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NEWS

Lockheed rolls out last F-22A from Marietta plant
Lockheed Martin has rolled out the last F-22A Raptor on order by the US Air Force, to close a nearly 15-year-old final assembly line that produced a total of 187 operational fighters. After a ceremony marking the milestone event with employees, the final F-22A, bearing the tail number 4195, was moved to the flight line outside Lockheed's massive factory in Marietta, Georgia. It is scheduled for delivery to the USAF late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2012.
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AIA: US civil aircraft sales rise in 2011, will increase again in 2012
US civil aircraft sales will total $49.68 billion in 2011, up 3.1% year-over-year, and rise another 4.1% in 2012 to $51.71 billion, the US Aerospace Industries Assn. (AIA) said Wednesday in releasing its annual forecast.
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Hainan buys stake in Hong Kong Airlines
Hainan Airlines Investment Holding Co., awholly owned subsidiary of Hainan Airlines (HU), has purchased a 19.02% stake in Hong Kong Airlines (HX) for CNY842 million ($132.4 million) in a move to strengthen the carrier’s financial position.
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China Airlines mulls 747 replacements, narrowbody order
Taiwan-based China Airlines (CI) plans to replace its 13 Boeing 747-400s from 2015/16 and will decide by 2013 which aircraft to order. It is considering the 747-8, Airbus A380, 777-300ER and the A350-1000.
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Brazil Approves LAN's Takeover Of TAM
Brazil's antitrust agency, Cade, on Wednesday approved the takeover of local airline TAM by Chile's LAN Airlines with some conditions, allowing the companies to form Latin America's largest carrier.
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AMR's USD$30 Mln London Town House
Buried deep in American Airlines' Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is a striking asset -- a town house in one of London's most expensive residential streets that property experts say could be worth up to GBP£19 million (USD$30 million).
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Lufthansa Plans New Cost Cuts at Austrian
Lufthansa will launch new cost cuts at unit Austrian Airlines (AUA) as early as January to bring it back into profit in 2012, the chief executive of its German parent told Austrian radio on Wednesday.
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Thomas Cook To Close Under-performing Shops
Thomas Cook reported full-year operating profit at the bottom end of forecasts and said it would close 200 under-performing travel shops, as it looks to cut debt and restore investor confidence.
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Cimber Sterling Second-Quarter Loss Grows
Danish budget airline Cimber Sterling posted a deeper second-quarter loss, downgraded its full-year guidance and unveiled a new strategy to focus on domestic and regional traffic.
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Rolls-Royce looks to grow military service business
Rolls-Royce aims to increase its provision of support services to military customers around the world by using its recent experience with the UK Royal Air Force as a possible business template. The UK manufacturer is responsible for delivering availability-based support for the RB199 and Eurojet EJ200 engines, which respectively power the RAF's Panavia Tornado GR4 and Eurofighter Typhoon strike aircraft, both of which were involved in heightened levels of operation during 2011. The Tornado force saw action in Afghanistan and over Libya, while the Typhoon made a successful combat debut in the latter campaign.
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Malaysia Airlines cuts eight loss-making routes
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will be withdrawing its services on eight loss-making routes starting January 2012 to cut losses and improve its regional network. The affected services are: daily Langkawi-Penang-Singapore, twice weekly Kuala Lumpur-Karachi-Dubai, twice weekly Kuala Lumpur-Dubai-Damman, daily Kuala Lumpur-Surabaya, thrice weekly Kuala Lumpur-Johannesburg, twice weekly Kuala Lumpur-Cape Town-Bueno Aires, thrice weekly Kuala Lumpur-Dubai and thrice weekly Kuala Lumpur-Rome.
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Omani F-16 win delivers blow for Eurofighter
Oman has placed a surprise follow-on order with Lockheed Martin for a second batch of 12 F-16C/D Block 50 fighters, with the development appearing to have ended the UK's hopes of selling Eurofighter Typhoons to the nation.
