NewsCommercial Aviation
US FAA Proposes Fines Against Southwest, Great Lakes
The US FAA has proposed fining Southwest Airlines USD$325,000, saying the Dallas-based airline operated an aircraft with improper modifications. The US agency alleged in a statement that the incident, from August 2011, involved the faulty installation of a switch on a Boeing 717 that allows crews to test the plane's cockpit window heating system. The plane was operated by AirTran, the discount carrier Southwest bought in 2011.
Link
Man Removed From Plane Over Infectious Disease Alert
fficials removed a man with an unspecified infectious disease - possibly tuberculosis - from a US Airways Express flight with 70 passengers on board shortly after it landed in Phoenix over the weekend, authorities said on Monday. The unidentified man was removed from Flight 2846 from Austin, Texas, when it landed on Saturday after the airline received an alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding a passenger known to have an infectious disease, a spokesman for the airline said. The Transport Security Administration had not flagged the passenger as "do not fly" prior to the flight, although once in the air the CDC notified the airline that the passenger had "do not board" status, US Airways spokesman Bill McGlashen said. A document on the CDC's website said the do not board list is intended "to prevent persons who are contagious from boarding commercial aircraft." It mentioned pulmonary tuberculosis as one such communicable disease.
Link
Boeing selects 757 as next 'ecoDemonstrator'
Boeing is to test potential future environmental technologies on a legacy 757 flown by tour operator TUI Travel. The manufacturer has selected the UK-based leisure carrier group as partner for the next part of its "ecoDemonstrator" program. The scheme started with the temporary installation of a number experimental modifications on an American Airlines 737-800 in 2012.
Link
GKN to produce 737 Max winglets
Boeing has selected GKN as a winglet supplier for the 737 Max program. The UK aerostructures specialist will thus become the second producer for the wing-tip devices after Korean Air Aerospace Division, the equipment manufacturing arm of the South Korean flag carrier. GKN will fabricate the winglets at its UK composite production centre at Cowes on the Isle Wight, although final assembly will take place at one of the supplier’s US facilities, in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Link
Analyst: US Airways-AA merger offers $1B in cost savings
The merger between US Airways and American Airlines could generate $1 billion in cost savings, according to analyst Bob McAdoo. In a report, he said the merger will offer "well over $1 billion in opportunities to improve AMR's revenue generation potential and financial profitability, simply by shifting priorities and assets."
Link
United debuts flat-bed seats for business class travelers
United Airlines has debuted flat-bed seats for business class on "Premium Service" transcontinental routes. The 180-degree seats will be available on routes from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to two California cities. "This is just one more example of the many things we are doing to provide greater onboard comfort and convenience on every United flight," said Jeff Foland, United's executive vice president of marketing, technology and strategy.
Link
China will maintain controversial air defense zone, experts say
South Korea announced plans on Monday to formally protest China's newly-established air defense zone, which includes territory disputed by China and Japan. However, experts say China is unlikely to back down. "I don't think the Chinese will retract it under any circumstances," said Bonnie Glaser from the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Link
Mo. airports "spur economic growth," study says
Missouri airports contribute $11.1 billion to the state economy, according to a study by the state Department of Transportation. "In addition to airports' status as a substantial job and payroll contributor, we found communities large and small rely on Missouri airports to spur economic growth and increase access to regional and worldwide markets," said Dave Nichols, director of the department, in a statement. The state is home to nine commercial airports, as well as 99 smaller airports.
Link
Chaplains touch lives at airports
Most airports include chapels and chaplains as an added amenity. The chaplains don't perform regular weddings or hold weekly services -- instead they offer comfort to a transient congregation, sometimes breaking tough news to a passenger arriving home. "You only get one chance to impress them, one chance to help them," said Bishop D.D. Hayes, a nondenominational pastor at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. "Many times we touch lives we never see again."
Link
Therapy dogs set to calm passengers at San Francisco International Airport
Today, the Wag Brigade, charged with relieving travelers' stress, will begin patrolling San Francisco International Airport. The dogs, a product of the San Francisco SPCA's Animal Assisted Therapy program, are accompanied by handlers and wear vests labeled, "Pet Me!" Los Angeles International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport have similar programs.
