McKinney Airport Certification marks a major operating change for a North Texas field that has long served general aviation, flight training, corporate flying, medical transport, law enforcement, and recreational aviation. On September 24, 2026, the FAA awarded McKinney National Airport … Read more
Confirmed: the FAA’s certification modernization rule comment period has already closed. The agency published the Transport Airplane and Propulsion Certification Modernization notice of proposed rulemaking on June 26, 2026, and the extended deadline for public comments passed on September 24, … Read more
eVTOL Pilot Training took a practical step forward in North Carolina after Beta Technologies began flight operations in mid-September 2026 under the USDOT/FAA eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The company used its all-electric ALIA CTOL aircraft with healthcare partners to test … Read more
Confirmed: The ATC trainee surge in Fiscal Year 2026 marked a major staffing milestone for the FAA, but flight schools should treat it as a long-term capacity signal rather than an immediate fix. The FAA said it hired 2,235 air … Read more
The Lifting Futures Program gives pilots and flight students a useful reminder: aviation careers depend on far more than cockpit staffing. GE Aerospace launched the initiative in fall 2025 through its Foundation as a five-year, $30 million workforce skills training … Read more
The FAA’s military pilot medical proposal, published on August 10, 2026, would change one narrow but meaningful step in pilot certification for certain military trainees. As of October 13, 2026, the public comment period had closed on October 9, 2026, … Read more
MGA Aviation Training received a confirmed $3.48 million federal investment on September 9, 2026, giving Middle Georgia State University new support for FAA-certified flight, aircraft maintenance, and air traffic control programs. The funding came through the U.S. Department of Education … Read more
FAA unified SMS is changing how serious training organizations think about safety, even where direct compliance is not yet mandatory for every flight school. As a flight training professional, I see the biggest shift in the move from informal safety … Read more
Air Force Pilot Training has become a useful signal for the wider aviation workforce because the service is testing many of the same ideas civilian schools, regional airlines, and certification planners are weighing: earlier screening, stronger instrument foundations, multi-engine exposure, … Read more
Business aviation shortages have moved from a recruiting concern to a daily operational planning issue for flight departments, charter operators, fractional programs, and training providers. Confirmed market-analysis data from May 2026 placed the U.S. pilot shortfall at about 24,000 pilots … Read more
Confirmed: The FAA Unified SMS became a formal agency-wide safety structure on September 15, 2026, when the FAA issued Order 1030.8 under the Aviation Safety Management Office. For pilots in training, the immediate signal is not a new checkride maneuver … Read more
On September 24, 2026, the FAA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would revise oxygen mask requirements for certain pressurized aircraft operations under 14 CFR Parts 91 and 135. The proposal, docket FAA-2026-12145, was directed by Section 834 of … Read more
The Military Training Medical Proposal published by the FAA on August 10, 2026, has immediate planning value for flight schools, military training commands, and civilian instructors who work with military-sponsored students. Confirmed fact: the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes to … Read more
The path from a regional first officer to a legacy airline captain relies entirely on mathematics, not luck. Sitting in the crew room listening to junior pilots guess which legacy carrier will drop their hiring minimums next wastes valuable energy. … Read more
Supersonic Pilot Training is moving from a niche test-pilot concern toward a practical certification issue for aircraft manufacturers, operators, training centers, and regulators. Confirmed: on June 6, 2025, U.S. Executive Order 14304 directed the FAA to repeal the long-standing civil … Read more
Navy Aviation Mishaps deserve serious study because they show how flight safety depends on far more than stick-and-rudder skill. Recent Navy and Marine Corps events described in the research record include in-flight engine fires, carrier recovery failures, injured deck personnel, … Read more
Military Medical Certification now sits at the center of a targeted FAA proposal that could reduce duplicate paperwork for certain military pilot trainees training in civilian programs. On August 10, 2026, the FAA issued a proposed rule that would remove … Read more
ATC Training Protocols are under renewed review after 21 Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft operating for Amazon, overran Runway 30 at Miami International Airport on September 6, 2026. The National Transportation Safety Board has not issued a … Read more
