical to extreme low-visibility approaches, including autoland procedures.
In a prepared statement, Rich Young, Verizon spokesperson, said, “We’ve agreed to a two-week delay which promises the certainty of bringing this nation our game-changing 5G network in January delivered over America’s best and most reliable network,” echoed by AT&T, which said its network would implement additional protective measures at vulnerable airports over the next six months.
Officials from the airline industry cited the resemblance of their mitigation recommendations to those already implemented in France. That is, limiting or cutting power involving 5G service providers in sensitive areas.
With the telecom giants refusing on Monday to consider the delay, trade group Airlines for America (A4A) had prepared a lawsuit to block the launch of the broadband services. That lawsuit is now shelved, at least temporarily. But A4A said they are keeping their hands close to that shelf, should the telecom giants reevaluate. The infrastructure for their 5G networks has cost AT&T and Verizon in excess of $80 billion to date.
UPDATE as of JAN 1, 2022
Verizon and AT&T say they’ll turn down the power of 5G broadband signals near major airports of their choosing for six months but otherwise the rollout of the much-anticipated system will go ahead as planned on Jan. 5. In a scathing letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson released by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon’s Hans Vestberg chided the government officials for what they characterized as an eleventh-hour request to prevent widespread flight restrictions when they’ve had at least a year to prepare for 5G. To read the full AOPA article click this link:
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The FAA effectively rejected assertions by the wireless industry and the Federal Communications Commission that 5G C-band transmitters can be activated in January as planned without putting aircraft at risk, pledging a cooperative approach to resolving safety concerns while setting the stage for weather delays and cancellations. The agency issued a pair of airworthiness directives (ADs) that take effect December 9 and are likely to limit a wide range of aircraft operations when the new 5G networks are activated, including scheduled passenger and cargo service, emergency response, and medical transportation.
EAA has formed a team to explore ways of improving aviation safety by focusing on responses to the often-tragic 180-degree turn back to the runway following engine failure on takeoff.
This group, led by Charlie Precourt, EAA’s board vice chairman, and Sean Elliott, EAA’s vice president of advocacy and safety, also includes representatives from the flight instruction and flight test communities, academia, data analysis experts, and others.
A recent survey conducted by AOPA of pilots and aircraft owners across the country confirmed what we have been hearing from many members for several years: Older pilots who are just as safe, current, and proficient as any others continue to find their insurance policies unceremoniously dropped or canceled, or much more expensive—just for being a day older than 70.
EAA has reported that the FAA has published draft guidance to implement an optional task-based Phase I program for Experimental Amateur-Built (E-AB) aircraft. Under the program, once an aircraft completes a flight test plan that meets FAA standards, Phase I is complete. The standard 25- or 40-hour flight test period for Phase I will remain an option for all E-AB, and Experimental Light-Sport (E-LSA) continues to carry a 5-hour test period.
The program is part of an upcoming update to Advisory Circular (AC) 90-89B. Flight test programs do not need specific approval by the FAA, but the Circular lays out certain required flight test points and requires the use of test cards for data collection in flight. Users of the EAA Flight Test Manual should find it a straightforward way to complete the requirements of the task-based Phase I program, but anyone may draft a flight test plan that meets the FAA's outline, including kit manufacturers and other experts.
Task-based Phase I ensures that every hour spent in flight testing is meaningful and is contributing to both validating the airworthiness of the aircraft and gathering the data necessary to build a detailed operating manual. This will benefit the builder in ensuring full exploration of the aircraft's operating envelope, and it will benefit subsequent owners in having access to quality data on the aircraft. In exchange for this work, the aircraft will be released from Phase I when it is ready, not based on an arbitrary time requirement.
"This is the result of more than eight years of work by EAA and the FAA and we couldn't be happier that it is now nearing completion," said Tom Charpentier, EAA Government Relations Director. "This will be a true paradigm shift in E-AB flight testing."
This program comes on the heels of EAA's publication of its Flight Test Manual in 2018, which has sold thousands of copies to date. EAA is continuously working to improve it and create new materials and programming based upon the manual.
Task-based Phase I is yet another example of the EAA working collaboratively with the FAA to achieve a win-win solution that benefits the community and enhances safety. The groundwork for this change was laid by the EAA/FAA working group that created the Additional Pilot Program (AC 90-116), which allows another pilot into the cockpit to enhance safety during flight testing.
The Advisory Circular is in draft form and comments will be accepted through April 29. Please note that the relevant language on Task-Based Phase I is housed in Chapter 1, Section 1 of the draft. The rest of the document contains advisory information on flight testing and is not part of the task-based program requirements.
Chapter 288 started in the 1970s, and originally met at nearby Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The chapter took regular trips to the Spruce Creek Fly-In, located in Port Orange, Florida, and soon moved their meeting location to Spruce Creek. Chapter 288 is unique, because of it's location. 288 is located at the intersection of young aviation enthusiasts from the University and experienced aviators along Florida's Space Coast.
Chapter 288 works to continue the spirit of general aviation in Daytona Beach area. We host several events throughout the year for our members which feature prominent aviators and aviation technology. Chapter 288 members also volunteer at aviation related functions throughout the community to teach people about general aviation. Volunteering at local airshows and hosting
Young Eagles events are some of the ways that EAA 288 members participate in the community. Chapter 288's members are also very involved with the EAA on a national level. The chapter has a good turnout at the EAA's annual fly-in "AirVenture" in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The EAA works on a national level to help endure the "spirit of aviation." They work to get children who have an interest in becoming a pilot, air traffic controller, mechanic, etc. achieve their goals. EAA sponsors workshops for homebuilders teaching skills neccesary for them to build their own airplanes. Founded in 1953 by Paul Poberezney, the EAA has worked for over 60 years to keep general aviation alive and prospering into the future. They work today with other aviation organizations to ensure that aviation friendly laws are passed in Washington D.C., and to help ensure that general aviaiton will continue well into the future. To learn more about the Experimental Aircraft Association on a national level, and how to join, please visit their website at EAA.ORG