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NEWS

Hainan Airlines mulls stake in Malev Hungarian Airlines
Hainan Airlines Group is considering investing in financially troubled Malev Hungarian Airlines, according to an industry insider in China who said the Haikou-based carrier is in negotiations with the state-owned airline. If successful, HNA would become the first Chinese carrier to invest in a European airline.
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Singapore Airlines names LCC CEO
Singapore Airlines appointed GM-Japan Campbell Wilson CEO of its no-frills, low-fare airline set to be launched next year. Wilson has been with SIA Group for more than 15 years, holding various positions.
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UK's Voyager tanker to start Typhoon trials in October
In-flight refuelling trials involving the UK's Airbus A330-based Voyager and two Eurofighter Typhoons are due to start in October, only weeks before the new tanker/transport's entry into service with the Royal Air Force.
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Embattled Tiger Australia appoints high profile safety advisor
Tiger Airways Australia has appointed an ex-Qantas chief pilot as a safety advisor to the CEO. Chris Manning, a 40-year industry veteran, will assume the position immediately, reporting directly to the grounded carrier's CEO, Tony Davis.
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Unions for Southwest and AirTran pilots reach agreement
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association and the Air Line Pilots Association have come to an accord in principle for a combined seniority list. The agreement governs how AirTran Holdings' pilots will be placed into the seniority list of Southwest Airlines. The list determines pilot compensation, routes and schedules. "It's really a big milestone for the pilots to come to this agreement in principle," said Paul Flaningan, a spokesman for Southwest. "It gives a signal to the other unions that everyone is moving forward with the integration."
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American Airlines to negotiate with Boeing, Airbus
American Airlines has decided to negotiate a potentially large contract for more than 250 jets with Airbus and Boeing. The carrier is looking to gain significant concessions from the winning bidder. The situation offers Airbus an opportunity to make inroads in the U.S. while Boeing scrambles to keep its position in its home country.
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Body bombs might be as difficult to use as detect
U.S. officials have flagged body bombs as the latest terrorist threat, but the implanted explosives might be just as difficult to use properly as they are to detect. The Transportation Security Administration has notified airlines about the potential threat of body bombs, which officials believe a Yemen-based branch of al-Qaida is trying to develop.
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ATA CEO: EU emissions plan ignores other countries' sovereignty
Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association, says in a letter to the editor that a recent Washington Post editorial "rightly called for international agreement on a plan to reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions." However, Calio takes issue with the EU's proposal, saying it ignores the sovereignty that other countries have over their airspace.
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Appeals court says scanners are constitutional
The government's need to use body scanners to detect explosives at U.S. airports outweighs passengers' interest in privacy, according to a ruling by a federal appeals court. In its decision rejecting a constitutional challenge to the use of scanners, the court said passengers can avoid scanners by choosing a pat-down by a screening agent. However, the court also observed that the scanners required passengers to forgo some privacy. "Despite the precautions taken by the TSA, it is clear that producing an image of the unclothed passenger ... intrudes on his or her personal privacy in a way that a magnetometer does not," said Judge Douglas Ginsburg.
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NTSB is looking into collision of jets on Boston airport taxiway
The National Transportation Safety Board has started looking into a collision late last week between two jets on a taxiway at Boston's Logan International Airport. Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the NTSB, said the severe damage to one of the airliners led to the involvement of the federal investigators.
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DOT proposes rule requiring airlines to report fee revenue
Airlines would be required to report all the revenue they receive from ancillary fees under a rule proposed by the Department of Transportation. Currently, airlines submit reports on a quarterly basis regarding revenue from reservation-change fees and baggage charges. "We support transparency, and believe customers should always know what products and services they are paying for," said a spokesman for the Air Transport Association. "We also believe the airline industry, vital to our economy as a creator of jobs and mover of people and goods, needs to be treated like other global businesses and free from unnecessary regulatory burden that adds complexity and cost without delivering value."
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Other News

Lufthansa on Friday launched a six-month trial operating scheduled flights partially powered by biofuel on the Hamburg-Frankfurt route. An LH Airbus A321 will fly the route four times daily "with one of its engines running on a 50/50 mix of regular fuel and biosynthetic kerosene," the airline said.

United Continental Holdings said it will offer approximately 100 to 200 positions to pilots currently on furlough from its United Airlines subsidiary to fly aircraft for its Continental Airlines subsidiary. "The positions will meet the needs currently anticipated for the combined company's operation in 2012," said UCH.

Lufthansa's recent labor agreement with the Vereinigung Cockpit union, increasing wages for 4,500 LH pilots, is valid until April 30, 2012.

SkyWest Inc., the Utah-based parent of regionals SkyWest Airlines, Atlantic Southeast Airlines and ExpressJet, said financial results for the June quarter will be "breakeven," lower than it "previously anticipated."

Ukraine International Airlines again passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit and received its fourth IOSA Operator Certificate.



AVIATION QUOTE

Mistakes are inevitable in aviation, especially when one is still learning new things. The trick is to not make the mistake that will kill you.

— Stephen Coonts



ON THIS DATE

July 19th

---In 1867... Englishmen J.W. Butler and E. Edwards make the first delta-wing airplane designs. They take out patents for delta-wing monoplanes and biplanes to be propelled by jets of steam, compressed air, or gas.

---In 1920... The Vickers R. 80 airship, designed in an innovative streamlined shape by company designer Barnes Wallis, makes its first flight.

---In 1937... The official search for missing flyers Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan is abandoned.

