From EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024, the GoAERO competition for emergency response aircraft, Bose headset technology, the Honeywell Anthem™ Integrated Flight Deck, and the Pivotal Helix eVTOL. In the news, Southwest Airlines changes its boarding process, will begin redeye flights, names a transformation executive, and comes under increased FAA scrutiny. Also, the FAA and NATCA come together on changes to address controller fatigue.

Our Innovation and Entrepreneurship Correspondent Hillel Glazer attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024 and captured many interviews. We hear four of them in this episode:

GoAERO is looking for teams to design and build the world’s first-ever autonomy-enabled Emergency Response Flyer. The vision is a world where every first responder has life-saving aerial capability enabled by compact size and autonomous operations. With support from Boeing, NASA, Honeywell, RTX, and many others, teams will work will make emergency response aircraft accessible to all. Over $2 Million in prizes will be awarded.

Video: Ready. Set. GoAERO.

Jason and Hillel talk about Bose aviation headsets and the noise-canceling technology they utilize.

The Honeywell Anthem™ Integrated Flight Deck is installed in a Pilatus PC-12 test aircraft which recently completed its first flight. This milestone demonstrated the system’s safety and maturity and is a step forward on the certification path. 

The Helix eVTOL is Pivotal’s first aircraft to be produced at scale. The single-seat tilt aircraft employs fixed rotors and tandem wings. It is classified as a Part 103 Ultralight. The carbon fiber composite Helix weighs 254 lbs empty.

Video: Pivotal | The World is Yours to Explore

Southwest Airlines will assign seats, offer premium seating options on all flights, and add 24-hour operation capabilities to introduce redeye flights. Southwest Officer Ryan was named Green to lead new efforts as Executive Vice President Commercial Transformation.

The airline says that 80% of Southwest customers and 86% of potential customers prefer an assigned seat. Southwest expects roughly one-third of seats across the fleet to offer extended legroom.

See also: The end of an era: Why I’m sad about Southwest Airlines saying farewell to open seating by Benét J. Wilson.

The NTSB preliminary report says that the flight crew of a Southwest Airlines plane that took off from a temporarily closed runway at the Portland Jetport did not realize the runway was closed on that day.

Southwest Airlines flight WN-425 descended to within 150 feet AGL about 4 miles from the end of the runway at Tampa International Airport. The aircraft should have been at 1,600 feet. The tower controller called a low altitude alert and the crew answered they were performing a go-around. The plane landed at Fort Lauderdale International Airport about 40 minutes later and then returned to Tampa International.

The airline said “We recently formed a dedicated team of subject-matter experts and leaders from Southwest, our union partners, and the FAA to bolster our existing Safety Management System. This group is tasked with performing an in-depth, data-driven analysis to identify any opportunities for improvement.” 

The FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) agreed that air traffic controllers will get at least 10 hours off between shifts and 12 hours off before and after a midnight shift. These changes are meant to address controller fatigue. Also, the number of consecutive overtime assignments will be limited, and the agreement includes education on how to make recuperative breaks more effective. The FAA and NATCA will consult with experts and create a collaborative workgroup to expand the Fatigue Risk Management System and Fatigue Safety Steering Committee.

Author Jamie Dodson. 

Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, Rob Mark, and David Vanderhoof.