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President Donald Trump on Jul. 9 decided against imposing tariffs on commercial aircraft, jet engines, and aircraft parts, instead instructing his administration to pursue negotiations to shore up the aerospace supply chain.

Visit VAI at Booth #363 during the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) event next week in Wisconsin and discover all the association is doing to support the vertical flight industry!

Under the nonbinding agreement, the partners aim to accelerate technology development, design, testing, and certification of a propulsion system for aviation based on a hydrogen fuel cell. The new entity will be supported by Airbus and MTU with all their competences and through various engineering and manufacturing teams from both organizations. The new joint venture is expected to start operations in 2027.

Reiser Simulation and Training has successfully completed the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), or German Federal Aviation Office, assessment of the training device, which features a full-scale, high-fidelity cockpit with real controls and mixed-reality head-mounted display technology.

Global helicopter dealership Rotortrade is working with Helicopters International (Helint), a Nairobi, Kenya–based helicopter maintenance and support provider, to enhance Rotortrade’s ability to help helicopter operators across East Africa by facilitating access to local maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2023-15-03, which applies to all Safran Model Arrius 2B2 engines. AD 2023-15-03 requires revising the airworthiness limitations section (ALS) of the existing engine maintenance manual (EMM) or instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) and the existing approved maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, by incorporating actions and associated thresholds and intervals, including life limits. Since the FAA issued AD 2023-15-03, the manufacturer has revised the ALS of the existing maintenance and overhaul manuals, introducing new and more restrictive instructions and maintenance tasks. This proposed AD would require updating the ALS of the existing EMM or ICA and the existing approved maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, by incorporating actions and associated thresholds and intervals, including life limits. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking are due by Aug. 24.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Helicopters Model AS350 B2, AS350 B3, EC120B, and EC130 B4 helicopters. This AD was prompted by a short circuit due to foreign object debris (FOD) or dust inside the lighting and ancillaries control unit (LACU). Effective Aug. 14, the AD requires repetitively cleaning and inspecting the affected LACU for FOD, among other tasks.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-12-10, which applies to certain Leonardo Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters and requires installing a placard on the primary stretcher unit. Since the FAA issued AD 2021-12-10, the unit’s manufacturer has modified the device to improve its structural properties. This proposed AD would require installing a certain placard depending on the configuration of the primary stretcher unit, among other tasks. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking are due by Aug. 28.

(Associated Press/WGNO) – A helicopter helping to control a wildfire in Gunnison, Colorado, crashed into a reservoir Jul. 12, killing the pilot. The aircraft was a Kaman K-1200 that “crashed under unknown circumstances, becoming inverted,” according to the FAA’s preliminary report.