NewsAccidents/Incidents
MH17 trial: Russian suspect denies any involvement
Oleg Pulatov, one of the four suspects, tried in absentia by the Netherlands for the murder of 298 passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, addressed Schiphol court. The former Lieutenant colonel in the Russian Armed Forces said he had seen no sign of the type of missile allegedly used to bring down the aircraft.
LinkCommercial
Desperate times need desperate measures ? Boeing sells $13M yacht
A luxurious yacht, sat on the shores of Lake Union in Seattle, Washington, United States has new owners. The now-former Boeing yacht, called Daedalus was reportedly sold for $13 million. The sale comes days after the company revealed its billions-reaching losses.
Link
Repair, don’t scrap: Rolls-Royce launches new engine service plan
Rolls-Royce launched a new project which should speed up the development of future aerospace technologies. British company set a goal to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19-related consequences for airlines and diminish the environmental impact by repairing aircraft components instead of scrapping them.
Link
The Second-Hand Airbus A380 Market Is Over
The A380 is struggling to find its place in the modern world. With airlines looking to more efficient twinjets for their future fleets, the giant Airbus is rapidly falling out of favor. Airbus had hoped there would be a solid second-hand market for its A380 aircraft, many of which are already retiring very young. But with the only used A380 operator, Hi Fly, unable to make it work, is the second-hand market for the giant plane over ?
LinkAirlines
Emirates offers pilots 1-year unpaid leave & partly covered costs
Dubai-based air carrier Emirates came to the company’s pilots with an unpleasant offer. The airline asked its pilots to take unpaid leave for a period of 12 months. However, the carrier would cover the flight crew expenses related to accommodation and medical care.
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Thai Airways offers “holy flights”
During the pandemic, several airlines have been experimenting with selling “flights to nowhere”. Thai Airways takes this idea further and offers a pilgrimage flight over Thailand’s holy sites.
Thai Airways (THAI) flight TG8999 will take off from Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK) at 1.30pm and return at 4.30pm on November 30, 2020.
Link
Pilot Union of KLM gives up: agrees with prolonged pay cuts
In a dispute with the government of the Netherlands, pilots of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) finally reached an agreement on prolonged wage cuts for the next five-year period, until 2025. The agreement cleared out the way for the Dutch airline to receive the government financial aid package of €2.4 billion.
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Why Cargo Is Key To Resuming Passenger Flights
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today revealed the air traffic statistics to the end of September. While passenger traffic was, as expected, significantly down, cargo traffic has recovered to just 8% below the capacity of last September.
Link
Lufthansa Sending Boeing 747s To Retirement In Mojave Desert
German flag carrier Lufthansa is sending one of its Boeing 747 aircraft to the Mojave desert. The aircraft, D-ABVP, is a 23.7-year-old Boeing 747-400 that last flew in April of this year. The aircraft was one of the 747s that flew to New Zealand to repatriate stranded Germans.
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The World's 6 Largest Airline Groups Have Lost $110 Billion So Far In 2020
The 6 largest airline groups worldwide have collectively lost $110bn in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic slashed demand for travel and restrictions hampered flights. The 6 groups – Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Lufthansa Group, United Airlines, Air France-KLM, and IAG – have seen revenues drastically cut as the aviation industry fails to recover fully.
LinkAirports
Good-boy: COVID-19 sniffing dogs offer hope for airports
A pilot project in Helsinki, Finland, has proof that sniffer dogs can detect coronavirus as accurately as PCR tests. This cheaper and faster way of testing could be implemented in the airports.
In Finland's Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (HEL) three dogs, Kossi, ET and Miina, are sniffing swabs of arriving passengers.
Link
Slovenia Had Zero Scheduled Passenger Flights Yesterday
Slovenia did not have a single scheduled passenger service yesterday. The airport in Maribor has no services at all, while Ljubljana Airport is only served by Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, and Air Serbia at the moment, with low-capacity aircraft and at low frequencies. Will the situation get worse before it gets better ?
Link
Berlin Brandenburg's Second Runway Opens With Qatar Airways Arrival
Berlin Brandenburg Airport has today opened its southern runway. The first aircraft to land on the runway was a Qatar Airways Airbus A350-900, after a Lufthansa A320neo was unable to use the runway on Saturday due to poor weather.
LinkMilitary
Taiwan receives green light for MQ-9B maritime drones acquisition
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) responsible for the export of United States military equipment agreed to the purchase of four Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones.
That new deal comes shortly after approving the sale of weapons including anti-ship cruise missiles for a total of $4.6 billion.
Link
Boeing and Airbus to compete again for USAF tanker modernization
The United States Air Force is ready to move forward with the second program aimed at renewing its fleet of aerial refuelers. Formerly known under the codename KC-Y, the competition should once again see Boeing face Airbus in partnership with Lockheed Martin. The many difficulties encountered by Boeing's KC-46A Pegasus, birthed from the previous program, could be a thorn in the Seattle manufacturer’s side.
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Aviation Quote
What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect held out of locomotives travelling twice as fast as stagecoaches?
- The Quarterly Review, March 1825.
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. What was the North American T–6 Mosquito?
2. If an airplane flies into an updraft, it most likely will
a) pitch up.
b) pitch down.
c) pitch up or down.
d) not change pitch.
3. What are their first names?
_____ Immelman (a maneuver)
_____ Fahrenheit (measure of temperature)
_____ Kollsman (altimeter setting)
_____ Mercator (map projection)
_____ Jeppesen (IFR charts)
_____ Hobbs (“money” meter)
4. What is the official (ICAO) definition of a broken layer?
5. The missing-man formation is used to pay homage to a person (or persons) who has (have) passed away. What is the origin of this formation?
6. On different occasions, a pilot keys his microphone 3, 5, and 7 times to activate pilot-controlled airport lighting. The runway-edge lights turn on and remain illuminated for _____, _____, and _____ minutes, respectively.
7. From reader John Schmidt: The Rutan Voyager was flown nonstop around the world without refueling by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in December, 1986. Prior to that historic flight, what was the world distance record for nonstop, unrefueled flight in a piston-powered airplane and in what type of aircraft was that flight made?
8. What World War II pilot with a now-famous name took off from the aircraft carrier Lexington in his Grumman Wildcat and shot down five Japanese bombers in less than five minutes?
