Every year for more than 50 years, the General Aviation Awards program and the FAA have recognized aviation professionals for their contributions to general aviation in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance/avionics, and safety. This year’s winners are Ronald Timmermans of Orlando, Florida, 2021 Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year, Michael Dunkley of Coshocton, Ohio, 2021 Aviation Technician of the Year, and Adam Magee of Swisher, Iowa, 2021 FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year.
News
Air Safety Institute introduces Safety Spotlights
The Safety Spotlights cover a range of topics, from mountain flying to weather, to fuel management and spatial disorientation.
New solar panels help Clay Lacy work towards zero carbon footprint
The new solar array will offset the equivalent of 530 metric tons of CO2, the same amount of CO2 generated by driving more than 1.3 million passenger miles in an average car or burning over 584,000 pounds of coal, according to Clay Lacy officials.
Avionics sales plummet 26% in 2020
While 2020’s sales marked the lowest amount of sales in the Avionics Market Report’s nine-year history, officials with the Aircraft Electronics Association note that the industry experienced “healthy sales growth” during the last six months of the year as pandemic restrictions loosened.
Registration opens for FlightSimExpo
The expo offers both in person and virtual attendance to those interested in flight simulation. It will feature an exhibit hall, panel discussions, and two days of presentations from airline pilots, dispatchers, accident investigators, air traffic controllers, flight simulation developers, and an F-35 test pilot.
Fatal helicopter accidents down 20% in 2020
Preliminary data shows 94 total U.S. helicopter accidents in 2020 compared to 121 accidents the year before. There also were 19 fatal accidents in 2020 compared to 24 fatal accidents in 2019.
AirVenture 2021 will look much different, thanks to the pandemic
The pandemic is changing a lot at EAA AirVenture 2021, including the cancellation of several events where social distancing is not possible, including the Monday night concert, the Runway 5K, and large corporate events and receptions.
Study shows ‘unconscious’ gender and racial bias in aviation
The research, published in Technology in Society, showed that consumers and other pilots respond more favorably to white male pilots over female and minority pilots.
FAA expands Weather Camera Program to Hawaii
The FAA will install 23 camera facilities throughout the Hawaiian islands. The first, on the island of Kauai, are expected to be operational in mid-2021.