This Day in FAA History: June 11th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19260611: The Ford Trimotor made its first flight. The famous “Tin Goose” was a high-wing monoplane with all-metal construction and a corrugated skin. The original 4-AT model seated eight passengers, later increased to twelve, and the improved 5-AT seated up to thirteen passengers. The Trimotor became a workhorse for U.S. airlines and remained in production until 1933.
19280611: Friedrich Stamer made the first rocket-powered piloted flight, in a tailless glider, at Wasserkuppe, Germany. Takeoff was assisted by an elastic launching rope. The craft traveled approximately one mile.
19460611: The Administrative Procedure Act became law, prescribing more uniform and publicized procedures for executive agencies to use in rulemaking, adjudicatory proceedings, and similar administrative actions. Federal agencies engaged in rulemaking were required to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register, unless this would be “impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.”. The notice must include: a statement of the time, place, and nature of the public rulemaking proceedings; a reference to the authority under which the rule was proposed; and the substance of the proposed rule. After publishing the NPRM, the rulemaking agency was to give interested persons an opportunity to submit written comments on the proposed rule. The act also made every executive agency action for which no adequate court remedy was provided subject to review by an appropriate national court.
19690611: Russell J. Sommer, PATCO’s Western Coordinator, notified PATCO Southwest delegates of upcoming FAA testimony before Congress on a PATCO-supported controller career bill. “If testimony not favorable,” Sommer wrote, “D-Day June 18th!” In opposing the bill before a congressional committee on June 17, FAA Administrator John Shaffer characterized controllers as “well-paid” considering their educational level. That evening, PATCO counsel F. Lee Bailey appeared on the NBC “Tonight Show” and reportedly told host Johnny Carson, “I’d start walking if I were you.” (See January 15, 1969, and June 18-20, 1969.)
19740611: A headquarters reorganization established the positions of: Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, with control of the Flight Standards Service and the Civil Aviation Security Service; Associate Administrator for Airports, with control of the Airports Service and of the new Metropolitan Washington Airport Service, which operated Washington National and Dulles International Airports; and the Associate Administrator for Air Traffic and Airway Facilities, with control of the Air Traffic Service and Airway Facilities Service. The Associate Administrator for Plans was redesignated the Associate Administrator for Policy Development and Review. The post of Associate Administrator for Operations, which had controlled the Flight Standards, Air Traffic, and Airports Services, was abolished. The Office of Appraisal and the Quiet Short-Haul Air Transportation System Office were also eliminated. An Office of Investigations and Security was established under the Associate Administrator for Administration (See August 3, 1970), and the Office of Personnel and Training was created from two formerly separate offices. The reorganization achieved Administrator Butterfield’s aim of placing the flight standards and air traffic functions under separate Associate Administrators, but only partially fulfilled his goal of grouping safety-related functions under the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety. On June 12, the press reported the retirement of Oscar Bakke, the experienced official designated for the Aviation Safety post, who was disappointed by the scope of the new position.
19910611: FAA issued a rule requiring air carriers to notify aircrew members when there is a specific and credible security threat to their flight.
19970611: President Clinton announced his intention to nominate Jane Garvey as FAA Administrator and George Donohue as her deputy. (See April 3, 1997; July 31, 1997; February 9, 1998.)
20010611: FAA awarded a $125 million dollar contract to Lockheed Martin Corp., to develop and field the En Route Communications Gateway (ECG). This new gateway for processing radar data would reduce system outages and thereby both increase safety margins and reduce maintenance requirements. ECG would replace the Peripheral Adapter Module Replacement Item (PAMRI) program. The system would be installed at twenty-one air route traffic control centers, the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, and the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center was the first site scheduled for installation of the new system. FAA expected the system to become operational in the summer of 2003. The last site would be fielded in mid-2005. (See December 7, 2005.)
20090611: FAA announced the runway status light system was operational at Los Angeles International Airport. The system used a series of red lights embedded in the pavement to warn pilots if it was unsafe to enter or cross a runway, or to take off. Los Angeles World Airports paid for the $7 million system and FAA installed the system and would maintain it. The runway status light system was connected to the airport’s ground radar system. The lights turn red if the ground radar detected a potential conflict between two aircraft or an aircraft and a vehicle. Los Angeles was the third U.S. airport to get runway status lights following several years of successful tests at Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego. It was the first airport to have the lights installed on multiple runways. (See October 16, 2008.)