A former Concorde captain is auctioning off his store of aviation memorabilia this week, in hopes of helping his daughter to pay off her loans for flight training. The items include cockpit instruments, a damaged engine blade, and a pitot tube from the nose of a Concorde jet. "When I retired from British Airways in 2004 I was very grateful to be given a number of items of Concorde equipment as a thank you," Mike Bannister, 65, told the Daily Mail.

Every other aviation cohort has some kind of association -- from Ercoupe owners to airline pilots -- so it's no surprise that a new group has launched this week for those who fly unmanned aerial systems. The new Drone Pilots Association aims to promote the interests of those who are interested in commercial use of UAS.

I was listening to O'Hare ground one claggy fall night, and several arriving flights were being sent to the penalty box due to delays. One arriving flight protested, saying they were promised their gate would be open. ... Ground: "Flight 123, proceed to the box." ... Flight 123: "But we were promised -- !" ... All of a sudden, several mic clicks could be heard, and the sounds of babies crying filled the frequency: "WaWaWaWaWaah." ... Then silence. ... Then Flight 123: "123 is proceeding to the box." ... Multiple mic clicks of approval accompanied the concession. Talk about being taught a lesson by your peers! I cracked up. -- Steve

After several days of confusion during which no authority appeared to be in charge of the wreckage, Ukrainian rebels have agreed to deliver the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 to the government of Malaysia, officials said on Monday. "Independent international investigators will be guaranteed safe access to the crash site to begin a full investigation of the incident," said Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

A JetBlue pilot was among six people arrested on drug charges Sunday in Boston. Police said they were watching an area near Boston Common after residents filed complaints about drug dealing, and on Sunday evening around 6 p.m. they saw what they believed to be drug transactions in the area, according to the Boston Globe. John Manwaring, 42, of Maitland, Fla., was arrested and charged with possession of heroin. He pleaded not guilty in court on Monday and was released.

A Long Island pilot had his second off-airport landing in a little more than a week last Friday, landing on the same highway he used in the previous mishap. Frank Fiero, 75, told reporters he thinks a blown fuse was to blame for engine problems encountered about eight minutes after he took off from Lufker Spadaro Airport in East Moriches.

The FAA is conducting its annual General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey and those contacted are urged to take the time to fill it out. Every year the agency polls GA pilots to get a snapshot of general aviation activity.

AOPA says it remains opposed to "any proposal that would add costs for GA users" after President Mark Baker, senior AOPA staff and members of the board of directors went on a fact-finding trip to Ottawa, Canada, to learn how the country's privatized user-fee based system works.

The committee for Santa Monicans For Open and Honest Development Decisions has received informal notification that a ballot measure on land-use changes at Santa Monica Municipal Airport has officially qualified for the November 2014 ballot.

Airbus has filed a patent application for a bicycle-style seat that allows passengers to ride their airliners in semi-standing position, allowing more bodies to be shoehorned into its airplanes.

The family of an airshow pilot who burned to death in an accident at Travis Air Force Base in California in May is suing the federal government for $20 million claiming a slow emergency response to the accident resulted in his death.

A federal court of appeals has ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration's informal letters and emails ordering some drone users to stop using the devices are not legally binding.

Austrian manufacturer Diamond Aircraft is moving forward with development of its Dart 450, a new single-engined turboprop for both civil and military roles.

A Malaysian airliner with 295 people onboard that crashed with no survivors near the border between Ukraine and Russia was shot down. The aircraft was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Allegations are being made that Ukrainian rebel forces shot the aircraft down with a Buk missile system.

This week, AVweb's review of what's new in aviation revealed new, worldwide coverage of a popular app, an airport advocacy program from a major aviation insurer, a pilot proficiency program at EAA Oshkosh and a new app that finds nearest airports at an unfamiliar destination.