MAKE CHAPTER 288 YOUR AVIATION HOME! E-AB, TYPE CERTIFIED, VINTAGE, WARBIRD, ETC.
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MAKE CHAPTER 288 YOUR AVIATION HOME! E-AB, TYPE CERTIFIED, VINTAGE, WARBIRD, ETC.
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
The July/August 2024 issue of FAA Safety Briefing explores the critical role flight instructors play in keeping the National Airspace System safe and preparing the next generation of pilots. Feature articles focus on instructional best practices as well as the many tools and educational resources that can help sharpen your teaching skills.
AN excellent video to learn about the highlights and how it affects GA. The video is about 14 minutes long and VERY INFORMATIVE. Click on the link below to watch the video.
WASHINGTON— The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) added two new companies to its Space Data Integrator (SDI) tool, which provides improved situational awareness and helps the FAA safely and efficiently manage air traffic during space operations.
The agency can now track Virgin Galactic and Sierra Space vehicles in near-real time during their launch and reentry operations. The companies will transmit vehicle telemetry data – such as position, altitude, and speed – to the SDI tool, which helps to increase safety for all airspace users.
Combined with other tools and procedures, the SDI enables the FAA to reopen airspace as quickly as three minutes after a launch or reentry vehicle safely travels through a designated aircraft hazard area. It also helps the FAA respond if an anomaly occurs. About 70 percent of all commercial space operations in U.S. airspace have shared SDI data with the FAA since the tool became operational in 2021, with that figure expected to grow with the new operators added.
“The United States has one of the most complex airspaces in the world, with everything from drones to commercial and general aviation to space launches,” said Tim Arel, Chief Operating Officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization. “The coordination of all that aircraft is improved with more data. We’ve made significant progress in reducing how long airspace is closed for space operations, and the SDI tool is the foundation for future improvements to drive it down even more while also ensuring safety.”
Virgin Galactic and Sierra Space join SpaceX in sending SDI data to the FAA. The agency expects additional commercial space operators will become SDI operational later this year.
The FAA integrates FAA-licensed commercial space missions and those that NASA, the U.S. military, and other U.S. government agencies conduct. In 2023, the FAA integrated 130 space operations, up from 27 in 2016. For 2024, that number could approach 200.
Learn more about how the FAA integrates space operations into the National Airspace System.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding another round of funding for 90 airport-related infrastructure grants across 34 states. The projects are funded under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) program, part of the $25 billion total included in the law for airport improvements such as terminal expansions and baggage system upgrades, to runway safety enhancements.
“Millions of people fly every day, and making sure passengers can get to and from their destinations safely, and with less stress, has been a priority for the Biden-Harris Administration," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "The funding we're announcing today will help 91 airports make critical upgrades to improve travel and further modernize our aviation infrastructure.”
View a data visualization of the airports receiving funding.
“These grants not only invest in the physical infrastructure of our airports, but also in strengthening safety and improving efficiency for travelers, and help the economy thrive,” said FAA Associate Administrator for Airports, Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E.
Airports receiving funding today, for a total of $186.7 million, include:
A full list of AIG grants being announced is available on the FAA website.
Today’s funding is from the Airport Infrastructure Grant program, one of three aviation grant programs created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. To date, nearly $9 billion of the $15 billion total of AIG funding has been made available to airports across the country. Learn more about the full $25 billion in the infrastructure law for airport improvements by visiting faa.gov/bil.
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness by rebuilding America’s roads and bridges, upgrading and expanding public transit and rail, and modernizing the nation’s ports and airports. To date, the Administration has announced over $454 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for over 56,000 infrastructure projects across the nation and has mobilized over $866 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States.
FAA Forecasts Strong Growth of Commercial Space Operations by Fiscal Year 2028
The FAA is forecasting as many as 338 licensed commercial space operations in FY 2028, nearly triple the actual count of 113 in FY 2023. The expected increase in launch and reentry operations is due to greater use of reusable vehicles, the demand for commercial satellite services, and the growth of commercial human spaceflight missions. Learn more about the new forecast numbers and how the FAA is meeting the demand for license approvals.
