Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Garmin has updated its FltPlan safety management system (SMS), adding updates to the flight risk assessment tool (FRAT) and a new safety performance dashboard.&nbsp;
The FRAT now automatically pulls in weather, terrain, and runway condition information and combines it with pilot fitness questions, according to Garmin. An hour before departure, the FRAT automatically re-scores and notifies the pilot if factors have changed and negatively affected the flight risk.&nbsp;
Flight department customers can also modify the FRAT and, according to Garmin, “create custom rules to apply specific flight risk questions based on pilot profiles, aircraft profiles, weather conditions, airport conditions, and more.” This includes the ability to tie a pilot profile and rule together into a higher-level rule, such as a preassigned risk in the FRAT for a low-time pilot in a specific aircraft type.
The safety performance dashboard introduces preconfigured and customizable reports for assessing the effectiveness of an operation’s SMS. Dashboards are available for various departments—for example, one for company leaders and another for flight department managers. Reports can be grouped by risk level, report type, category, and other criteria.
Participants in the FAA’s Aviation Safety Action Program can use FltPlan SMS for employee reporting and can self-manage with an internal event review committee or use the Air Charter Safety Foundation as a third-party reviewer, Garmin said.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

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Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

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News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

In this article

Garmin

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