Midair Miracle Over Denver!

Pilots are reporting that the FAA has been using ADS-B data to search for possible pilot deviations for the purpose of initiating investigations against aviators. Pilots are also reporting that other federal and state agencies are accessing ADS-B data to launch enforcement actions.

Dassault launched its Falcon 10X ultra-long range jet. While it's not our usual cup of 100LL, the news of the new jet has sent ripples through the ultra-long-range jet category, a segment that accounts for a huge percentage by dollar value of aircraft sales each year. The 10X is a twin jet with a cabin that's so luxurious and spacious that it almost doesn't look like an airplane. The 7,500 nm-range Falcon will compete with the Gulfstream G650s and emerging G70,0 and the Bombardier Global 7500. That said, the Falcon's cabin is a foot and a half wider than either. The price? $75 million. We'll take two.

The FAA has published a rulemaking proposal for inspections of the carry -hrough spar on some additional Cessna 210s and every Cessna Cardinal. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is open for comments through June 25.

With new cases of COVID-19 and deaths from it sharply down in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control has published new guidelines for public gatherings that allow for inside gatherings of people without masks. That's not vaccinated people without masks but everybody. The agency has been taking some heat for the move, which critics say isn't cautious enough, but many are seeing it as the beginning of the end.

With the CDC's ruling, aviation events seem ready to go, barring any unforeseen setbacks with the coronavirus. The EAA's Young Eagles Day is back for 2021; the event takes place on Saturday, June 12. The annual day of airplane rides for young (and not-so-young) folks took 2020 off because of the pandemic, so there are a lot of Young Eagles to be to get airborne.

Sean D. Tucker's Oracle Challenger is going into the National Air & Space Museum, and appropriately, it will hang inverted. Tucker had been planning to donate the plane but the pandemic put such plans on hold, and the related downturn in the airshow business put additional strain on the donation until Oracle stepped in to provide support.

Chandelles and Lazy Eights got you down? Never fear, Sporty's has launched a new Commercial Pilot learning course. It's the first multimedia course the 60+-year pilot supply and educational materials maker has ever done. See our first look at it here.

ATP opened its impressive new 13,000+ square-foot facility in Dallas for pilot training and work on its huge fleet of aircraft. The training provider has been in the Dallas metroplex area for more than 30 years now.

Do you hate the unwieldy way that NOTAMS are disseminated? You're not alone. And the international regulatory body ICAO wants the NOTAM process cleaned up, too. ICAO wants outdated NOTAMS gone (these account for more than 20% of NOTAMS), for them to be put in order of priority (so a closed runway due to a giant sinkhole isn't 60 items down behind a list of airway reception notes) and put into plain language.

The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) reported that first-quarter 2021 sales of avionics for both existing and new airplanes are sharply up over the pandemic doldrums. The sales of forward fit electronics, which accounted for nearly half of the activity, means that manufacturing (and thereby sales) of aircraft is also up. Good news all around.