Airplane Geeks Podcast

An airport director discusses air service and passenger growth, airport expansion, ATC impacts, and the implementation of a new RNP approach. In the news: DCA changes may increase the likelihood of helicopter-on-helicopter collisions, Collaborative Combat Aircraft airframers are selected while mission autonomy software is decoupled, Canada and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), harmonizing FAA and EASA certification rules, and another runway near-miss.

Guest

Paul Bradbury is the Airport Director at the Portland Jetport in Maine. We look at Air service and passenger statistics, and Paul announces the Jetport’s first seasonal transcontinental service with United to San Francisco and Los Angeles. He explains the opportunities small hub airports can realize through continued upgauging of aircraft. Paul notes that passengers have been willing to pay higher fares due to increased fuel prices.   

See: United Airlines Launches Nonstop Flights from SFO and LAX to Portland Maine.

To address parking capacity issues, Paul is now wrapping up the design and permitting for the revised $8.6 million surface parking plan, which the Portland City Council approved in April. This has been a lengthy process, and opposition from some area residents had to be resolved.

See: Portland approves $10 million Jetport parking expansion.

Paul also tells us about the challenges of Air Traffic Control capacity issues and the FAA’s capping of flights. We also learn about how the Jetport worked with Flight Tech Engineering to implement a new RNP approach to PWM that keeps flights over water. This approach was published on April 16, 2026, but is just now available for assignment by PWM ATC.

Aviation News

Helicopter collision risk higher after D.C. airspace changes, Coast Guard leaders say

Following the January 2025 midair collision, the FAA made changes to the congested airspace around Washington, D.C. But in a public Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting, U.S. Coast Guard representatives criticized the FAA, saying the revisions may increase the risk of a serious accident between helicopters.

The Air Current reports that USCG pilots suggested that “the FAA did not adequately weigh the risks of a helicopter-on-helicopter collision when moving to eliminate helicopter routes and change airspace procedures to protect against close calls between rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft.”  The changes put helicopters closer together and made it harder for crews to train for proficiency. The pilots said there was an increased risk of helicopter controlled flight into terrain.

In a written statement, FAA assistant administrator for communications Hannah Walden said, “Claims that these changes increased the risk of helicopter-to-helicopter collisions are not supported by the data.” She added that the FAA’s actions were guided by the National Transportation Safety Board’s emergency recommendations following the 2025 crash.

The Transportation Research Board is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Board seeks “to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges.” This is accomplished through more than 5,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies, and other organizations and individuals.

Air Force picks General Atomics, Anduril to build first CCA drone wingmen

The Air Force selected General Atomics and Anduril to build the U.S. military’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, beating out Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman in a re-solicited competition. The Anduril FQ-44A Furry and the General Atomics FQ-42A Dark Merlin will be fielded as production aircraft.

The acquisition strategy is unique in that the Air Force is pursuing a “software sold separately” approach, in which the purchase of the airframe and the CCA’s mission autonomy software are decoupled. Anduril, RTX Collins Aerospace, and Shield AI were awarded production options for the autonomy software and will compete in a six-month head-to-head round. A primary autonomy provider is expected to be named by summer 2027.

Canada Throws A Curveball As It Signals Interest In Joining GCAP Sixth-Gen Fighter Program

In a Tokyo meeting, David McGuinty, the Minister of National Defense of Canada, said he is “interested in learning more about” the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). That next-generation fighter program is a joint venture with BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy), and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd (JAIEC). Each holds a one-third share in Edgewing.

The Tempest is a crewed fighter with a targeted service date of 2035. A demonstrator is currently underway with BAE Systems in the UK. McGuinty said, “I’ll take it back to my team and see what it looks ‌like.” The speculation is that Canada could join the GCAP program with “observer status.”

FAA Proposes to Speed New Commercial Aircraft Certifications

The FAA recently proposed changes to modernize and harmonize commercial aircraft certification rules with EASA. The proposal would provide consistent requirements and reduce the cost, time, and complexity of certifications. This would streamline certification and benefit manufacturers.

Aircraft Certification: Comparison of U.S. and European Processes for Approving New Designs of Commercial Transport Airplanes

The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued GAO-22-104480 on June 30, 2022. The study directly compared FAA and EASA certification processes and found a significant asymmetry that harmonization could eliminate in the wrong direction. EASA uses a risk-based approach to evaluate compliance findings and reviews the technical basis for compliance determinations, including oversight of all aspects of the airplane’s design. The FAA, by contrast, reviews the completeness of certification packages and compliance determinations in high-risk areas, but this review does not customarily include an independent review of the technical basis for compliance determinations.