Environmental Review for SpaceX Starship at Kennedy Space Center
The FAA intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for SpaceX Starship operations at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SpaceX proposal includes constructing infrastructure to support up to 44 launches per year from Launch Complex-39A. The proposal also includes Super Heavy booster and Starship vehicle recovery landings at LC-39A, on a drone ship, or expending both in the ocean. The FAA will hold three in-person public scoping meetings: two on June 12 and one on June 13. In addition, a virtual public scoping meeting will be held on June 17. Learn more including how to sign up to be notified of project updates.
Considerations for Airspace Management During Space Operations
The FAA contributed its expertise to a new Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) publication that offers guidance to countries for the safe and efficient management of their airspace during space operations. It addresses control of the airspace where the launch or reentry occurs and the integration of a space operation whose flight path enters a country’s delegated international airspace. Considerations include pre-mission communication with the space operator and range, developing an airspace management plan, contingency planning, and day-of activities, among several others. Readthe full publication for additional information.
Over the last 50 years, we’ve seen tremendous progress toward reducing the rate of fatal general aviation (GA) accidents. Having fewer than six total accidents and plus or minus one fatal accident per 100,000 hours of GA flying is impressive. We’ve come a long way, but to continue that success and get that rate even lower, we’ll need to seek a few new ways to improve safety. Part of that involves human factors research, looking at ways humans succeed … and fail. It also involves finding ways to reduce or eliminate the risk of failure and stressing the importance of a safety culture. Read more by clicking the button below.
The NTSB has investigated several accidents and incidents where a failure to properly inspect and repair small damage to aluminum propeller blades resulted in propeller blade fatigue cracking and fractures. Aluminum propeller blades can be susceptible to fatigue cracking and fracture if a small nick, pit, or corrosion on the surface or edge is not found and repaired during preflight inspection or maintenance. Such damage can concentrate stress from normal airplane operation loads, resulting in fatigue crack initiation and growth followed by propeller blade fracture.
To address this issue, the NTSB recently issued SA090, available at https://www.ntsb.gov/Advocacy/safety-alerts/Documents/SA090.pdf. The alert directs owners, operators, and pilots to inspect all areas of the propeller blade, including the back/face side of the blade and the leading edge, for damage such as nicks or corrosion. Any findings should be referred to a qualified mechanic for inspection and repaired before further flight.
For additional information, review AC 20-37E, Aircraft Propeller Maintenance and AC 43.13-1B, Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices – Aircraft Inspection and Repair at https://drs.faa.gov/browse.
UPDATED: 10//02/2023
Last week EAA and Warbirds of America filed joint comments to an FAA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that codifies new rules for flight training in experimental, limited, and primary-category aircraft. The FAA states that the NPRM is intended to re-establish the status quo prior to a June 2021 court ruling that turned longstanding policy on flight training in these aircraft on its head. This led to several years of experimental aircraft owners requiring letters of deviation authority (LODAs) to train in their own aircraft and owners of limited category aircraft needing exemptions to do the same. Legislation late last year eliminated the LODA requirement for most experimental aircraft owners.
The NPRM confirms that additional authorization is only required in the case of an experimental aircraft being used in a commercial flight training operation, which was established policy prior to June 2021. In order to allow limited category aircraft to receive LODAs, the NPRM moves the LODA rule into a different paragraph in Part 91. It also rewrites the primary category rule to explicitly allow compensated flight training, which was the original intent for the rule stated in its preamble.
Beyond correcting the 2021 court ruling, the proposal expands the types of flight training operations allowed under a LODA – following several years of advocacy by EAA and other groups. New additions include training for endorsements, aerobatics, flight reviews, and even expanded training opportunities for a sport pilot certificate. Some of these new additions require the applicant to show “specific need” to conduct such training in an experimental or limited category aircraft.
