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NEWS

F-35B JSF tests show performance is similar to F/A-18 Hornet
The Marine Corps has proceeded with testing of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and is about ready to start testing the jet aboard an amphibious assault ship. "The testing has been going very well over the last couple of months," said Marine Lt. Col. Matthew Kelly, an F-35 test pilot who has a background in the F/A-18 Hornet. "We have performed all the vertical landings necessary to go out to the boat and do testing. We're at about 80% of the short takeoffs.
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Lockheed aims to sign sales contracts for F-16s with Iraq, Oman
Lockheed Martin is slowly winding down production of its F-16 fighter jets, but company executives hope to sign sales contracts with both Iraq and Oman for as many as 18 jets each by early next year. Lockheed expects to take 100 additional orders for the F-16s by the end of the decade. The F-16 is in use by 25 countries across the globe.
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Dassault challenges leading players in super-midsize business jet market
Dassault vacated the super-midsize business jet market when it closed down its Falcon 50EX line, but it has now returned to the market with a new 2000S, a 10-passenger aircraft. The 2000S will compete against the Hawker 4000, Gulfstream G250 and Bombardier Challenger 300. "After speaking with our customers and performing a thorough market study, our research confirmed that the ideal platform for a widebody business jet in this range segment was indeed our very successful widebody Falcon 2000," said John Rosanvallon, president at Dassault Falcon.
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Investigators retrieve data from Air France black boxes
The black boxes recovered from the Air France Flight 447 crash have provided readable data, investigators said. France's BEA air-accident investigation bureau announced it has retrieved "all the data from the flight data recorder as well as the whole recording of the last two hours of the flight from the cockpit voice recorder." The black boxes were submerged under 12,800 feet of seawater for two years before being recovered.
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Initial AF447 evidence does not require operator action
Airbus has issued an information telex to operators stating that no immediate action is required as a result of preliminary data from the Air France Airbus A330 accident. While the telex, issued on 16 May, is not designed to establish a conclusion over the cause of the 1 June 2009 accident to flight AF447, it effectively points away from a catastrophic technical failure on board the aircraft.
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Scientists narrow down site for landing rover on Mars
NASA is planning to send its rover Curiosity to Mars and is working to choose the best site out of four possible locations for the landing. Scientists in the Mars research community will have the opportunity to pitch their chosen sites to the team running the mission. The team will then suggest a landing spot, and NASA will make the final decision.
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United's Smisek discusses difficulty, excitement of airline business
Jeff Smisek, CEO of United Continental Holdings, says the airline industry has changed considerably over the past century. One change has been the type of thrill seeker drawn to the industry, he said. "You can have a romantic industry -- and it really is romantic --; you can have a cool industry -- and it really is cool. But you need very professional managers because it is such a difficult business," Smisek said.
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Delta CEO highlights importance of airports
Richard Anderson, the CEO of Delta Air Lines, spoke at the annual conference of the American Association of Airport Executives about the importance of the relationship between airlines and airports. "This is an industry that has made tremendous progress," Anderson said. "We have the best airports in the world. We have a lot to be happy about, but we should also be focused on what we have to do."
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Allegiant Air considers loyalty program, expanding footprint
Andrew Levy, president of Allegiant Air, said the Las Vegas-based airline is looking into the possibility of launching a loyalty program. Allegiant may also expand to include international destinations such as Canada and Mexico. By the end of next year, the carrier is looking to run a fleet of six Boeing 757s in addition to its MD-80 aircraft.
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U.S. airline shares up as oil price dips
Lower oil prices, stronger demand for travel and a positive outlook from analysts helped spur a rally Monday among airline shares. Jamie Baker and Mark Streeter, analysts at J.P. Morgan, lifted estimates and targets for airlines as the operating outlook has improved. "We suggest investors increase their exposure to airline equities ahead of an expected upward surge in consensus estimates," the analysts wrote to clients. Meanwhile, Bob McAdoo, an analyst at Avondale Partners, said American Airlines is losing as much as $1 billion each year because of faulty capacity planning.
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P&W Canada, GE Aviation eye next-generation turboprop
Pratt & Whitney Canada is prepared to launch a next-generation turboprop engine for an aircraft in the 90-seat range next year for EIS in 2016, according to VP-Marketing Richard Dussault. Meanwhile, GE Aviation GM-Regional and Large Business Aviation Chuck Nugent said the company continues to develop the CPX38 turboprop engine, which would be a derivative of the GE38 helicopter turboshaft and could be ready for a 2016 EIS.
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Airbus AIT ‘does not include safety recommendation’ in AF447 investigation
Airbus confirmed Tuesday that based on the continuing investigation by the FrenchBureau d'Enquetes et d'Analysesinto the causes of the crash of Air France 447 it issued an Accident Information Telex to its customers that "does not include any safety recommendation at this stage of the investigation." On Monday, BEA said it succeeded in downloading all of the data from the flight data recorder of the A330-200 as well as the complete recording from the CVR, covering the final 2 hr. of the flight.
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TAM first-quarter income soars
Brazil's TAM Linhas Aereas, which has announced an agreement to merge with Chile's LAN Airlines, reported first-quarter net income of BRL128.8 million ($78.6 million), a major turnaround from a loss of BRL70.9 million in the year-ago period.
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Piaggio just weeks from freezing jet design
Piaggio is just weeks from agreeing the final design of its new P1XX jet, and announcing the first tranche of systems and structures suppliers, new managing director Eligio Trombetta confirmed at the show.
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Partial power loss on Qantas A380 caused by oil leak
An oil leak in a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine has been identified as the cause behind a partial power loss on a Qantas Airways Airbus A380 this February. The leak, which led to a gradual decrease in oil quantity in the number four engine, prompted the aircraft's flight crew to reduce the powerplant to idle thrust during a Singapore-London flight on 15 February. The aircraft, registration VH-OQC, did not experience further oil level variation during the rest of the flight.
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Other News

