Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

The FAA is collaborating with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on an EZ Fly aircraft and demonstrator designed to help the agency develop policies that will make flying easier and safer as the industry is on the cusp of urban mobility.

 


The agency detailed the ongoing project during a recent meeting of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s Simplified Vehicle Operations Subcommittee at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, the association said.

 


There, the FAA gave a presentation, “A Revolutionary Cockpit Concept Research Sponsored by the FAA Office of Policy and Innovation,” highlighting the project to a group of more than 70 government and industry leaders and researchers.

 


According to GAMA, the agency launched the project about two years ago to demonstrate capabilities of simplified small aircraft operations to an average person and use that research to make piloting more intuitive.

 


During the presentation, the FAA selected a non-pilot to take the controls of the demonstrator. The volunteer was able to conduct a series of maneuvers. “Because the interface has been designed to completely protect the aircraft, the simplicity of flying with limited or no training was immediately apparent and the minutes-old pilot quickly matched the skills of an experienced pilot,” a GAMA spokesperson said.

 


One anecdote involving the demonstrator was a change of heart that occurred when the demonstrator was shown to a person with a fear of flying. Within minutes of using the demonstrator’s automated approach, the person became comfortable with using it, and the experience ignited an enthusiasm toward flying. But once the automation was shut down, the student became frustrated and no longer wanted to pilot the demonstrator.

 


“GAMA’s members are working hard on building amazing innovations that will make flying easier and more accessible while maintaining the highest level of safety,” the spokesperson said. “The FAA has been researching these innovations and has been working arm-in-arm with the industry to bring amazing new capabilities into the air.”

 


The agency has brought together internal experts to collaborate with industry to build on lessons learned and bring new ideas into fruition, the association added.

FAA Explores New Flying Concepts, Technologies

The EZ Fly demonstrator ignited an enthusiasm for flying with a person who had a fear of flying.

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