Fulfilling another EAA advocacy priority, the NPRM removes the experimental light-sport (E-LSA) “sunset date” for training, allowing for these types to again be available to train the public for operation of an ultralight vehicle under a LODA with a rated sport pilot instructor.
EAA and Warbirds’ comments, created in consultation with leaders from several aviation communities, are generally supportive of the changes within the context of the 2021 court decision, its fallout, and long-sought reforms to the traditional LODA system. The comments are mainly technical in nature and request, in summary:
The Commemorative Air Force and the Association of Professional Warbird Operators offered input to the comments submitted by EAA and Warbirds of America and added letters of concurrence to the NPRM docket.
EAA will continue to advocate for access to quality flight training across all types, with appropriate risk mitigations where needed.
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Click on the following link to learn more:
AND -- If you would like to read the FAA's Advisory Circular click here:
https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2022-0891-0041
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FAA UPDATES NONTOWERED FLIGHT OPERATIONS AC
Read about the new AC here:
DOWNLOAD THE AC HERE:
https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_90-66C.pdf
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ARE YOU AN A&P IA?
Read the renewal notice here:
https://faasafety.gov/SPANS/noticeView.aspx?nid=12761
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FAA ARTICLES:
1. FAA Releases Policy Memo on Task-Based Phase I
2. ELECTRONIC DATA DELIVERY: "SEE AND AVOID"
Go to the Aviation and Space News tab above, then FAA ************************************
Inside this website you'll find all the news that FAA is involved in, plus numerous stories about all things aviation and the people in the FAA that make the Agency function.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) from the FAA entitled “Public Aircraft Logging of Flight Time, Training in Certain Aircraft Holding Special Airworthiness Certificates, and Flight Instructor Privileges” has been published in the Federal Register. Among several rule changes, the NPRM proposes to codify the ability to train, without any further FAA authorization, in experimental, limited, and primary category aircraft when the use of aircraft is not being offered for hire to a third party as part of the instruction.
Under the proposed rule, Letters of Deviation Authority (LODAs) would continue to permit certain types of training where the aircraft is offered for hire. This has allowed and would continue to allow training operations to offer transition training to appropriately rated members of the flying public where the use of an experimental aircraft is compensated.
Another significant rule change proposed in the NPRM is the removal of a prohibition on experimental light-sport aircraft to be used in compensated training operations. Over the years, this restriction has severely limited the availability of suitable aircraft for ultralight training. With an appropriate LODA, these aircraft would once again be legal for training prospective ultralight pilots. This is a long-awaited change first proposed in 2018 in an NPRM that was later withdrawn and combined with this new rulemaking initiative.
The NPRM, like most rulemaking documents, is complex. EAA is reviewing the document in detail and will provide appropriate comments. Once the NPRM is published, the FAA will accept comment for 60 days.
In early March 2023, the FAA published guidelines for an optional task-based Phase I flight-testing program, thereby establishing an alternative to the standard 25 or 40-hour flight-testing requirement for amateur-built aircraft and replacing the hours-based testing period with a list of comprehensive and concise tasks.
Upon an applicant aircraft’s completion of the newly-specified tasks, the FAA will approve creation of a unique Aircraft Operating Handbook (AOH*). The applicant aircraft, thereafter, is considered to have completed the Phase I flight-testing period.
The program prescribes a series of 17 discrete flight-test tasks, and recommends the tests be flown per test cards carried in the aircraft. The program further requires the creation of an Aircraft Operating Handbook (AOH)* from the test results. Such a document benefits the builder and any subsequent owners of the vetted aircraft. Test plans—provided they accomplish the FAA-prescribed tasks—may be written by anyone, including kit manufacturers and type clubs. Users of the EAA’s Flight-Test Manual will note similarities in the requirements of the EAA and FAA protocols.
In order to utilize the task-based flight-testing program, an applicant aircraft must have an operating limitation allowing said program’s use. Operating limitations are issued along with airworthiness certificates by the FAA or Designated Airworthiness Representatives (DAR) as part of an aircraft’s airworthiness certification process.
