Textron is in the process of restructuring its Cessna Pilot Center (CPC) network, including cutting back on the number of CPCs and putting more focus on its Cessna Flight Training System digital interactive flight-training curriculum.

This week, announcements have come in about special Aircraft Spruce Oshkosh deliveries, a new quick drain oil valve from Curtis Superior Valve Co., approval for expanded facilities for All In Aviation and Lone Mountain Aviation at Henderson Executive Airport, and an opportunity for aeronautical developers at Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport.

Virginia’s Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) will once again be testing its remote air traffic control system this summer. The remote tower, which is staffed by off-site controllers using an array of on-airport cameras and microphones, is scheduled to begin operations on June 25.

As in the U.S., a looming pilot shortage in Europe is on the horizon, but little is being done to fix it, according to a research paper published by AeroProfessional, an international aviation recruiting and placement firm. Europe will need to recruit and train about 95,000 pilots during the next 16 years to keep up with demand, according to Boeing's outlook. But AeroProfessional says pilots prefer to work outside of Europe and demand from Asia, Africa and the Middle East is siphoning off pilots.

The Diamond DART-550 aerobatic trainer has successfully completed its first flight, the company announced on Thursday. The flight consisted of a short-field takeoff demonstration, several low approaches, system checks and landing gear operation.

This week's letters brought comments from readers about CFI and pilot shortages, whether supersonic flight should be allowed over the continental U.S., and how best to carry survival gear in an airplane.

Embry-Riddle-Daytona student Nandish Patel, 22, was killed in the crash of a Cessna 140 at Spruce Creek Fly-In private airport (7FL6) in Port Orange, Florida, on Tuesday evening. Also on board the aircraft was Chase Zinn, 23, a May 2017 Riddle graduate and flight instructor at the school. Zinn was transported to the hospital and remains in critical condition.

As the winners of this year’s Aviation Design Challenge, four students and their teacher from Erie 1 BOCES Harkness Career and Technical Center in Cheektowaga, New York, will be traveling to Glasair Aviation to help build a plane, announced GAMA on Tuesday.

EAA continues to work on filling every day of this summer’s AirVenture with attractions for pilots, and over the last week or two a number of new events and appearances have been announced. The NTSB said it will host a safety forum, a one-third-scale B-17 homebuilt will return to the show and registration is open for Teachers' Day.

Electric delivery vehicle company Workhorse, which recently began untethered flight testing of its hybrid-powered SureFly VTOL, is seeking full FAA type approval for the aircraft, Workhorse CEO Steve Burns told AVweb in an exclusive podcast. Although it has not yet been determined which category the aircraft will fall under for the purpose of FAA approval, Burns is hoping for certification in 2020.

The design of today’s cockpits can lead to “cognitive overload,” especially when things go wrong and it’s not immediately clear to pilots what the problem is or how to fix it, according to recent research at Drexel University.

Pilots who fly in the Northeast should expect presidential TFRs over New Jersey this summer, AOPA said this week, while GA airports affected by frequent trips by Air Force One to Florida over the winter should see some relief.

BRS Aerospace, which has installed more than 35,000 of its ballistic recovery parachutes in a range of aircraft, from ultralights to general aviation and military airplanes, now is working to develop systems for eVTOLS, the company said at the recent Uber Elevate conference.

Charter operator JetSuite will be the launch customer for Zunum’s 12-seat hybrid-electric aircraft, now in development, Zunum announced on Monday. JetSuite plans to add up to 100 of the new airplanes to their fleet in the early 2020s, the company said.

Vik Kachoria, CEO of Spike Aerospace, said last week he expects to have a commercial supersonic aircraft design flying by the end of 2023. Kachoria said he is negotiating with “two major airlines” who are interested in his company’s technology, and he expects the aircraft to sell for about $125 million.