---In 1957…A USAF Northrop F-89J Scorpion launches a live AIR-2 Genie ("Ding Dong") unguided nuclear air-to-air missile. It is the only detonation of a Genie.

---In 1963… Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km (62.1 statute miles, 54 nautical miles), this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.

---In 1978…Frank Haile Jr and William Wisner fly two Beechcraft Bonanzas around the world in formation.

---In 1985... Sharon Christa McAuliffe is chosen by NASA to be the first private citizen passenger in the history of space flight.

---In 1989… A United Airlines DC-10 crashes on landing following an uncontained failure in the number 2 engine. 111 people were killed.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

51 Days

A bartender is sitting behind the bar on a typical day, when the door bursts open and in come four exuberant Marines. They come to the bar and order five bottles of beer and ten glasses. They take their order over and sit down at a large table. The caps are popped, the glasses are filled and they begin toasting and chanting, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" Soon three more Marines arrive, take up their drinks and the chanting grows, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" Two more Marines show up and soon their voices are are joined in raising the roof, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" Finally the tenth Marine comes in with a picture under his arm, he walks over to the table, and sets the picture in the middle and the table erupts.

Up jump the others, they begin dancing around the table, exchanging high-fives, all the while chanting, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" The bartender can't contain his curiosity any longer, so he walks over to the table. There in the center is a beautifully framed child's puzzle of the cookie monster. When the frenzy dies down a little bit the bartender asks one of the Marines, "Whats all the chanting and celebration about?"

The Marine who brought in the picture pipes in, "Everyone thinks that Marines are dumb and they make fun of us. So, we decided to set the record straight. Ten of us got together, bought this puzzle and put it together. The side of the box said 2-4 years, but we put it together in 51 days."



TRIVIA

Commercial Pilot – Airplane Exam Questions

5440
Hatching on a Constant Pressure Analysis Chart indicates
A) hurricane eye.
B) windspeed 70 knots to 110 knots.
C) windspeed 110 knots to 150 knots.

5430
Which provides a graphic display of both VFR and IFR weather?
A) Radar Summary Chart.
B) Weather Depiction Chart.
C) Surface Weather Map.

5417
What type of Inflight Weather Advisories provides an en route pilot with information regarding the possibility of moderate icing, moderate turbulence, winds of 30 knots or more at the surface and extensive mountain obscurement?
A) AIRMETs and Center Weather Advisories (CWA).
B) Convective SIGMETs and SIGMETs.
C) Severe Weather Forecast Alerts (AWW) and SIGMETs.


5470
If an airplane is consuming 95 pounds of fuel per hour at a cruising altitude of 6,500 feet and the groundspeed is 173 knots, how much fuel is required to travel 450 NM?
A) 248 pounds.
B) 265 pounds.
C) 284 pounds.

5504
To use VHF/DF facilities for assistance in locating your position, you must have an operative VHF
A) transmitter and receiver, and an operative VOR receiver.
B) transmitter and receiver.
C) transmitter and receiver, and an operative ADF receiver.


5360
Which situation would most likely result in freezing precipitation? Rain falling from air which has a temperature of
A) more than 32 °F into air having a temperature of 32 °F or less.
B) 32 °F or less into air having a temperature of more than 32 °F.
C) 0 °C or less into air having a temperature of 0 °C or more.


5043
Excluding Hawaii, the vertical limits of the Federal Low Altitude airways extend from
A) 1,200 feet AGL up to, but not including, 18,000 feet MSL.
B) 700 feet AGL up to, but not including, 14,500 feet MSL.
C) 1,200 feet AGL up to, but not including, 14,500 feet MSL.


5212
An airplane will stall at the same
A) angle of attack regardless of the attitude with relation to the horizon.
B) angle of attack and attitude with relation to the horizon.
C) airspeed regardless of the attitude with relation to the horizon.

5076
A pilot flying a single-engine airplane observes a multiengine airplane approaching from the left. Which pilot should give way?
A) Each pilot should alter course to the right.
B) The pilot of the single-engine airplane should give way; the other airplane is to the left.
C) The pilot of the multiengine airplane should give way; the single-engine airplane is to its right.

5085
What is the minimum flight visibility and proximity to cloud requirements for VFR flight, at 6,500 feet MSL, in Class C, D, and E airspace?
A) 5 miles visibility; 1,000 feet above and 1,000 feet below.
B) 1 mile visibility; clear of clouds.
C) 3 miles visibility; 1,000 feet above and 500 feet below.


5608
What will occur if no leaning is made with the mixture control as the flight altitude increases?
A) The volume of air entering the carburetor decreases and the amount of fuel decreases.
B) The density of air entering the carburetor decreases and the amount of fuel increases.
C) The density of air entering the carburetor decreases and the amount of fuel remains constant.

5761
Hypoxia is the result of which of these conditions?
A) Insufficient oxygen reaching the brain.
B) Excessive oxygen in the bloodstream.
C) Excessive carbon dioxide in the bloodstream.

5163
If the airspeed is increased from 90 knots to 135 knots during a level 60° banked turn, the load factor will
A) remain the same but the radius of turn will increase.
B) decrease and the stall speed will increase.
C) increase as well as the stall speed.

5961
Which of the following is the final step of the Decide Model for effective risk management and Aeronautical Decision Making?
A) Estimate.
B) Eliminate.
C) Evaluate.

5002
NTSB Part 830 requires an immediate notification as a result of which incident?
A) Damage to the landing gear as a result of a hard landing.
B) Engine failure for any reason during flight.
C) Any required flight crewmember being unable to perform flight duties because of illness.