County Will Shut Down Iconic San Jose Airport, Afghanistan Aerial Tragedy Now Has a Name, And A Really Cool Product Gets Us Pumped Up

Reid-Hillview Airport by Michale Pieracci via Flickr.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved civil flights of U.S. aircraft into Kabul, Afghanistan, though only for aircraft that get approval from the Department of Defense. The move is a likely first step toward expanding the efforts by the United States to evacuate Afghanis who helped the United States during its 20-year war in Afghanistan.

The Santa Clara County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to close Reid-Hillview Airport, located in San Jose California. The commissioners cited a study that found a slightly elevated level of lead in children living near the airport and blamed that on the presence of lead in 100 low lead aviation gasoline. The county must get approval from the FAA before they close the airport, though, because it is under grant obligations from the federal government.

While it's not specifically an aviation thing, pilots will doubtless appreciate that on Saturday, the world will be treated to a rare event, a blue moon in the middle of a calendar month. Blue moons are typically seen when a second full moon in a calendar month rises, which gave rise to the expression, "once in a blue moon." But there is another type of blue moon, a seasonal one. Saturday's will be the fourth full moon in a single season. Congratulations on the achievement, Moon!

Beringer Aero, maker of brakes and other landing gear products, introduced SensAir, which allows the pilot to check air pressure on the plane's tires without the often-painful chore of physically getting to the valve stems. The system utilizes a pressure sensor installed around the wheel hub that wirelessly sends inflation data to the user via Bluetooth. The system will not, however, inflate the tire for you if it needs air.

More than 300 secondary schools have adopted AOPA's STEM curriculum, called You Can Fly, which aims to attract technology-minded young people into the world aviation and aviation careers.

The organizers of the LA Air Show have cancelled the event, which was scheduled to take place October 23rd through 24th. The event to be held at Fox Field in Lancaster, California, was expected to draw a large crowd.

An untold number of Afghanis were killed when they tried to cling to departing U.S. military aircraft transporting refugees from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. One of the people killed in one of these mishaps was Zaki Anwari, a soccer player on the national team. Anwari had clung to the landing gear of the departing C-17 and fell to his death over the city as the airplane climbed out from the airport.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association announced that the team from Raisbeck Aviation High School in Tukwila, Washington, has won the 2021 edition of GAMA's annual aviation design challenge for its entry, a simulated Covid-19 Vaccine delivery mission profile to a remote area.

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Samantha ThomasWriter