LinkUAV News
Civil-use UAVs face regulatory hurdles
For unmanned air systems makers looking to exploit a latent US civil market, technical hurdles are increasingly the least challenging aspect of establishing a viable business. As the US Federal Aviation Administration noted in its November 2013 road map to integrating unmanned air vehicles into civil airspace, “rulemaking efforts may be more complex, receive greater scrutiny and require longer development timeframes than the average regulatory effort”. Obstacles to integration include the absence of a certification regime and the FAA worries about “cockpit” security. The FAA reckons that certification standards could be in place in 2015, but it does not foresee acceptable autonomous sense-and-avoid technology – needed to allow operations beyond line-of-sight – any sooner than five to 10 years.
Link
UAS industry embraces Amazon's unmanned delivery drive
A CBS 60 Minutes report on Amazon.com’s plan to deliver packages using unmanned aircraft generated plenty of publicity for the Seattle-based retailer. But the 1 December report may also help to raise public awareness for the unmanned aircraft industry, and the challenges that experts say will likely keep the company's drones grounded for the foreseeable future. “Amazon talking about how they are going to use [unmanned aircraft] helps educate the public about what needs to be done,” says Ben Gielow, government relations manager and general council at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
Link
North Dakota outlines big plans for UAS innovation
Sparsely-populated North Dakota already has one of the strongest economies in the US, thanks to an ongoing oil boom. Now the northern state of roughly 700,000 residents is seeking to become a nationwide leader in the testing and development of civil unmanned air systems (UAS). Officials from the Grand Forks region are rallying behind a plan to develop a local hub of UAS innovation. They are also vocally promoting Grand Forks’ application to the US Federal Aviation Administration to be selected as one of six UAS test sites.
LinkMilitary News
USA may sell 14 used CH-47Ds to South Korea
South Korea could obtain 14 used Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters from US army forces stationed in the country. The proposed $151 million deal would be conducted under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism, according to a statement by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). If the sale is approved, the aircraft would be transferred to South Korean forces incrementally as US army units take delivery of new-build CH-47Fs. The proposed deal would save the US army about $13.4 million that would otherwise need to be spent on demilitarising or transporting the aircraft.
Link
Aviation Quote
"Since, in the long run, every planetary civilization will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring--not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive... If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds."
Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994
On This Date
--- In 1908... The Englishman J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon (later Lord Tara of Brabazon) makes a flight of 1,350 ft. in a Voisin biplane at Issy-les-Moulineaux in France. He becomes one of the guiding lights of early British aviation and is issued the first British pilot’s license, then called an aviator’s certificate.
---In 1945…A Mk5 Sea Vampire became the first jet aircraft to intentionally take off and land from an aircraft carrier, HMS Ocean.
---In 1952…First flight of the Grumman XS2F-1 Tracker.
---In 1955…Glenn L. Martin, founder of the Glenn L. Martin Company, dies at age 69.
---In 1961... The National Air and Space Museum receives the Douglas C-54 transport Sacred Cow used by Presidents Roosevelt and Truman.
---In 1967…The A-7A Corsair II strike aircraft enters combat for the first time, operating from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CVA-61) over Vietnam.
---In 1969… An Air France Boeing 707-328B (registration F-BHSZ) operating the Caracas-Point-à-Pitre sector of flight AF212 crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff from Simon Bolivar International Airport with the loss of all 62 on board.
---In 1974… Martinair Flight 138, a Douglas DC-8 flew into the side of a mountain while on landing approach in Colombo, Sri Lanka. All 191 passengers and crew on board were killed.
---In 1991... Pan Am World Airways goes out of business after 64 years of service. The sudden shutdown of this aviation pioneer strands many passengers and leaves about 9,000 employees out of work.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Three Pilots
There was a Mexican, a American and a Japanese pilot.
They were taking turns flying over each of their countries so they were flying over Kapan and the Japanese guy drops an apple on his country and the other two ask why he did that and he said "Because I love my country!"
So they went on to Mexico and the Mexican drops an orange on his country so the other two asked why he did that and he said "Because I love my country"
So they went on to America and the American drops a bomb on his country so the other two asked him why he did that and he said "Because I hate my country"
So they landed in their respective countries and the Japanese guy was walking and he saw a kid crying so he said what’s the matter and the kid said an apple fell out of the sky and hit me in the head.
Then the Mexican was walking and he saw a kid crying so he asked what happened and the kid said an orange fell out of the sky and hit him in the head.
Then the American was walking and he saw a kid laughing and he ask what are you so happy about and he said "I farted and the building behind me exploded."
Trivia
Tail ID’s
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Queso wrote:Lots of UAS/UAV news this morning. They are clearly the wave of the future.