As the traditional time-based Phase I program remains unchanged, aircraft builders are free to utilize such. On 21 April, the FAA released a formal policy memorandum fully enabling the use of the task-based methodology. The new operating limitation reads (blank fields to be filled in by the appropriate inspector or DAR:
No person may operate this aircraft for other than the purpose of meeting the requirements of § 91.319(b). The pilot in command must comply with § 91.305 at all times. This aircraft is to be operated under VMC, day only. Unless operating in accordance with the task-based flight test program described in Advisory Circular (AC) 90-89C, Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook, chapter 2, section 1, during Phase I flight testing, this aircraft must be operated for at least _____ hours with at least_____ takeoffs and landings in this geographical area: [The area must be described by radius, coordinates, navigational aids, and/or landmarks. The size of the area and airports must be that required to safely conduct the anticipated maneuvers and tests.] This aircraft may only operate from [identify name of airport(s)].
By dint of the antecedent memo, all newly inspected amateur-built aircraft should obtain the revised operating limitation. Aircraft builders are advised to query their respective DARs prior to aircraft inspections vis-à-vis subject memo. Builders/owners/operators of amateur-built aircraft already flying and still in phase I are advised to petition their local FSDOs to reissue their respective aircrafts’ operating limitations with the updated language.
The new operating limitation will be incorporated into a future change to FAA Order 8130.2.
*The term AOH is new and makes its initial appearance in the revised (AC) 90-89C, the Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook. The term was suggested by the EAA as a homebuilt-specific alternative to Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) or Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM), both of which have regulatory connotations not applicable to experimental aircraft.
With the increased helicopter activity at 7FL6, this may be a webinar you should have great interest in viewing.
“Caution Helicopter Wake Turbulence:” This is something you either have never heard or very seldom. Several accidents have occurred as a result of helicopter wake turbulence to fixed wing aircraft. This session will explore the impact of helicopter wake turbulence on fixed wing aircraft both in the VFR environment and the IFR environment.
-From AOPA-
The FAA's Aviation Weather Handbook consolidates weather information from several advisory circulars into one place and operates as a technical reference for anyone flying in the national airspace system.
The handbook, published on December 20, is the result of a yearslong effort to streamline user access to aviation weather guidance.
Information in the handbook comes from the most-used weather products and information and meets the FAA's standards for pilot weather training and certification.
"Publication of the Aviation Weather Handbook is the culmination of 3+ years of hard work by Flight Standards and a host of others within the aviation weather community," FAA aviation safety manager, James Marks said. "The new handbook combines information and guidance from 6 separate weather related advisory circulars into a single source document to support pilots, dispatchers, and operators with flight planning and decision making."
The handbook is available for download from the FAA's website; however, the FAA says it is essential for users to be "familiar with and apply the pertinent parts of Title 14 CFR and the Aeronautical Information Manual."
The handbook is currently available online in PDF format. The 500-page document can be downloaded onto mobile devices and computers and can be viewed with a PDF reader app.
In late October the FAA changed its standard on electrocardiogram (ECG) findings for medical applicants, decreasing the types of results that would lead to a medical deferral. While Class II and III medical holders are not subject to routine ECG testing, the FAA also mirrored the change in its protocol for heart arrhythmias, which all airmen are required to note if diagnosed.
The change allows airmen with a “First-degree AV (atrioventricular) block with PR interval less than 300 ms (0.30 sec)” to receive a medical certificate without deferral. This change was actually known informally to the aeromedical community as far back as 2018 but was formalized in the October change to the FAA’s list of 18 “normal abnormal” ECG findings that do not require medical deferral.
The FAA made this change because airmen with this abnormal – but benign – result almost never showed any concerning indications upon follow-up testing, so the FAA eliminated the deferral requirement.
This fits a pattern of recent reforms at the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine, currently under the leadership of Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup, that is gradually making the application process easier for airmen. While EAA continues to work aggressively to reduce barriers to medical certification, Dr. Northrup – a GA and warbird pilot herself – and her team have been very receptive to change and community input.
