The FAA's air traffic control system is at "increased and unnecessary risk" from cyber-attacks and other threats, according to a government report released this week. The analysis by the Government Accountability Office found weaknesses in controlling access to computer systems, encrypting sensitive data, and implementing security programs.

The sixth annual "Fly It Forward Challenge" is under way this week, calling on pilots around the world to take a non-pilot woman or girl on a short flight to introduce her to general aviation. "Salute the girls and women in your life that inspired you and/or supported you," say the event organizers at the Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide.

Bell Helicopter introduced its new 407GXP at Heli-Expo, in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday. The new aircraft is an upgrade of the 407GX, with a payload increase of 50 pounds, a new fuel-efficient M250 Rolls-Royce engine with FADEC, and new avionics features that the company says will lessen pilot workload. The company also announced at the Expo that it has agreed to deliver 200 of the new helicopters, configured for emergency medical services, to Air Methods Corporation; the order is one of the largest commercial sales in Bell Helicopter's history.

Airbus Helicopters presented its clean-sheet medium-class rotorcraft design, the H160, at Heli-Expo, in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday. The new design features two firsts -- the largest-ever shrouded tail rotor, which is double-canted at 12-degree angles to enhance anti-torque control efficiency, and an all-new "biplane stabilizer" with a staggered placement of two dual-level, interconnected stabilizer surfaces.

About 20 years ago, I was flying on a cloudy Saturday morning southwest of Austin, Texas. I was monitoring Austin approach when I heard a conversation from a plane inbound to Austin asking if they were in radar contact. ... Approach asked if they were the plane ten miles west of Comfort, Texas on a heading of XXX. ... The voice replied, "I don't think so. The town I see is too close for Comfort." -- Bryan D. Miller

Diamond Aircraft has certified the Continental Diesel CD-155 engine for retrofit in its DA42 fleet, the company said on Monday. The new option is now available in Europe and Canada, with FAA approval still pending. "Including the CD-155 to the type certificate adds a nice upgrade option for current DA42 TDI owners and operators," said Ken Suda, president of Technify Motors, the German subsidiary of Continental Motors Group.

It was almost a year ago, on March 8, 2014, that flight MH370 vanished from radar en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. As the anniversary approaches, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia are preparing to try out a new way to track airplanes that would use current technology but would enable the system to track a jet's position every 15 minutes, instead of the current norm of 30 to 40 minutes. Also, Malaysian officials have said they will release an interim statement detailing the progress of their investigation into the flight's disappearance sometime in the next week, but according to CNN, experts don't expect the report will contain any new information.

An Australian skydiver was likely saved by a fellow jumper who pulled his ripcord for him after he suffered an apparent seizure during freefall. In dramatic (really) video from the helmet cam of his instructor Sheldon McFarlane, a student skydiver identified only as Christopher at first seemed fine as he fell from 12,000 feet over Pinjarra.

A California jury has awarded $13,360,000 to the family of a Napa doctor who died in the crash of his Cessna 182 in 2009, citing negligence and false representation on the part of the mechanic who had signed out the aircraft's annual inspection days before the crash. The jury found that mechanic Faride Khalaf had earlier made improper repairs to the pilot seat track mechanism and lied about it to Dr. Kenneth Gottlieb, who was 67 at the time of his death.

Bombardier's new CS300 airliner completed its first test flight Friday, a success that the company hopes is part of a larger recovery from its struggles to develop its CSeries line of passenger jets. The jet departed Mirabel Airport near Montreal Friday morning and reached an altitude of 41,000 feet and a speed of 255 knots during the five-hour test flight.

The Pilot's Bill of Rights 2, which would broaden third-class medical exemptions and expand legal rights, began its journey through the legislative assembly line this week as GA Caucus members in the U.S. Senate and House introduced companion bills. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., introduced S. 571 as an expansion of his legislation that was signed into law in 2012. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., co-chair of the House GA Caucus, introduced the companion bill H.R. 1062.

The world's first 3D-printed jet engine -- a breakthrough for aerospace manufacturing and beyond -- took the spotlight Thursday at the Avalon Airshow in Australia. Monash University in Melbourne and Amaero Engineering partnered to develop the engine to show how the technology can make a complex machine in a fraction of the time taken in traditional manufacturing. They garnered global attention from aerospace manufacturers, defense contractors and military entities visiting the expo, which is taking place through Sunday in Geelong.

Garmin will soon have helicopter versions of its ADS-B boxes available for installation, unveiling on Thursday the GDL 84H and GDL 88H. The equipment meets the 2020 ADS-B Out mandate while receiving ADS-B In traffic and weather on a mobile device. Garmin expects to receive STC approvals for several helicopter models in the second quarter of this year. The GDL 84H will sell for $5,995, while the GDL 88H price will be $4,795.

Investigators are focusing on whether the wrong type of fuel led to a Piper Malibu Mirage crash Sunday in Spokane, Washington, killing the pilot. The airplane had engine trouble shortly after departing Felts Field and crashed on a street in East Spokane. KREM2 reported that the state Department of Ecology and an FAA inspector raised the possibility that the fuel spilled at the crash site was Jet-A.

AVweb's search of aviation news worldwide found some developments in the UAS industry, a new Robinson helicopter sim, and an STC in the making for helicopter lithium-ion batteries. SkyWard and Robotic Skies announced a partnership that teams the aviation expertise of each company to provide safety, compliance, and maintenance solutions to the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) community.