NewsCommercial
B/E Aerospace files patent for adjustable legroom seat
B/E Aerospace, an engineering firm, has filed a patent for an airplane seat with adjustable legroom. The wheeled seats are aligned on rail tracks, and cabin crews could move the seats forward or backward several inches.
LinkAirlines
American offers pet cabin service in first class
American Airlines is rolling out a pet cabin service in first class, allowing pet owners to bring their pets and carrier into the main aircraft cabin. The service is available on select cross-country flights in the U.S.
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Flight mode error led to 737 loss of separation
An incorrect flight mode setting was the main catalyst for a loss of separation between a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 and a Jetstar Airways Airbus A320 while on final approach into Sydney. The incident occurred on 4 June 2013, and involved an 737, registered VH-YIR, and an A320 registered VH-VFL, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says in its final report on the occurrence.
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MH17: Investigators analyze possible Buk missile fragments
Investigators have disclosed that they are examining components which might have originated from a Russian-built surface-to-air missile system. The disclosure from the Dutch Safety Board is the first statement to mention a specific weapon system in connection with the loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July last year.
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Ryanair In Talks On Interline Deals
Ryanair is in talks with IAG and Aer Lingus about providing transfer connections for long-haul services for the first time, chief executive Michael O'Leary said. The move is a major change for how Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost carrier, operates. "What we see over the next five, 10 years is that we become a feeder for other long-haul airlines," O'Leary said in a Reuters interview.
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United, Delta to resume service to select airports
United Airlines will restart service from Chicago to Kalamazoo, Mich., in December. United Express will fly the route on a 50-seat regional jet. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines also plans to resume service from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Salt Lake City in March.
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United announces subsidiary United Ground Express
United Airlines debuted a new subsidiary on Monday, United Ground Express, to provide ground handling services for United Express. "We are launching United Ground Express to provide flyer friendly service to travelers in more airports throughout North America," said Lynda Coffman, president of United Ground Express.
LinkAirports
United re imagines Newark terminal
The United Airlines terminal at the Newark Liberty International Airport is undergoing a $120 million renovation. Travelers will be able to order food and drinks from iPads, as well as shop at airport stores, and have purchased items delivered to the gates.
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Jacksonville, Fla., airport to upgrade luggage scanners
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority will purchase six new luggage scanners for $19 million. The scanners will be installed over 12 to 14 months, beginning next month.
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Military
Upgraded C-130H nears test flight for Israel
The first flight of an Israeli air force Lockheed Martin C-130H equipped with a new avionics suite is expected to take place soon, according to a senior officer from the service. "The new suite will make the cockpit very similar to operate to that of the C-130J we have recently put into service," says the officer, with work on the legacy transport almost complete.
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US Air Force F-16 crashes in Germany
A US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16C based out of Spangdahlem AFB in Germany has crashed during a training exercise in Bavaria. Assigned to the 480th Fighter Squadron, the F-16 was conducting a training exercise from the US Army’s Garrison Bavaria in Grafenwoehr on 11 August when it crashed at 09:38 local time near Engelmannsreuth in Bayreuth.
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USAF's first two combat-coded F-35s take flight
The US Air Force’s first two combat-coded Lockheed Martin F-35s have come off the assembly line at Fort Worth in Texas, with the second aircraft completing its first flight last week. Those aircraft, AF-77 and AF-78, are being prepped for delivery to Hill AFB in Utah where they will be operated by the 34th Fighter Squadron, the air force’s first operational F-35 group. The former F-16 squadron known as the “Rude Rams” reactivated in July and aims to declare initial operational capability with at least 12 A-model F-35s in August 2016.
LinkRegulatory
Canada Exempts Small Airlines From Pilot Fatigue Rules
Canada's transport regulator has made smaller carriers exempt for now from long-delayed rules on pilot fatigue, handing a partial victory to the airline industry after intense lobbying. In a filing with the federal register, Canada Gazette, on Saturday, Transport Canada said it plans to cap duty time at nine to 13 hours depending on when shifts start, down from 14 hours, among other scheduling limits.
LinkGeneral Aviation
Rutan enters seaplane market with SkiGull unveiling
Prolific aircraft designer Burt Rutan has emerged from a brief retirement to unveil a new seaplane design he claims can seat two people, fly up to 2,100nm (3,890km) non-stop, survive a 10g impact on rolling seas and fit inside the one-car garage of his lakeside home. Any other retired aircraft builder might invite scrutiny – if not intense skepticism – with such claims, but Rutan has a reputation for defying traditional limits with the non-stop, round-the-world flight of the Voyager, the first private suborbital flight of SpaceShipOne, endurance record-setter GlobalFlyer and 43 other novel designs.
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Aviation Quote
Without doubt, Concorde died yesterday at the age of 31. All that will remain is the myth of a beautiful white bird.
— Le Figaro editorial, the day after AF 4590 crashed at takeoff from Charles de Gaulle aerodrome, 26 July 2000.
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Editor’s Choice
Trivia
General Trivia
1.Modern aviation transceivers used in the United States can transmit and receive on as many as _____ frequencies, and their range is 118.00 to _____ MHz.
a. 720, 135.975
b. 720, 136.975
c. 760, 135.975
d. 760, 136.975
2. Everyone knows that Charles Lindbergh was first to fly solo and nonstop from New York to Paris. The second pilot to do this was
a. Giuseppe Bellanca.
b. Clarence Chamberlin.
c. Max Conrad.
d. Wiley Post.
3. Which of the following does not belong?
a. automatic
b. coupled
c. fixed
d. manual
e. pressure
4. True or False: A glider has never been flown nonstop across the United States (without being towed while en route).
5. True or False: Pilots not only are required to turn on their anticollision lights when flying at night, they also are required to turn them on during daylight, VFR conditions in all classes of airspace.
6. True or False: Lycoming began manufacturing engines in 1907, only four years after the Wright brothers’ first powered flight.
7. True or False: No American pilot was an ace in both World War II and the Korean War.
United announces subsidiary United Ground Express
United Airlines debuted a new subsidiary on Monday, United Ground Express, to provide ground handling services for United Express. "We are launching United Ground Express to provide flyer friendly service to travelers in more airports throughout North America," said Lynda Coffman, president of United Ground Express.
