Kevin Humphreys, an inspiring and transformative international keynote speaker, mentor, author, and former military helicopter pilot, will speak at the 2024 NAAA Kickoff Breakfast on Nov. 18. He’s well-known for smashing stereotypes and transforming self-leadership. Kevin served in the Australian Army for 20 years flying Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters.
Thrush Aircraft reported that 2023 was a record year for the company. “Aircraft deliveries increased again in 2023 to the highest levels since we re-launched Thrush over four years ago,” said CEO Mark McDonald. “We had a record sales year. We certified new aircraft models and delivered them to multiple countries, delighting our customers. We sold out of one of our product lines, dramatically improved our spares and support services, and our safety record continues to lead the industry.”
Air Tractor released the schedule for its 2024-2025 Aircraft Familiarization Courses, which are introductory classes tailored for aviation maintenance technicians who are new to Air Tractor products. Pilots, owners, and operators may also attend.
A Final Airworthiness Directive (AD) has been issued following the February 16 Emergency AD (AD 2024-04-51) for Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) Model PT6A-67AG and PT6A-67F engines (among other dashes not in ag use). This Final AD is effective March 28, 2024 for those who did not receive actual notice with the Emergency AD and contains no other changes from the original Emergency AD which is summarized below for completeness.
The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD 2024-03-05) superseding AD 2022-13-16 and AD 2022-14-12, which apply to all GE Aviation Czech s.r.o. (GEAC) (type certificate previously held by WALTER Engines a.s., Walter a.s., and MOTORLET a.s.) Model M601 engines.
NAAA submitted comments this week in response to EPA’s proposal to move forward with digitizing pesticide labels. EPA’s plan includes not just digitizing pesticide labels, but also structuring the content. This means all labels, regardless of manufacturer or active ingredient, would have uniform sections available electronically and order. EPA also wants to improve label language consistency across all pesticide labels.
The FAA’s policy for exercising discretion in determining whether to take enforcement action for drone operators who were not able to comply with the Remote ID Rule ends on March 16, 2024. Operators who do not comply after that date could face fines and suspension or revocation of their drone pilot certificates. Remote ID applies to drones which are required to be registered or have been registered with the FAA, including those flown for recreation, business, or public safety, and drones that are foreign-registered. All drones operated under 14 CFR Part 107 must be registered. Recreational aircraft weighing more than .55 pound (250 grams) must also be registered.
The FAA’s 46th annual General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey (GA Survey) continues. Emails and post cards have already been sent out to those aircraft owners selected to participate. The initial round of paper surveys to small fleets (two or less aircraft) will be sent on Friday, March 15, 2024, and paper surveys to large fleets (three or more aircraft) will be sent on Friday, March 22, 2024. Please note that you should not share your survey link publicly or with anyone else. It was only shared with the survey sample, and not every aircraft owner will be able to access the survey.
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