Unfortunately, there have been recent allegations that the ECG change was due to an ulterior, political motive. This is absolutely false, and the associated personal attacks on Dr. Northrup, a career public servant and U.S. Air Force veteran, are inexcusable. Given the criticism, often warranted, that aeromedical certification is too difficult in the United States, it is ironic that a change that removed a medically unnecessary barrier to easy certification has garnered controversy.
Dr. Stephen Leonard, EAA Aeromedical Advisory Council chairman, explained, “rather than requiring AMEs to defer the exams of pilots showing those changes, and requiring the pilot to schedule consultation with a cardiologist and a few thousand dollars’ worth of testing, FAA authorizes us as physician examiners to question the pilot, verify that there are no associated symptoms or other conditions that might indicate a clinically significant cardiac issue, and go ahead and issue the medical certificate.”
Dr. Leonard further clarified that “we still send the EKG to FAA, their doctors still review it, and if they have any question, they follow up. Never, in 42 years as an AME, have I seen one of those ‘normal abnormals’ turn out to be clinically or aeromedically significant.”
Other recent FAA reforms include a new policy on situational depression and mild post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), two very positive steps as the FAA looks to overhaul its mental health policies. There is much more work to be done, but EAA looks forward to accomplishing it together with Dr. Northrup and the Office of Aerospace Medicine in the coming years.
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AND ANOTHER UPCOMING POLICY CHANGE AUTHORIZED BY THE FEDERAL AIR SURGEON
Vision limitations for corrective lenses/glasses have been reduced from 1,2,3,4,6,19, and 20 to ONE:
Vision Limitation #102:
Must use corrective lens(es) to meet vision standards at all required distances
1- Must have available glasses for near vision.
2- Must wear corrective lenses.
3- Must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision.
4- Must wear corrective lenses for distant vision and have glasses for near vision.
6- Must wear prismatic correction
19- Must wear corrective lenses, and possess glasses for near / intermediate vision.
20- Holder shall possess glasses for near/intermediate vision.
102- Must use corrective lens (es) to meet vision standards at all required distances.
Note: 17- Not valid for night flying or by color signal control remains.
This was reflected in AMCS on December 28, 2022.
Over the past decade the FAA has increased its use of electronic communication methods substantially. The Agency use to view communicating electronically with aircraft owners, users, maintainers, and the general public as a convenient additional way to get its message out. In 2022, in appears, the FAA has decided to cross the electronic Rubicon to now rely solely on electronic communication methods. That is both great news for General Aviation and very big a problem for General Aviation. Its great news in that now aircraft owners and maintainers have near immediate access to the most current information available about the aircraft they operate and maintain. It’s a problem for some segments of General Aviation since not every owner checks the internet for maintenance updates before flying. For example, while I worked for the FAA’s Legal Office an oft debated question was the application to the facts of a case the phrase in §43.13, “current manufacturer’s maintenance manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness.” Does that phrase mean the most current manual or ICA the manufacturer has published or the latest version the owner or maintainer possesses? Owing to the time it takes for a design approval holder to mail a new manual update to “persons required … to comply with any of those instructions” (see, §21.50) which version of the ICA must be followed could materially affect whether the owner or maintainer complied with the rules. Now, with the advent of the FAA’s new Dynamic Regulatory System or DRS, the agency seems to want everyone to rely exclusively on the DRS for that information – no more mailing of important documents.
Just a couple of weeks ahead of the change, the FAA announced that effective in mid-August of 2022 it would no longer mail copies of Airworthiness Directives (AD’s) to registered owners, as had been the practice for many decades. Now owners and maintainers must check the DRS for updates to see if the FAA has published an AD that might affect the operation of the aircraft or require a maintainer to perform extra tasks before approving the aircraft for return to service. The FAA used to carefully consider that not every aircraft owner (particularly in some segments of General Aviation) even had a home computer much less access to high-speed internet service. Apparently, no longer. The FAA’s announcement that it will end mailing hard copies of AD’s to registered owners means that the agency is, in essence, requiring that to be an aircraft owner you must have a computer and internet access. Further, the burden is now shifted from the FAA to the owner. An aircraft owner cannot wait to get an AD in the mail, you must search the DRS for applicable AD’s. How often do you have to do that? Monthly? Weekly? Before each flight?
