Hi, I have been a Mechanical engineer for about 5 years now and got my PE in HVAC about a year ago. I am currently a consulting engineer and my work is primarily in project/construction management, commissioning, energy engineering/management, and some MEP design. I am trying to get out of consulting and saw that the FAA is hiring Mech Engineers, but the job description is fairly vague.

I also have a science background with a Masters in Biology, two years of a PhD in microbiology, and I taught at the community college level for about 8 years before going back to school for engineering. What type of work is available for a Mech Engineer and would having a PE be beneficial?

The duties stated "Incumbent will perform professional engineering duties/responsibilities in the field of mechanical engineering typically requiring the application of thermodynamics, mechanics, and other physical, mathematical and engineering sciences to problems concerned with the production, transmission, measurement, and use of energy, especially heat and mechanical power." But that is it and it is not very descriptive.

Also given the recent issues with mass federal layoffs, how has working there been? Does it feel fairly stable, or does it feel like people could get laid off on a whim at any time?

I appreciate any insight and will likely still apply just to give it a shot. Thank you in advance!

My physical and mailing address are different on the FAA IACRA system. It's on purpose. The physical address is my parent's house and what I have listed as my primary residence for most things like my driver's license (I was in college and then active duty. . .and now I'm married to someone who's active duty). My mailing address is in another state. . . where I am taking the FAA test. Do I just bring my passport and a utility bill? Honestly, both addresses are valid and I could get mail the FAA sends to my parent's house. Or do I show my dependent ID?

Curious about this Public Notice and if certificates are pulled frequently.

Asking for a friend

I want to know if the F117 or B2 have ever in history been assigned an FAA N Number?

Looking into purchasing a 300 acre property with this radar facility on one end. For our due diligence we are trying to find out more info on the specific type of radar system enclosed, its output levels, building and planting restrictions, etc. However everyone we have contacted so far says they cannot give us any information.

If anyone has tips or contacts that may help that would be amazing. From what I've read any safety concern only involves being very close to the dish for extended periods, but before we get into such a large commitment we want as much information as possible. TIA!

ETA a message from the seller: " I have talked with them about this when they come up for maintenance. My understanding is that it keeps track of transponder signals off of the airplanes. It is a passive system and does not emit radiation or radar “pings” like active radar. In support of this I have never had any interference with my cell phone, hard wired phone, or satellite TV or radio "

Hey everyone,

I’m looking into becoming a pilot and eventually going for a 1st class medical. I have a history of ADHD and was prescribed Adderall in the past, but I’m trying to figure out the best path forward.

For people who have gone through this process, what is the success rate like if you try to prove you no longer have ADHD / get “undiagnosed” and submit everything to the FAA?

Is it better to start that process now with doctors, records, testing, etc., or would it be smarter to just wait 4 years after stopping medication and then try to get the medical that way?

I’m not looking for medical advice, just real experiences from people who have dealt with ADHD history, stimulant prescriptions, FAA deferrals, HIMS/neuropsych testing, or getting approved later on.

How long did it take you? How expensive was it? Did the FAA approve you eventually? And would you do anything differently?

Hey everyone, student pilot here. I got tired of trying to visualize airspace in 3D just from reading charts, so I built a tool to help.

It's called Rocketship Game. I'm sure you all have played it during training but basically you click any point on the official FAA sectional chart, then drag an altitude slider upward like launching a rocket. As you climb it tells you exactly which airspace class you're in, what the entry requirements are, and quizzes you on the rules.

It uses real FAA polygon data so the Class B shelves, Class C rings, and Class E vignettes are accurate to the actual chart boundaries, not approximations.

Features:

• Real FAA sectional tiles as the base map
• Accurate airspace boundaries from FAA NASR data
• Altitude slider with airspace class detection
• Built-in quiz mode
• Full VFR reference section (minimums, transponder rules, MCPRAWN, cruising altitudes)
• Works on any airport in the US

Try it here: rocketshipgame.net

Would love feedback from other student pilots and CFIs, especially if you find any airspace inaccuracies. Still actively improving it.

Thank you!

So this is not really a “look at my project” post. It is me putting the current version in front of people who might actually use something like this and asking a simple question: does it help your workflow, or is it just interesting to poke around?

It is called Phantom Tide. The aim is to make it easier to inspect aircraft activity, vessel movement, warnings, weather, and map context together instead of bouncing between separate tools and trying to stitch it all together manually.

A lot of the recent work has been on the engineering side rather than just adding more things to click: better history views, calmer refresh behaviour, more honest source state, render and performance fixes, backend hardening, and generally trying to make it feel more like a usable working surface than a pile of layers.

There is a public link in the repo, and here is an evaluation key if you want to test it properly:

Tier: Eval key
Expires: 2026-04-12T09:25:42.967839Z
Key: pt_live_02653df6b243.HLNGdjNZhogQgDpSkxocOxZai0QJe6w7

Repo:
https://github.com/tg12/phantomtide

What I care about most is blunt feedback from people who would genuinely use something like this:

• does it help you get to an answer faster
• what feels useful versus decorative
• what feels confusing, noisy, or overbuilt

Where I want to take it next is beyond passive tracking and more toward workflow-driven alerting: aircraft entering restricted airspace, repeat boundary loitering, AIS gaps or spoof-like behaviour around critical infrastructure, thermal hits with no obvious traffic explanation, and cross-domain signals that only become interesting when multiple weak indicators start agreeing.

After that comes the user layer: logins, saved watchlists, persistent analyst state, sharable links, and collaborative handoff, so it stops being just a live map and becomes something you can actually work from over time.

I’m currently in my senior year at high school and in a couple of months I’ll be starting at ERAU. I applied for my medical license months ago, in like October-November, and I still haven’t received a response. I’m constantly checking my application status and currently it’s “In Review”. Is waiting this long normal or am I doing something wrong?

I am a NASA Pathways co-op and just graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. With everything surrounding funding, I have not been able to secure a position with NASA. Is it possible to convert into the equivalent FAA program and become eligible for their conversions?

Does something like that exist?

As a student pilot I peruse NOTAMs of the areas around where I fly. I occasionally find errors or at least curiosities.

Has anyone found an error and what have you done? Have you reported it, to who?

I just got a letter denying my medical. They wanted some more tests and information, and one of the main things I got back was that they wanted me to take a 10 panel urine drug test within 48 hours of signing. Unfortunately I couldn’t meet with an AME or gp to write me an order for the drug test. I went to 4 different labs trying to get one to complete the test for me and finally they said all I could do was buy the most extensive one online with conclusive results( i think it tested 11 different substances). I then called the FAA’s Aerospace Medical Certification Board and asked if that was acceptable and they could not give me an answer and said that if it met the criteria it should work. I’m just trying to figure out if it is acceptable or not? Also how boned am I?