After three solid days of immersive flight training in military jets with a “Top Gun” instructor and a former astronaut, it’s difficult not to open with a mishmash of tired fighter pilot clichés. It is much easier to share that upset prevention and recovery training programs are eye-opening experiences, will make you a better pilot, and will ultimately save lives.

Flight Research International offers a comprehensive Fundamental Jet UPRT course; I have a fresh graduation certificate, and I learned a lot. The goal of the training is to equip each student with the skills and confidence necessary to overcome and mitigate the number one killer in aviation—a loss of control in-flight (LOC-I) event.

Taylor Swift left her concert stage in Tokyo and made the 5,785-ish miles to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas with ease, arriving at around 12:55 p.m. local time on Sunday’s game day.

She flew the bulk of those miles—5,473 of them, from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Los Angeles International Airport—in a three-cabin Bombardier Global 6000 chartered from VistaJet and dubbed "The Football Era." The 14-time Grammy winner landed at LAX on Saturday at approximately 3:30 p.m. Pacific time.

For the first time in five years, worldwide shipments of general aviation airplanes decreased in 2008, even as industry billings reached $24.8 billion, a 13.4-percent gain over 2007. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) attributed the increase to order backlog, reflecting the filling of orders placed for turboprops and business jets during the strong economic years of 2006 and 2007.

Shipments, meanwhile, dropped 7.1 percent from 4,272 in 2007 to 3,969 in 2008, and then-GAMA chairman Mark Van Tine acknowledged that the GA manufacturing industry is feeling a significant impact from the slowing worldwide economy.

During a visit last year with the new owners and leaders of MD Helicopters, I had an opportunity for a demo flight in the MD530F, one of the three 500-series models on the company’s production lines. As MD recovered from bankruptcy and resumed growing, the new owners focused on the most popular models, and the factory is humming with MD 500Es, MD530Fs, and the military version of the latter, the TH-AH-530 Cayuse Warrior.

Officially, the MD530F is the marketing name for the model 369FF, derived from the Hughes model 369 that started life in 1965 as the OH-6 Cayuse military helicopter. The 530F has longer main rotor blades and a larger engine than the 500E and thus provides better performance in hot and high conditions.

Super Bowl LVIII, the most-watched TV program of all time, brought together three of our favorite things: football, private aviation, and Taylor Swift.

It was a night of superstars, showmanship, and impressive numbers. Included in our few eye-popping Super Bowl LVIII stats are an estimated 1,000 private jets flying in for the big game.

Dubai’s government in the UAE has granted Joby Aviation exclusive access to the local market for eVTOL air taxi services for six years. Under an agreement signed with the emirate’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA), operations are expected to begin no later than early 2026, but possibly from 2025, when Joby also intends to start services in U.S. markets with its four-passenger, piloted aircraft.

The RTA has agreed to provide support including unspecified “financial mechanisms for entry and maturing of service operations in Dubai.” The agreement was signed during the World Governments Summit in Dubai and was witnessed by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is the UAE’s vice president and prime minister, and also Dubai’s ruler.

Defining professionalism in aviation is hard. The exact definition of professionalism depends on who you ask—a chief pilot, flight standards and training manager, or line pilot may each define the attributes of a professional pilot in a different way. It is much easier to define an unprofessional act or unprofessional behavior than to pinpoint exactly what makes an aviator a “pro.” As a safety practitioner, though, I am certain that being a professional has little to do with collecting a paycheck or wearing a necktie.

Professionalism in aviation, according to the NBAA Safety Committee, “is the pursuit of excellence through discipline, ethical behavior, and continuous improvement.” The committee further identifies professionalism as “the cornerstone focus of active safety management where professional behaviors rule and safe actions become a byproduct.” As one of its foundations for safety, the NBAA said, “Professionalism is about who we are and how we approach everything that we do.”

Hop-A-Jet Challenger 604 Business Jet Crashes on I-75 in Southwest Florida

Gulfstream G700 To Make Singapore Airshow Debut

New Year Marred by Three Fatal Business Jet Accidents

Airbus Set To Start Racer High-speed Helicopter Flight Trials

AINsight: Medical Standards and FAR 61.53

Super Bowl Draws Flocks of Aircraft; Numbers Down from Previous Years