Some thoughts to remember going forward. If you are contemplating an aircraft purchase, part of your due diligence now must include the DRS. You cannot rely solely on the paper records the previous owner will give you at the time ownership transfers. If you are a maintenance provider, you are likely already use to searching the FAA’s Regulatory and Guidance Library or other electronic databases for applicable AD’s. Those other FAA databases are now subsumed into the DRS so get used to using the DRS. If you are already an aircraft owner, proactively check the DRS for new AD’s applicable to your aircraft and check them carefully for applicability and the time in which maintenance tasks are due so you can have your maintenance provider do what is necessary to keep your aircraft flying. I still believe the DRS is, on balance, a good tool. Just be aware that the FAA is now, to a greater and greater extent, relying on it as the agency’s exclusive method of communication.
This article is from AOPA: Author: Currently Of Counsel to the firm of Paul A. Lange, LLC, Mr. Christopher Poreda served as the FAA’s New England Regional Counsel from 2002 to 2015. A graduate of the US Air Force Academy in 1974, he flew F-4 Phantoms for the US Air Force in Europe and at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, NV, before serving as a flight instructor for the Air Force. After leaving the Air Force, he earned a law degree from Northeastern University and clerked for the Massachusetts Appeals Court before working as an associate for Bingham, Dana & Gould in Boston until joining the FAA’s legal office in 1990. Attorney Poreda served as a staff attorney for the FAA and as the counsel to the Engine and Propeller Directorate at the FAA’s New England Region before assuming a management role for the FAA’s legal office in 2002. He retired from Federal service in 2015 after 37 years with the US Air Force and the FAA. He has taught Aviation Law to law students at New England Law, Boston, and undergraduates at Southern New Hampshire University. He remains an active flight instructor in the Boston area.
GA Safety Enhancement Topics
Here's a list of topics for you to choose from. Just click on the one that interests you and you will be directed to that Fact Sheet.
The FAA manages the world’s safest and most complex aviation system. On an average day, we serve more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers across more than 29 million square miles of airspace. The National Airspace System is a dynamic organism that is constantly evolving. This interactive dashboard helps explain how it works.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is making it easier to research aviation safety guidance material from the Office of Aviation Safety (AVS).
The Dynamic Regulatory System (DRS) combines more than 65 document types from more than a dozen different repositories into a single searchable application. This comprehensive knowledge center centralizes the FAA’s aviation safety guidance material from the Flight Standards Information System (FSIMS) and the agency’s Regulatory Guidance System (RGL).
Each guidance document includes a link to the Code of Federal Regulations provision on which the document is based. DRS contains more than 2 million regulatory guidance documents, which can be browsed or searched. A search engine allows for basic or advanced searches and different ways to sort and view the results. The system includes pending and current versions of all documents along with their revision history. Information in the DRS is updated every 24 hours
The FAA published its latest revision to Advisory Circular (AC) 90-114 (Revision B), Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Operations which provides comprehensive guidance on ADS-B operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) in accordance with ADS-B regulations (14 CFR sections 91.225 and 91.227). Of note in this revision is the clarification of certain operational policies like aircraft that are exempt from 91.225 (Section 3.2), ADS-B Out operations during formation flying activities (Section 4.3.1) and during aerobatic flight (Section 4.3.2.6.2), and inoperative ADS-B procedures (Section 4.3.4.2).
The AC also provides a helpful overview of the ADS-B system architecture, the various forms of available equipment, broadcast services available to ADS-B users, and operational considerations with regard to equipment performance requirements and airspace restrictions.
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.