Otto Bullish on Single Atom Propulsion; Garmin Boasts Big Numbers; and a New ForeFlight Companion

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the development of the advanced air mobility sector. A companion bill is working its way through the Senate.

The city of East Hampton, New York, a Long Island mecca for the well-heeled, says that it will close its airport altogether rather than deal with the litigation surrounding its previous plan to reopen it as a hybrid public/private facility. The city has the distinct advantage of not owing the FAA any grant money, a fact that would presumably ease the plans to close the field.

Garmin is celebrating the delivery of its 25,000^th integrated flight panel since it introduced G1000 in Cessna single-engine aircraft in 2003. The company has gone on to create integrated flight decks for everything from light homebuilts to rotorcraft to large business jets.

Speaking of Garmin, the company has introduced a bunch of new features for its Garmin Pilot flight planning/navigation and more app. New in the latest build (version 10.7) include Dynamic map enhancements: graphical taxiway NOTAMs; on-screen note taking; decoded NOTAMs and improved support for third party hardware.  

Speaking of apps, users of Foreflight's iOS app have a new portable ADS-B receiver option, the Sentry Plus, which combines ADS-B traffic and weather with built-in AHRS, carbon monoxide detection, a G meter function and more. The unit goes for a street price of $799.

Piper Aircraft conducted a tour of its manufacturing facilities to two high schools in Vero Beach, Florida, and offered interviews and jobs to a number of the attendees, several of whom are actively training for their jobs at Piper.

Redbird Flight Simulations has launched its Redbird Pro proficiency app, designed to help pilots hone their skills. The app helps pilots create a proficiency plan, log their flight performance, and track their progress. The app, available for both iOS and Android devices, costs between $16 and $20 a month.

Otto Aviation will team with ZeroAvia on a larger, hydrogen powered version of its emerging Celera single-engine aircraft. The six-seater prototype was built around an advanced piston engine.

Amazon plans to start delivery of small packages via drone by the end of the year in a test city, Lockeford, California, located near Stockton. The company says that it's working with the FAA on the plan to start service there. It's also continuing to refine its "sense-and-avoid" technology, so its drones won't run into people, places and/or things.