American Airlines flight aborts takeoff in Miami after business jet enters the same runway

After American Airlines Flight 308 bound for Bermuda received takeoff clearance at Miami, the flight crew observed NetJets Flight EJA434 entering the same runway and aborted their takeoff. Addressing the NetJets plane, the controller said, “You just crossed an active runway.” The pilot responded, “You just told me to cross the runway, sir.” The controller said, “No, we said Amerijet 461.”

National Air and Space Museum Celebrates 50 Years With Opening of Five New Galleries

Hillel attended the National Air & Space Museum media preview for the opening of the five new galleries.

He recorded the opening remarks by Christopher Browne, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Chris joined the museum as deputy director in 2017 and served as acting director from 2021 to 2022, when he was named director.

Hillel also interviewed Carolyn Russo, the curator of the art and trophy collections and the temporary curator of the poster collection. She has over 30 years of experience at the Museum, and is the author of four books: Art of the Airport Tower (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 2015), In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight (New York: powerHouse Books, 2007), Artifacts of Flight (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003), and Women and Flight: Portraits of Contemporary Women Pilots (Boston, New York, London: Bulfinch Press, 1997).

Mentioned

Cirrus announced the opening of its Duluth Talent Center, a multi-million-dollar investment that serves as a hub for community engagement, recruiting, and workforce development. Designed to connect individuals with careers in aerospace, the Talent Center provides direct access to recruiting, technical training, and career development resources in one centralized location.

Plane Spotting

C-130 Hercules spotted by Micah.

Upcomming

Hosts this Episode

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

The CEO of Heart Aerospace describes the development of a hybrid-electric 30-seat regional commercial aircraft. In the news, a near miss at Boston Logan between a landing Delta Air Lines flight and a departing American Airlines flight, NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 (AACES) program, Canada’s purchase of F-35A fighters and possibly Saab Gripens, and Canada’s look at early-warning-radar planes.

Guest

Anders Forslund is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Heart Aerospace, formed to electrify short-haul regional aviation. Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-30, a hybrid-electric 30-seat regional commercial aircraft. Heart is currently in upstate New York, testing the X1 demonstrator aircraft, which the company says will be the largest electric aircraft ever to fly. The company is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Ventures and Y Combinator, as well as operator/investors United Airlines and Air Canada.

Anders explains Heart Aerospace’s mission to lower the cost of air travel and how their clean-sheet Part 25 airliner will achieve about a 40% reduction in overall operating costs. The ES-30 will be an electric-motor-and-turboprop hybrid, while the full-scale X1 prototype is all-electric.

The X1 demonstrator has completed low-speed taxi testing at the company’s X1 flight-test base at Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York. First flight is expected shortly, with type certification planned for 2031.

Video: Heart X1 Completes Low-Speed Taxi Testing

https://youtu.be/5jkyKevsJNI?si=1xreSjh_gRcI6xu2

Anders tells us about the Heart team and how aerospace development has changed in the last decade. The company strives to manage uncertainty rather than minimize it, holds itself accountable, and sets falsifiable goals.

Before starting Heart, Anders was an aerospace researcher at Chalmers, where he was a driving force behind the Elise-Electric Aviation research project in Sweden, funded by the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova. He spent 2013-2014 at MIT, where his work on geometric variation of aerospace components was awarded the Charles M. Manly Memorial Medal. He is also a founding member of the Nordic Network for Electric Aviation.

Anders has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Product Development and a B.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Chalmers. He has a dual M.Sc. in Astronautics and Space Engineering from Cranfield University and Luleå University, as part of the SpaceMaster program. He is also a member of Prince Daniel’s Fellowship for young entrepreneurs.

Follow Heart Aerospace on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.

Aviation News

Horrifying Near Miss at Boston Logan as Quick-Thinking Delta Air Pilots Go Around to Avoid Landing On Top of American Airlines Boeing 737

Delta Air Lines flight DL-2351, an Airbus A319 flying from Dallas, was landing at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), was cleared to land on runway 33L. Moments later, American Airlines flight AA-3161, a Boeing 737-800, was cleared to take off for Charlotte from intersecting runway 27. The pilots repeated the instruction back to the controller, and after about 40 seconds, started the takeoff.

