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FAA flags new computer issue in Boeing MAX tests
FAA test pilots have flagged a new issue in the Boeing 737 MAX flight control system that must be addressed as part of changes being made to get the aircraft back into service, ATW has learned. “FAA is following a thorough process, not a prescribed timeline, for returning the Boeing 737 MAX to passenger service,” the agency said in a statement June 26. “FAA recently found a potential risk that Boeing must mitigate.”
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Boeing CEO still hopes for MAX return by end of summer
Boeing’s top executive remains hopeful that the Boeing 737 MAX will be cleared to fly before summer’s end and pledged to ensure affected operators are compensated regardless of how long the disruption lasts. Boeing president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg, addressing attendees at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado June 26, declined to provide a specific timeline for when the company believes the MAX will be cleared to fly again.
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PARIS 2019: Mitsubishi SpaceJet interest goes ‘exponential’ since Le Bourget
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.’s (MITAC) Paris Air Show unveiling of a new cabin for its SpaceJet regional jet (RJ) family has sparked interest from airline customers, giving executives confidence that its surprising initial commitment for 15 M100s during the show is the first of a series of deals for the revamped, US scope-compliant variant.
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Bombardier halts CRJ sales amid pending divestiture
New Bombardier CRJ regional jets are no longer for sale.
The Montreal airframer confirms it has halted sales of additional new CRJs due to its pending divestiture of the CRJ programme to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).
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Rolls-Royce eyes electric engine start on business jets by 2025
Rolls-Royce could from 2025 offer business jet engines that are started using electrical power rather than by high-pressure air.
A specialist team is currently working on a family of electric starter-generators (ESGs) with power ratings of between 40-150kW; the initial product is a 40kW unit that is "at an advanced development stage", says R-R.
LinkAirlines
TAP Portugal eyes A321XLR as it launches 3 US routes in 3 weeks
TAP Air Portugal, which is on an expansion drive, will eventually become a customer of the newly launched Airbus A321XLR, co-owner David Neeleman says.
The extra-long range version of the Airbus family of narrowbodies was launched at the Paris Air Show June 17 and by the end of the week had accumulated 260 orders, commitments and order conversions.
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Neeleman: First Moxy A220s to come from GECAS in 2021
Planned US startup Moxy will have “lots of flexibility” with the Airbus A220-300 that would allow the airline to go international, David Neeleman says.
Moxy is the latest in a string of startups founded by Neeleman that include New York-based JetBlue Airways and Brazilian carrier Azul.
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Romania’s Tarom to update regional ATRs with newer models
Romania’s flag carrier, Tarom, will replace its regional fleet of ATRs with updated variants of the aircraft, the airline said June 26.
The carrier will acquire nine ATR 72-600s from lessor Nordic Aviation Capital, with deliveries running from October 2019 into 2020.
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Air Niugini sees progress on turnaround, fleet refresh plans
Air Niugini, Papua New Guinea’s largest airline, is making progress on a financial turnaround plan and is ready to begin a major fleet refresh, a senior executive said.
The airline is “now in a position to start looking to the future,” and renewing its fleet will be “our priority over the next two to three years,” Air Niugini executive manager for network and fleet David Glover said.
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EVA Air losses reach $26 million as cabin crew strike continues
EVA Air’s cabin crew strike has entered its seventh day, becoming the longest strike in Taiwan’s aviation history. The island’s second largest airline said losses have reached $26 million and it is expected to lose up to $34.3 million in the coming days.
The Star Alliance member has stopped taking reservations until June 29. Cancellations have reached into the first week of July with around 390 more flights canceled, reaching 1,016 in total.
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IAG chief predicts more airline failures in 'tough' 2019
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh expects further European airline bankruptcies in 2019 amid "stubbornly" high fuel prices and competitive pressures in what is likely to a "tough" year for the sector.
LinkAirports
ACI: European Airports to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050
European airports want to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050 at the latest, Airports Council International (ACI)-Europe said June 26 as its members gathered in Limassol, Cyprus for its annual congress and general assembly. ACI Europe said 194 airports run by 40 airport operators across 24 European countries had also individually committed to the same objective, marking “a step change in the climate action of the airport industry.”
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DFW commences trial of automated baggage vehicles
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has become the first US gateway to trial Vanderlande's autonomous FLEET baggage handling vehicles.
In DFW's case, the airport is using the innovative technology to help its customers make more seamless transfers in the recheck area in Terminal D.
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Aviation Quote
Muhammad Ali: Superman Don't need no seat belt.
Flight Attendant: Superman Don't need no airplane, either.
- quoted by Clifton Fadiman, 'The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes,' 1985.
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. What airplane produced by a well-known aircraft manufacturer was rejected by the U.S. Army in 1973 because it could be brought down by bow and arrow?
2. What is the largest, post-World War II, piston-powered, twin-engine airplane designed from scratch and produced exclusively as a general aviation airplane?
3. Why should every dedicated pilot fly at least once to KFFA?
4. Several types of liaison airplanes served the U.S. military during World War II. Best known of these were the first five, the L-1, L-2, L-3, L-4, and L-5. Can you identify these utilitarian “L-birds?”
5. Almost everyone has heard of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, but what is the Lightning II?
6. U.S. military flight-crew positions often have nicknames. What are the official positions of a boomer, a GAFO (pronounced GAY-fo), a raven, a GIB (pronounced gib), and a whizzo?
7. The Pratt & Whitney J58 (JT11D) engines that powered the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird use JP-7 fuel so inert that it could not be ignited with spark or ignition plugs. How was this exotic fuel ignited during engine start?
8. On November 13, 1942, and after having survived in a life raft in the western Pacific for 23 days, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, Col. Hans Adamson, and Pvt. John Bartek were found by the pilot of a Vought-Sikorsky Kingfisher, a U.S. Navy seaplane. What was so unusual about the subsequent rescue?
