The Patuxent Partnership

Notice to Visitors: The museum will be closed on Sunday, November 3rd, for a private event. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday November 5th. Thank you for your continued support.

Tickets available here: https://lnkd.in/e6Zam7X5

The LAST Weekend of Historic Sotterley Guided Tour Season! After Sunday, our Visitor Center, exhibits, and guest bathrooms will be closed so we can winterize everything and protect it until spring. The grounds, outdoor signage, and trails will remain open for visitors to get some fresh air and stay connected to the site. Friday through Sunday, children 12 and under can choose a mini pumpkin from the museum shop to take home and decorate if their families take a guided tour or purchase a grounds pass. Families can enjoy the grounds, trails, and even bring a picnic if they choose. There is a themed scavenger hunt available for kids that want a little extra challenge. Sunday they will be offering wagon rides to take in their farm and site between 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Visitors taking a wagon ride must purchase a guided tour or grounds pass from the Visitor Center to qualify.  Remember, Members get their grounds passes and tours for free! There are also select items on sale this weekend at our Visitor Center! There are some great gift ideas, wonderful books, and more for you to start your holiday shopping early, or to just treat yourself. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/erDp2QfJ

Air taxis and other electric-powered aircraft cleared for takeoff with final FAA rules By Andrew J. Hawkins, transportation editor | The Verge| Oct 22, 2024, 1:45 PM EDT The agency rules establish criteria for pilot training and operational requirements. The Federal Aviation Administration published highly anticipated final regulations for electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles that it says will chart the path for the “air travel of the future.” The FAA says these “powered-lift” vehicles will be the first completely new category of aircraft since helicopters were introduced in 1940. These aircraft will be used for a variety of services, including air taxis, cargo delivery, and rescue and retrieval operations. The final rules published today contain guidelines for pilot training as well as operational requirements regarding minimum safe altitudes and visibility. “Powered lift aircraft are the first new category of aircraft in nearly 80 years,” FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement. “This historic rule will pave the way for accommodating wide-scale Advanced Air Mobility operations in the future.”  Powered lift includes aircraft described by industry watchers as electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL. Using tilt rotors, eVTOL aircraft are designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and then transition into forward flight on fixed wings like a plane.  Numerous startups, including Joby Aviation, Archer, and Wisk, are planning on launching commercial air taxi services with these new types of aircraft in the next few years. And for years, the FAA has promised there would be a regulatory pathway for powered-lift designs certified under Part 23 as normal aircraft. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dMiBB_ZV

Rebuild the Merchant Marine Given China’s aggressive naval growth and modernization, the U.S. Merchant Marine must be reformed and integrated into the Sea Services. By Commander Sonha Gomez, U.S. Coast Guard October 2024| U.S. Naval Institute President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the U.S. Merchant Marine the nation’s “fourth arm of defense,” reflecting its critical contributions during peace and war—from enabling U.S. seaborne trade to providing logistics support for military contingencies to steaming into harm’s way. Unfortunately, today’s Merchant Marine is underfunded and undermanned. The current state of the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet is a vulnerability. In 2023, the fleet had 177 oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross tons and above, of which 153 were militarily useful and 93 were eligible for Jones Act service, down from 193 in 2000.1 The Jones Act requires vessels participating in domestic trade to be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. mariners. By contrast, according to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development’s Handbook of Statistics 2023, China owns nearly 6,000 Chinese-flagged vessels of 1,000 gross tonnage and above and another 2,800 registered under foreign flags.2 Recently, the Office of Naval Intelligence assessed China’s shipbuilding industry as having a production capacity 232 times that of the United States, or almost 50 percent of total global shipbuilding capacity.3 Grow U.S. Shipbuilding Capacity Increasing the Jones Act–eligible merchant fleet starts with U.S. shipbuilding capacity. The current rate of U.S. production is approximately five ships per year, which is not globally competitive.4 There are two ways to grow this capacity: Optimize existing shipyards or build new ones to produce commercial oceangoing ships. Unfortunately, most U.S. yards currently lack the infrastructure, such as deep channels and large dry docks, to build or maintain and repair these ships. In 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law delivered $1.2 trillion to be invested in the nation’s infrastructure, with $17 billion earmarked for port infrastructure and waterways. In 2023, the Maritime Administration announced $20.8 million in grants to 27 small shipyards through the Small Shipyard Grant Program.5 And recently, the Department of Transportation announced $500 million for ports available through the Port Infrastructure Development Program.6 Yet, funding was not directed to U.S. shipyards that build large vessels, and some of these shipyards continue to operate at a loss.7 Read More here: https://lnkd.in/d6VKUSk6