As Delta flight 2351 was about to touch down, the pilots saw the American Airlines plane and executed a go-around. That was followed by the air traffic controller asking the American flight, “American, where are you going?”

Listen to the Incident Audio via @xJonNYC.

Electra reveals 100-seat hybrid-electric aircraft concept

Electra developed the concept under NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 (AACES) program. NASA has commissioned industry and academia to “develop transformative aircraft designs, propulsion technologies, and sustainability solutions for commercial aviation by 2050.”

Electra’s large airliner concept features a wide “double-bubble” fuselage that generates lift. Propulsion comes from two turbofans under the wings that produce thrust and electricity, as well as three fans mounted on the top of the aft fuselage. Electra says those fans would “ingest and re-energise slower-moving air over the fuselage, a technique known as boundary layer ingestion.”

Other AACES participants include the Georgia Institute of Technology with the Liquefied Natural Gas Powered Athena Aircraft Concept, and JetZero with a hydrogen fueled blended wing body design.

Congress Questions Air Force’s Combat Rescue Readiness As HH-60W Helicopters Get Turned Into VIP Transports

The Senate Armed Services Committee filed S. 4784, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (NDAA), which establishes funding levels and authorities for the U.S. military. The 66th annual NDAA supports a total of $1.15 trillion in FY 2027 funding for national defense.

In its report [PDF], the Committee expresses concern “about combat search and rescue (CSAR) force structure in the Air Force. In recent years, the Air Force truncated the buy of HH-60Ws and has since transferred 26 HH-60Ws from units responsible for CSAR operations to the Air Force District Washington (AFDW) to replace H-1 helicopters. AFDW uses these helicopters to support contingency response, homeland operations, and ceremonial honors in the National Capital Region.

“The committee believes that these actions have left CSAR forces unnecessarily short of the forces needed to support CSAR operations in a major contingency. Therefore, the committee directs the Secretary of the Air Force to conduct a study of CSAR requirements and capabilities, including HH-60Ws and HC-130Js, and provide a report and briefing on that study to the congressional defense committees, not later than March 31, 2027.

“Furthermore, the committee directs the Secretary to avoid making any changes in CSAR force structure until the study is completed and he or she has provided the results of that study to the Congress.”

Canada Plans Fleet Surge to 140+ Fighters as Low Cost Gripens Reduce Expenses

According to informed sources, the Royal Canadian Air Force plans to grow its fighter fleet to 140, possibly by purchasing Saab Gripen jets. Canada has planed to purchase 88 F-35A fighters, but that could drop to 70, accompanied by 70 Gripens. Saab offered to establish final assembly, maintenance, and long-term industrial support in Canada. This would transfer technology and intellectual property to Canada. Under the F-35 program, sustainment and software updates are centralized in the United States.

Canada to buy Swedish surveillance plane over US models

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would not purchase early-warning-radar planes from the United States. Instead, they will purchase Saab’s GlobalEye, which is based on the Bombardier Global 6500 jet, manufactured in Canada. Price and fleet size were not announced. Saab said in a statement that as part of any deal, the company would invest in research and development work in Canada.

Hosts this Episode

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

The U.S. plans to reduce the number of aircraft for NATO operations, another A-10 lifeline appears, and discussions about restarting C-17 production. Also, owner-produced airplane parts, airport weirdos, a new album from Speed Brake Armed, how the NTSB uses audio spectrograms, lying flat on a broken Polaris seat, and Roman Numerals.

Aviation News

US Plans Major Cut to Fighter Jets, Warships for NATO Operations in Europe, NYT Reports

Citing European officials, the New ​York Times reported that the U.S. plans to reduce the number of ⁠F-16 and ⁠F-15E fighter jets from roughly 150 to 100. Maritime reconnaissance ​aircraft would be cut from 26 to 15, and all eight aerial refueling tankers would be pulled.

The ⁠New York ​Times said the U.S. aims to redeploy a missile-launching ​submarine and an aircraft carrier, along with several warships and jets ⁠that join ⁠the carrier’s missions. One of two groups of bombers previously assigned for ​Europe’s defense may also ⁠be reallocated. NATO spokesperson Allison Hart told Reuters, “Historically, there has been an over-reliance on U.S. forces and capabilities.” The U.S. European Command said in a statement that it would “rightsize” its contributions to the NATO Force Model.

