The National Aviation Hall of Fame will induct four new members September 28, at its 56th annual ceremony, in Washington, D.C., organizers have announced. The four will be honored with a ceremony and dinner to take place at the National Building Museum. The event is open to the public.

When Chuck Aaron retired from the airshow circuit in 2017, he decreased by half the number of U.S. pilots certified to fly aerobatics in a helicopter. This summer, his old job at Red Bull has been filled by a newly trained pilot, Aaron Fitzgerald, who will make his Oshkosh debut in July, flying the Airbus B0-105C.

Bell and Safran have agreed to work together to develop hybrid-electric power systems for Bell’s eVTOL aircraft concept, the two companies announced on Tuesday. Bell will lead the design, development and production of VTOL systems, and Safran will work on “a disruptive propulsion system,” according to the companies’ news release.

I was inbound for landing at Reid-Hillview airport and had a traffic alert off to my left, 300 feet higher and faster. About a minute after the traffic alert the tower told me I had traffic above and to the left of me. I replied that I did not have traffic in sight.

I was flying over central Kansas when I overheard Center clear a jet pilot “direct destination.” The pilot, grateful, confirmed the clearance and added the compliment, “You’re a gentleman and a scholar.”

An attempt to launch a high-speed cellular network that raised alarm over GPS interference was squelched by federal regulators back in 2012, but now the same company is proposing a new network, and GA advocacy groups have banded together to oppose it. Ligado Networks, formerly known as LightSquared, claims its technology has improved, and will disrupt GPS signals only within 500 feet of its transmission towers.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed new simulations that they believe will help pilots to better recover when faced with an aerodynamic stall. “Part of the challenge is that pilots are often trained on simulations that take an aircraft right up to the point of aerodynamic stall but not past it,” said Peter Grant, a professor at the university’s Institute for Aerospace Studies.

To no one’s surprise, those in favor of splitting air traffic control from the FAA are busy planning their next move. After a last-minute grassroots lobbying effort blocked an amendment snuck into the FAA reauthorization bill passed last month that would have laid the legal groundwork for such a move, the CEO of one of the U.S.’s largest airlines was musing about the next steps in front of a friendly audience at the Economic Club of Washington earlier this month.

Boeing has announced its selection of 10 designs that will go on to compete for a $1 million prize to be awarded next year in its GoFly competition, which aims to inspire innovators to create a VTOL “personal flying device” that can safely be used by anyone, anywhere.

Wildfire fighters may soon have a new aerial attack weapon in the in the form of a retired Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300. Coulson Air Tankers, the Canadian company that displayed the last flying Martin Mars flying boat at AirVenture 2016, bought six of the airliners from Southwest and has finished converting one to a multipurpose aerial tanker.

Transport Canada says the suspected human excrement that has landed on cars, people and property in British Columbia over the last six weeks didn’t come from airplanes. About a dozen incidents in which a foul-smelling substance has fallen from the sky have been reported but Transport Canada says its investigation ruled out aircraft involvement.

The FAA says it’s tracking down the owners of up to 11,000 aircraft operating in the U.S. that may be noncompliant or have expired registrations. The focus of the operation appears to be commercial aircraft but the FAA didn’t make any distinctions in its comments on the topic.

This week's letters brought comments from readers about 100LL replacement fuels, AOPA's FBO pricing compliant and hybrid electric aircraft.

When it comes to this week’s news roundup, AVweb found reports on Superior Air Parts’ 2018 Oshkosh forum series schedule and a new opportunity for U.S. pilots from Emirates airline.

Blackhawk Modifications has announced that its subsidiary, Vector-Hawk Aerospace, will be offering the company's Blackhawk XP67A Engine+ Upgrade STC kit for the Beechcraft King Air 350ER. The kit is aimed at special mission applications and was recently approved by the FAA for aircraft at up to 17,500 pounds maximum allowable takeoff weight.