Embraer Executive VP-Airline Market Paulo Cesar Silva said the Brazilian manufacturer is waiting for Boeing to make a move on a 737NG re-engining or replacement before making a decision on its next commercial aircraft development step. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the Regional Airline Assn. Annual Convention in Nashville, he commented that deciding whether to launch a 130-150 seat aircraft or embark on an E-Jet re-engining is "not an easy decision at this time … The information about what Boeing is going to do is critical for us. Hopefully, by mid-year Boeing will announce their decision and it will make clear where the players will put their cards."

Cimber Sterling on Tuesday issued a profit warning and said it needs to strengthen its capital base “due to the continued surplus capacity in the airline industry and the resulting low profitability.” The Danish carrier now expects to report an operating loss before special items for the 2010-11 fiscal year ended April 30 in the range of DKK190-DKK200 million ($36-$38 million). The adjustment follows a previous lowering of its guidance in March to an operating loss before special items in the range of DKK125-DKK145 million. Net deficit for the nine months ended Jan. 31 was DKK128.9 million, despite a 28% increase in passengers carried to 1.6 million and a 25% increase in revenues to DKK1.47 billion. It posted a net loss for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010 of DKK228.9 million.

Virgin Atlantic pilots, represented by the British Airline Pilots' Assn., will vote on possible strike action over pay, BALPA confirmed Tuesday. BALPA represents over 85% of Virgin Atlantic's 750 pilots.

A Qantas A380 en route from Singapore to Melbourne Tuesday was caught short on fuel, forcing it to divert to Adelaide. QF Flight 10 encountered stronger-than-forecast head winds associated with an unseasonably cold weather affecting the eastern states of Australia, which forced the crew to land at ADL.

Scandinavian Airline Systems appointed Discover the World Marketing to serve as its GSA in Portugal. It already represents the carrier in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

Olympic Air appointed Aviareps to serve as its GSA in the Benelux countries.

Gabon Airlines has elected ANA Aviation to serve as its GSA in the UK and Ireland.



AVIATION QUOTE

The only time an aircraft has too much fuel on board is when it is on fire.

— Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, sometime before his death in the 1920's.



ON THIS DATE

May 18th

• In 1907... Wilbur Wright sails for Europe to discuss the sale of his Flyer III in London, Paris, Moscow and Berlin.
• In 1910... International talks open in Paris to draw up a legal basis for flight between countries.
• In 1949... The city’s first helicopter, built on Pier 41 by the Hudson River, opens in New York City.
• In 1953... American Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound while flying a Canadian-built North American F-86 Sabre. On the same day, she sets the world speed record for women at 652 mph (1,049 km/h).
• In 1966... The first round-the-world solo flight by a woman is made by British pilot Sheila Scott. She flies 29,000 miles (46,670 km) in stages in her Piper Copmmanche Myth Too.
• In 1983... American Airlines carries its 500 millionth passenger.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

Rangers Vs. Special Forces – Hostage Rescue

The Chief of Staff of the Army asked his Sergeant Major, who was both Ranger and Special Forces qualified, which organization he would recommend to form a new anti-terrorist unit. The Sergeant Major responded to the General's question with this parable: If there were a hijacked Boeing 747 being held by terrorists along with its passengers and crew and an anti-terrorist unit formed either by the Rangers or the Special Forces was given a Rescue/Recovery Mission; what would you expect to happen?

Ranger Option
Forces/Equipment Committed: If the Rangers went in, they would send a Ranger company of 120 men with standard army issue equipment.
Mission Preparation: The Ranger Company First Sergeant would conduct a Hair Cut and Boots Inspection, while the officers consulted SOPs and held sand table exercises.
Infiltration Technique: They would insist on double timing, in company formation, wearing their combat equipment, and singing cadence all the way to the site of the hijacked aircraft.
Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived, the Ranger company would establish their ORP, put out security elements, conduct a leaders recon, reapply their camouflage, and conduct final preparations for Actions on the OBJ.
Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would be completed within one hour; all of the terrorists and most of the passengers would have been killed, the Rangers would have sustained light casualties and the 747 would be worthless to anyone except a scrap dealer.

Special Forces Option
Forces/Equipment Committed: If Special Forces went in, they would send only a 12 man team (all SF units are divisible by 12 for some arcane historical reason) however, due to the exotic nature of their equipment the SF Team would cost the same amount to deploy as the Ranger Company.
Mission Preparation: The SF Team Sergeant would request relaxed grooming standards for the team. All members of the team would spend a grueling afternoon at a quality spa ensuring physical abilities would be honed.
Infiltration Technique: The team would insist on separate travel orders with Max Per Diem, and each would get to the site of the hijacking by his own means. At least one third of the team would insist on jumping in HALO.
Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived , the SF Team would cache their military uniforms, establish a Team Room at the best hotel in the area, use their illegal Team Fund to stock the unauthorized Team Room Bar, check out the situation by talking to the locals, and have a Team Meeting to discuss the merits of the terrorists' cause.
Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would take two weeks to complete and by that time all of the terrorists would have been killed, (and would have left signed confessions); the passengers would be ruined psychologically for the remainder of their lives; and all of the women passengers would be pregnant. The 747 would be essentially unharmed, the team would have taken no casualties but would have used up, lost, or stolen all the "high speed" equipment issued to them.



TRIVIA

Airplane ID

Seaplanes

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.


11.

1. Goose
7. Also a Goose



2. BV222
3. Shorts Sunderland
4. H8K
5. P6M
6. BE-42
8. P5M
9. BE-12
10. Albatross
11. Boeing 314

ANSWERS:
1. Grumman Goose
2. Blohm und Voss Bv238
3. Shorts Sunderland Mk. I
4. Kawanishi H8K “Emily”
5. Martin P6M-1 Sea Master
6. Beriev Be-42
7. Hughes Kaiser HK-1 “Spruce Goose”
8. Marin P5M-2 Marlin
9. Beriev Be-12 Tchaika
10. Grumman HU-16 Albatross
11. Boeing Model 314 Clipper