Congress Throws A-10 Warthog Another Lifeline

The A-10 end of life is scheduled for 2030. Depot-level maintenance has stopped, and the 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has ended. The A-10 Weapons School is scheduled to end this year.

However, an amendment to the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization bill seeks to keep the Warthog alive. The amendment calls for the Air Force to keep supporting A-10 training, testing, experimentation, maintenance, and sustainment efforts. Other requirements include preserving lessons learned and operational expertise and maintaining a formal pilot training unit.

A-10 Warthog’s New Aerial Refueling Probe Is Now Operational In The Middle East

The A-10C is now operating in the Middle East with the new probe-and-drogue refueling capability. First demonstrated in early April, it took only six weeks to become operational. Previously, the A-10 could only refuel from a KC-135. The KC-46 was not yet certified to refuel the Warthog due to the “stiff boom” problem, which could damage the receiving aircraft. Now A-10s can refuel KC-46s with the probe or from HC-130s, MC-130s, Marine Corps KC-130s, and KC-130Js from other operators.

A-10 with refueling probe. USAF photo.

Boeing “Encouraged” By C-17 Production Restart Discussions

Restarting C-17 Globemaster III production would be extremely difficult, extremely expensive, but not impossible. There is interest from various operators and from the U.S. Congress, which has asked the Air Force to prepare a formal briefing on the feasibility of acquiring new C-17s. Driving USAF interest is a succession of crises in recent years that have put serious strain on the aircraft, and questions have been raised about the viability of the current plan to keep them flying through 2075.

The C-17 is powered by the F117-PW-100, which is the military variant of the PW2000 family (the same engine that powers the Boeing 757). New engine production for the PW2000 stopped in 2016, and the USAF is currently depending on overhauls of existing engines to keep the fleet flying. So the MRO infrastructure, engineering expertise, and supply chain for supporting this engine remain very much alive.

In March 2025, RTX announced agreements with JetZero to integrate the PW2040 engine and APU into its blended-wing-body demonstrator. So P&W is actively working on the PW2040 for a new application, which suggests the engine isn’t entirely dormant in their engineering ecosystem. The decision to restart the engine isn’t just a P&W decision. The risk-sharing partners, like MTU Aero Engines, have to be on board.

There are 222 C-17s in service with the U.S. Air Force today. The last plane was delivered in 2013, and Boeing shut down the line in 2015. Australia, Canada, India, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom operate the C-17.

C-17. USAF photo.

Listener Mail

Eclipse spare parts

Mark writes regarding the discussion about Eclipse parts from Episode 896 and notes that FAR 21.9(a)(5) creates a framework for owner-produced parts. Where a certified part is unavailable, owners of certified aircraft can “produce” their own. And they can do that either by making it themselves or by contracting out its production to a suitably qualified supplier.

There are rules about quality and the requirement that owner-produced parts be of equivalent specification to OEM parts, but as long as an aircraft owner can put their hand on their heart and assert that those conditions are met, they can supply parts to their maintainer and tell them to install them. See this AOPA guidance.

Airport Weirdo

Koeby has developed a crowdsourced gallery of airport weirdos, where travelers submit funny photos of strange things they spot in airports. No account is needed; you can just submit your photo, and it will be added to the gallery. It’s called Airport Weirdo.

New Album release by Speed Brake Armed

Pete Buffington tells us about Speed Brake Armed’s new New Age album “Echoes Above the Infinite Sky.” This album takes the listener on a journey of flight from South America, to Spain, to the Cosmos, and back to ancient Greece. Inspired by over 35 years of real pilot experience.

Video: 737 Echoes Above The Infinite Sky | Speed Brake Armed | Full Album | New Age Aviation Music

https://youtu.be/slO-4xnVqHg

Spectrograms

Andy adds his perspective about the conversation on spectrograms in NTSB investigations. While he has absolutely no actual knowledge about NTSB processes or how they actually use spectrograms, he speculates based on his experience as an audio engineer for over 30 years:

“Spectrograms have been a tool I use fairly regularly in production. To me, it mostly comes down to being able to recognize things that are hard to pick out. For instance, if there is some kind of unpleasant noise in the background of a recording, sometimes I can identify it and potentially filter it out, purely by ear.  Other times, particularly if it’s not very far above the noise floor, it can be very difficult to pick out by ear.  In that case, I’ll often look at a spectrogram. It’s certainly not always helpful, but sometimes there are things that I can pick out visually that I can’t pick out audibly…

“So I can imagine that in a cockpit recording with a lot of background noise, examining the spectrogram might allow patterns to be detected that would not be obvious audibly. My guess is that they wouldn’t be looking at the speech, but rather for indications in sound of what was happening mechanically.

