Vertical Aviation International (VAI) and the general-aviation industry commend the recent decision by the U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii, to overturn a section of Hawaii Act 311 that imposed reporting requirements on air-tour operators in that state. The decision reaffirms the doctrine of preemption, which reserves certain functions, including oversight of aviation, to the federal government.

A business-aviation coalition calls on the Biden administration to follow the approach the government uses for existing biofuel programs when it develops rules to quantify and verify greenhouse gas emissions from various feedstocks for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Those rules will determine the level of Inflation Reduction Act tax incentives available to SAF producers.

PHI MRO Services, a global provider in helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, announces at the 2024 Airborne Public Safety Association Conference (APSCON) that it has been awarded a completion contract for two Bell 407 GXis by the Louisiana State Police’s Air Support Unit. 

Nighthawk Flight Systems, Inc., a developer of advanced compact integrated avionics, welcomes Marc Ayala to the company’s executive team as vice president of sales. In this position, Ayala is responsible for growing and supporting sales of Nighthawk’s entire suite of products, as well as supporting its dealer network and customer-facing programs.

Metro Aviation is growing its list of capabilities with the creation of Metro Gulf, a new division that adds fixed-wing aircraft to the company’s extensive list of completion services. The new division holds its own Part 145 certificate and will provide maintenance, repair and avionics services to Metro’s existing fixed-wing and rotor-wing fleet as well as external customers.

The Aircraft Electronics Association's Educational Foundation announces the names of 26 individuals who were awarded scholarships for the 2024-25 academic year. The AEA Educational Foundation annually awards scholarships to students pursuing a career in avionics or aircraft maintenance, as well as students from AEA member companies.

Chartright Air Group, a provider of private aviation services in Canada, takes delivery of Canada’s first corporate ACH160. The helicopter will enter into service immediately, as the first to be delivered in North America, and will be available for charter later this summer.

Bell Textron Canada Limited, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announces the successful first flight of one of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s modernized CH-146 Griffon helicopters, a variant of the Bell 412EP, under the Griffon Limited Life Extension (GLLE) project. Under GLLE, Bell will provide aircraft modifications to a series of the fleet’s aeronautical components, including its avionics systems, cockpit displays, engines and sensor systems. This news comes nearly five months after Bell was awarded the In-Service Support (ISS) contract that is positioned to sustain the Force’s fleet through 2039.

A new area for youth aviation activities, located in the Vintage Aircraft Association area on the EAA grounds, is the latest addition to the expanding youth and family activities taking place at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024. The 71st edition of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s fly-in convention and air show is July 22-28.

Amazon announces the FAA has extended Prime Air permissions that allows it to operate its drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), allowing the company to serve more customers via drone and effe