NewsAccidents/Incidents
Helicopter company sues air controllers for Kobe Bryant crash
A tragic case of helicopter crash that killed the 41-year-old retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and eight others, now is supplemented with new indictments. Two air-traffic controllers are blamed for the incident by Island Express, the company that operated the helicopter.
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Delta's No-Fly List Has Grown By 240 Because Of Mask Refusals
US carrier Delta Air Lines has added around 240 people to its no-fly list in recent weeks because they refused to wear a face mask. Today, in a memo sent to employees, CEO Ed Bastian confirmed that the airline would continue to add to the list when necessary. As there is no federal mandate, US airlines can choose how and when to enforce mask rules on flights.
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Aliansa DC-3 Skids Off Of Runway In Colombia
An aircraft has skidded off the runway in Colombia after an operational failure upon landing. The incident happened yesterday afternoon, local time. The aircraft belongs to a small airline in the South American country; however, this was not its first incident.
LinkCommercial
EASA joins Boeing 737 MAX flight-testing
The European Union Safety Agency (EASA) will start its flight tests of the Boeing 737 MAX in early-September 2020 in order for the aircraft “to return to service as soon as possible.”
EASA, together with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, has been in active negotiations, according to the European regulator. The parties reached an agreement that the flight tests of the Boeing 737 MAX will start in the week commencing September 7 in Vancouver, Canada.
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Rolls-Royce to reduce civil operations, workforce down by 9,000
A £5.4 billion ($6 billion) loss prompted the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce to consolidate its civil aerospace operations. Four thousand employees were already axed with 5,000 more to follow, while ITP Aero, a subsidiary Spanish aero engine and gas turbine manufacturer, is a target of potential disposal.
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Canadian regulator completes first Boeing 737 MAX test flight
Transport Canada has started test flights of the Boeing 737 MAX, completing the first in a series on August 27, 2020. The Canadian regulator is the first foreign authority to submit its independent review of the changes to the aircraft proposed by Boeing.
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EASA issues repeated checks for Rolls-Royce Airbus A380 engines
EASA announced that repetitive on-wing inspections are now necessary for three variants of Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, following previously identified cracks on their rotor shafts.
The European Union Safety Agency (EASA) issued a renewed Airworthiness Directive (AD) proposal. The statement highlighted that since the last AD was issued on February 28, 2020, EASA has decided that repeated checks will now be required for already-installed Trent 900 engines.
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The Boeing 747-100 Vs The Boeing 747-8
How far has the Boeing 747 come since its first edition, the 747-100, to the modern Boeing 747-8I? Let’s have an in-depth look at a comparison of the two types.
LinkAirlines
Air New Zealand suffers first loss since 2002
Air New Zealand has reported its first annual loss since 2002. The air carrier declared a pretax loss of €48.8 million (NZ$87 million). The airline expects to record a loss in 2021 as well.
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airBaltic half-year losses balloon despite record start to 2020
airBaltic, despite a record-breaking start of the year, saw its losses balloon due to the impact of COVID-19 in the aviation industry.
The flag carrier of Latvia ended H1 2020 with a net loss of €184.8 million ($218.4 million), as revenues collapsed from €219.5 million ($259.4 million) to €82.5 million ($97.5 million), when compared to the corresponding period in 2019.
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Virgin Atlantic secures funds to avoid collapse in September
After Virgin Atlantic warned that it might run out of money in September and collapse, its fortunes were reversed as creditors approved a proposed rescue plan.
The plan, worth up to £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion), will secure Virgin Atlantic’s future for at least 18 months and save 6,500 jobs at the airline.
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Neglected after first flight: story of Avianca Boeing 787-9
Avianca’s Boeing 787-9 has a unique story. Unlike many other aircraft currently parked due to technical issues, financial difficulties or COVID-19, Avianca’s Dreamliner was grounded straight after leaving the manufacturer’s assembly line.
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Vietnam Airlines Takes Delivery Of Its First A320neo
The newest addition to Vietnam Airlines’ fleet has arrived. The first of three A320neos due has landed in Vietnam. The plane, VN-A513, comes via ICBC Aviation Leasing. It is the first A320neo across the wider Vietnam Airlines fleet. The plane will slot in alongside the airlines’ narrowbody fleet of 70 Airbus A321s.
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Brazilian Startup Itapemirim To Launch With 10 Airbus A320s
Brazilian airline startup Ita Linhas Aereas plans to launch on March 2021 with a fleet of ten Airbus A320. According to Tiago Senna, the airlines’ CEO, it will also have three starting hubs in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasilia. What else do we know about this new airline? Let’s investigate further.
LinkAirports
Schönefeld To Become Part Of New Berlin Airport
Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport is set to join up with the new Berlin Airport due to open later this year. Berlin Brandenburg Airport is finally set to open in October following almost a decade of delays.
Over the past decade, many airports have opened across the world. However, the new airport in Berlin was not one of them.
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First phase of Salt Lake City Airport redevelopment makes debut
Local and national officials, architects and the artist – Gordon Huether – involved with Salt Lake City’s new airport expansion have debuted the massive first phase of the eventual $4 billion expansion of Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).
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Acrylic barriers installed at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has installed new acrylic barriers at security checkpoints throughout Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
LinkMilitary
A US Air Force F-16 pilot just battled AI in 5 simulated dogfights, and the machine emerged victorious every time
An AI algorithm piloting an F-16 Fighting Falcon in a simulated dogfight against a seasoned US Air Force pilot achieved a flawless victory with five straight wins in a fierce competition Thursday, according to multiple reports.
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Thailand to Chose Beechcraft Light Attack and Trainer Aircraft
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is thought to have selected the Beechcraft AT-6E Wolverine and T-6C Texan II as its next-generation light attack aircraft and trainer, edging out the Pilatus PC-21, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Hürkus B and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KT-1 Wongbee to replace the Pilatus PC-9, and potentially even the Aero L-39ZA/ART.
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China and U.S. in standoff after U-2 surveys live-fire exercise
Chinese Ministry of National Defence made a strongly-worded statement accusing the U.S. of flying its U-2 spy plane in the “no-fly zone” over live ammunition exercises. The U.S. military states it operated within international law.
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Aviation Quote
One can get a proper insight into the practice of flying only by actual flying experiments… . The manner in which we have to meet the irregularities of the wind, when soaring in the air, can only be learnt by being in the air itself… . The only way which leads us to a quick development in human flight is a systematic and energetic practice in actual flying experiments.
- Otto Lilienthal, 1896.
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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?
