Resource Hub

(Star Weekly) – Students at Newport Gardens Primary School in Newport, Victoria, Australia, got a thrill Dec. 2 when a Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service crew landed on their grounds. The crew shared water safety–education materials with the children and allowed them to explore the lifesaving equipment on board the team’s helicopter.

(PR Newswire) – The Chinese electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer announced the news Dec. 3, saying the results signal the full-scale demonstrator’s readiness to move from technology verification into the engineering development phase.

(Access Newswire) – Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Horizon Aircraft announced Dec. 4 that it is teaming with Motion Applied to design and manufacture a customized motor drive inverter for Horizon’s Cavorite X7 hybrid-electric aircraft.

(Good Morning America) – The world’s largest retailer launched its latest grocery drone delivery service Dec. 3, in Atlanta. Walmart began deliveries to the Georgia city in partnership with Wing after announcing in June that the company would expand the service to five more US cities in addition to Dallas, Texas, and Bentonville, Arkansas.

(Scoop) – The air ambulance organization’s service during the month included assisting with medical emergencies in hard-to-access rural areas across Waikato, King Country, and Coromandel in New Zealand’s North Island.

(Business Wire) – Hinson, who served as an executive VP at FlightSafety from 2009 to 2012, will succeed Barbara Telek, who recently announced her retirement.

(apa) – Two helicopters from the Aviation Unit of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have been sent to combat fires in the mountainous areas of the Kalbajar and Lachin districts. The fires have been ongoing for several days.

This proposed FAA airworthiness directive (AD) was prompted by a determination that certain bolts installed on the horizontal control rods of the flight controls were not dye penetrant inspected for cracks during manufacturing and thus could lead to bolt failure. The AD would require replacement of affected bolts with bolts that are eligible for installation and prohibit installation of an affected bolt on any helicopter.

Chris Baur, industry chairman of the US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) and a VAI Board member, notes that fatal US helicopter accidents have been trending in a favorable direction based on the five-year average but are worse than 2024.

The FAA antidepressant protocol received a major update Dec. 3: The stabilization wait time for approved medications has been reduced from six to three months.