“For instance, if there was sound at a particular frequency, happening at a particular interval regularly, that might be an indication of something. That’s the sort of thing that you can often see on a spectrogram even if it is audibly buried in the noise floor.”

14 Hours Lying Flat

Patrick thinks maybe United could have done better: 14 Hours Lying Flat: United Polaris Passenger Pays $7,400, Gets Just $350 For Broken Seat.

A United Airlines passenger has recounted her experience of flying in a faulty Polaris seat. She was forced to sit in a lie-flat position for the entire journey. After complaining, United offered her only $350. The ticket cost $7,388.

DCCCXCIV

Rob wrote in to say he enjoyed the value that Erin Applebaum brought to Episode 894. Also, that “with the very welcome return of David, this episode may well be the first podcast ever where the hosts have an odd number of kidneys!!” We also got a refresher on Roman Numerals.

Mentioned

The Great State of Maine Airshow, Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, 2026, at Brunswick Executive Airport (the former Brunswick Naval Air Station).

DARPA Lift Challenge at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.  Aug. 5-9.

Hosts this Episode

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

Our guest purchased the assets of planemaker Sonex and restarted the company. In the news, Customs and Border Protection officers at airports, Eclipse 500 spare parts availability, a Spitfire kit plane, recreating cockpit voice recorder audio from spectrograms, and a new website to track ATC modernization progress.

Guest

Stephen Osborne is the owner and founder of Top Aviation Services and the president and CEO of The Osborne Company. Shortly after planemaker Sonex shut down, he purchased its assets and reopened operations as Sonex Aviation LLC.

Sonex has a history of providing the recreational aviation community with innovative and affordable aircraft kits, powerplants, and accessories. The company is a leader in the homebuilt space and works to cultivate new pilots and airplane builders through educational efforts.

Stephen describes how he quickly moved to purchase the Sonex assets, resume shipping kits, and set the tone for the company’s future. Sonex has a strong “work family” environment that serves not only employees but also customers and vendors. As Sonex moves forward, its success will be built on those core values and the mission to make aviation affordable for everyone.

Stephen is a military veteran and former U.S. Army Captain and FAA-certificated commercial pilot. Top Aviation provides FAA-certified flight training for Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, and Commercial, as well as discovery flights and aircraft rentals at KTOP in Topeka, Kansas. The Osborne Company is a general contracting firm specializing in the design and installation of electric vehicle and aircraft charging infrastructure across the United States.

Group photo of employees, courtesy Sonex.

Aviation News

Feds Mull Pulling Customs From New York, LA, Chicago, and Other Airports in ‘Sanctuary Cities’

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested removing Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in so-called sanctuary cities where local authorities do not assist federal immigration investigations. Those cities include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco international hubs. In a recent congressional hearing, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics.”

Airlines and business groups warn of chaos if US restricts international flights

In a joint statement, the U.S. ​Chamber of Commerce, Airlines for America, the National Retail Federation, U.S. Travel, and other groups said the move “threatens to cause unnecessary chaos throughout the nation’s air transportation system.”

“Any reduction in Customs and Border Protection operations at major U.S. gateway airports threatens to cause unnecessary chaos throughout the nation’s air transportation system. International aviation networks are highly interconnected, and operational changes at a small number of gateway airports will quickly ripple across the country, negatively impacting travelers, cargo shipments, supply chains, and the communities that depend on those connections. Airports and airlines rely on stable, predictable federal inspection services to keep people and commerce moving safely and efficiently. We urge DHS to avoid actions that would create unnecessary operational and economic consequences for communities nationwide. As the United States prepares for growing international travel demand, DHS should avoid actions that would create unnecessary bottlenecks and economic consequences for communities across the country. Now is the time to strengthen America’s gateway infrastructure, not weaken it.”

