FAAST Blast — Week of May 30, 2016 – June 05, 2016
Biweekly FAA Safety Briefing News Update
Are You Ready for the Airman Certification Standards (ACS)?
On June 15, the FAA will replace the Practical Test Standards (PTS) for the private pilot airplane certificate and the instrument-airplane rating with the corresponding Airman Certification Standards (ACS). If you are an applicant, an instructor, or evaluator, please take the time to learn what it is, why we are making this change, and how the ACS affects training, teaching, or testing for the private pilot airplane certificate and the instrument-airplane rating. The “go-to” page for definitive ACS information, including final versions of these documents, is: www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs/. If you have a question not answered in the FAQs, email the FAA’s ACS Focus Team at 9-AVS-ACS-Focus-Team@faa.gov.
AirVenture NOTAM Now Available
Heading to AirVenture this July? Then be sure to get familiar with all of the arrival and departure procedures contained in the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016 Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). You can download a copy at www.eaa.org/en/airventure. Also be on the lookout for a schedule of the FAA safety forums at AirVenture — it will be available in the July/August 2016 issue of FAA Safety Briefing.
Aircraft Registration Form Available Online
The FAA has made the aircraft registration application form (Form 8050-1) available online (www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Form/AC_8050-1_OMB_4-2017.pdf), alleviating the need for acquiring a paper copy from your local Flight Standards District Office. This change coincides with a recent policy clarification (effective May 1) that allows the Aircraft Registration Branch to accept printed duplicates of electronic documents that display legible, digital signatures that are filed in compliance with Parts 47 and 49 of the FAA Regulations. For more on this digital signature policy update, go to https://federalregister.gov/a/2016-09069.
Tracking Stardust
Did you know the FAA licenses U.S. commercial rocket launches, landings, and reentries like last week’s Space X satellite launch and the landing of the reusable Falcon 9 rocket? To help with automating airspace integration with spacecraft, the FAA is also prototyping a tool called the Space Data Integrator (SDI). This will allow air traffic control to determine the right amount of airspace to block off and more efficiently release that airspace to other aircraft. Learn more about commercial space operations in the current issue of FAA Safety Briefing at http://1.usa.gov/FAA_ASB.
Produced by the FAA Safety Briefing editors, http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/
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