See also, Airlines urge Trump administration not to curb international flights in feud over ‘sanctuary cities’

Eclipse Aero Says It Has about 3 Years of Parts in Stock

Eclipse supplier Resurgent Aviation Solutions (RAS) says on its webpage that the company “has elected to wind down all business operations and liquidate all remaining assets. All finished goods will be made available for outright purchase using an auction format. The liquidation will be completed over several auctions over the next two months.”

Spitfire could return to production 90 years after first flight

An original Supermarine Spitfire will set you back about £3 million. The new Aerolite Spitfire Type 433 has been constructed at a cost of about £750,000. The composite kit plane is touring the UK this spring and summer at air shows and military and classic motor festivals.

Great British Supermarine Ltd, is the manufacturer. Chief executive Jeremy Meeson, said: “The moment is right to reimagine the Supermarine Spitfire because today’s materials, propulsion, and digital engineering finally let us evolve an icon without losing what made it exceptional.”

A PDF let the internet hear the final words in the cockpit of a UPS plane as it crashed. The NTSB now wants it taken down

The NTSB does not release cockpit voice recordings made during an accident. Other evidence from investigations is released to the public, including photographs, videos, maps, and other data. During a two-day investigative hearing on the UPS flight 2976 accident, a PDF file was released that showed an analysis of the spectrogram of the audio recorded by the CVR.

However, the NTSB was not aware “that advances in image recognition and computational methods have enabled individuals to reconstruct approximations of cockpit voice recorder audio from sound spectrum imagery.” Subsequently, the NTSB closed public access to all dockets.

Spectrogram of the spoken words in a clip from Airplane Geeks Episode 895. Frequencies are on the vertical axis, and time is on the horizontal axis.

NBAA Welcomes New Website to Track ATC Modernization Progress

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) expressed its support for a new online dashboard developed by the Department of Transportation and the FAA to provide updates on the status of modernization of the country’s air traffic control (ATC) network. The Modern Skies dashboard provides information on ATC modernization projects already underway and updates at more than 4,600 FAA sites across the country, along with a map overlay detailing specific efforts.

Mentioned

Rob Mark and Max Trescott were shortlisted for the Aerospace Media Award in the Best Multimedia category for Episode 26 of NTSB News Talk – March 25, 2026 LaGuardia Plane Crash Into Fire Truck + Rob Mark on Losing a Pilot Friend. The Aerospace Media Awards will be presented on the evening of 19th July at No 8 Northumberland Avenue, London. The 2026 Call for Nominations closed with a record 700 nominations.

Amelia Earhart is back in Harbour Grace as stolen statue returns home

Infighting, court battles could put long-hyped air taxi breakthrough in jeopardy

An Air Taxi Lands in Manhattan, but You Can’t Fly in It Yet

Hosts this Episode

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

We speak with the founder and CEO of Points Path, which helps travelers get the most up-to-date pricing from both Google and airlines.

Guest

Julian Kheel is the founder and CEO of Points Path, a browser extension that helps you make informed travel purchases. Points Path performs the same flight search with Google Flights for each of its covered airlines, but requests prices in points or miles rather than cash. The results are then combined with Google’s results, so you see the most up-to-date pricing available from both Google and the airlines themselves.

In the free extension, Points Path offers award pricing for the frequent flyer programs of Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, and United. Paid Pro tier and Founders Club members also get access to Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Avianca, Emirates, Etihad, Qantas, Qatar, TAP Air Portugal, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia. All tiers include domestic and international flights on the airlines themselves, as well as flights with partner airlines.

The free version of the Points Path extension includes real-time, true round-trip points pricing for US domestic airline programs, as well as bank transfer programs for those airlines, indicators when a transfer bonus is in effect, and deal recommendation arrows. Points Path Pro is a paid upgrade that adds more airlines, price-tracking alerts, a 7-day points calendar, and other features.

Julian has extensive industry knowledge. He was previously Editorial Director of The Points Guy, as well as CNN’s Senior Editor covering travel and credit card rewards, and also worked as a consultant for the “Big 3” airlines. He has appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bloomberg Surveillance, and other TV programs to discuss frequent-flyer miles and has been quoted on travel rewards in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and many other national publications.

Julian was kind enough to offer Airplane Geeks listeners a discount code for the Pro version. Use airplanegeeks15 at checkout.

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, Brian Coleman, and our Main(e) Man Micah.