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F-22 oxygen system malfunctioned moments before crash
A US Air Force report says the regular oxygen system stopped working before a fatal Lockheed Martin F-22 crash in Alaska last November. The accident investigation board still blames the accident on the pilot, Captain Jeffrey Haney, who failed to activate an emergency oxygen supply that could have saved his life and the aircraft. But the failure of an engine bleed air system that feeds the Honeywell onboard oxygen generation system (OBOGS) in the moments before the crash is a new twist in the evolving story.
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Jetblue orders 86 Pratt engines for Airbus jets
JetBlue Airways has signed an order for 86 Pratt & Whitney engines to power Airbus A320neo jetliners, the enginemaker said on Wednesday. The engines, to be delivered beginning in 2018, will power 40 jetliners. The airline will also take six spares. The contract also includes a long-term maintenance agreement, Pratt, a unit of United Technologies, said.
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Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Receives FAA Certification
Boeing received certification for the new 747-8 Intercontinental from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Certification clears the way for delivery of the new airplane early next year. The FAA presented Boeing an Amended Type Certificate (ATC) and the amended Production Certificate for Boeing's newest passenger airplane, the 747-8 Intercontinental Wednesday. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expected to issue its ATC for the airplane Thursday. Boeing received its FAA and EASA certificates for the 747-8 Freighter in August.
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Boeing Unveils First 787 to Enter Service for Japan Airlines
The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to enter service for Japan Airlines (JAL) rolled out of the paint hangar last night. The airplane's livery features the iconic new brand mark on its tail and underscores the airline's commitment to provide the highest level of service to customers and contribute to the advancement of society. The logo is a distinct symbol of the airline which was the first Japanese carrier to fly internationally from Japan since 1954.
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Creditors want American Airlines to become stronger, lawyer says
American Airlines and its creditors appeared in bankruptcy court Tuesday. AMR Corp., the carrier's parent company, filed for bankruptcy last month. A lawyer representing unsecured creditors said the creditors want American Airlines to emerge from bankruptcy as a stronger company.
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Delta, US Airways swap slots in New York, Virginia
Delta Air Lines and US Airways have completed slot swaps at LaGuardia Airport in New York and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia. Delta boosted its presence in New York with 132 slot pairs, while US Airways received 42 slot pairs in Virginia, as well as $66.5 million.
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IPads receive stamp of approval for use in American Airlines cockpits
The Federal Aviation Administration said it conducted "rigorous testing of any electronic device proposed for use in the cockpit as an electronic flight bag, in lieu of paper navigation charts and manuals," and subsequently granted approval for American Airlines to use iPads in the cockpit. The 1.5-pound iPad replaces 35 pounds of paper, which reduces costs on fuel. American Airlines will begin using iPads on Friday. Using an iPad device in the cockpit "involves a significantly different scenario for potential interference than unlimited passenger use, which could involve dozens or even hundreds of devices at the same time," the FAA said in a statement.
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Columnist: Legislation targets airline bag-check fees
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., has introduced a bill in Congress to allow travelers to check one bag for free on all U.S. carriers. Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott writes, "If the fact that the government would tell a business to give something away for free doesn't set off a few alarms, a little basic math should." "Without the bag fees," says Michael Miller, a vice president at the American Aviation Institute, "most airlines would be in bankruptcy." "Government regulation of pricing is a 30-year step backward to when customers paid more and had fewer choices," said Steve Lott, a spokesman for Airlines for America.
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Florida county requests more information on scanners
The majority of county commissioners in Florida's Broward County voted to ask the Transportation Security Administration to do more to assure passengers that full-body scanners are safe. The commissioners specifically want the TSA to examine the studies that led the European Union to ban the scanners, explain its position on the studies and ban the scanners if they are not safe. The TSA maintains that the scanners are safe. "TSA would not use technology that could jeopardize the health of passengers or our employees," said Tim Lewis, TSA's local federal security director.
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Other News

SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, has unveiled its brand new check-in co-located area at Terminal 2 Beijing Capital International Airport. The new facility brings together Air France, Aeroflot, Alitalia, China Eastern , China Southern, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air, KLM and Vietnam Airlines, as part of SkyTeam members' efforts to collaborate in order to improve customer benefits and deliver a superior SkyTeam experience. This is the first time that SkyTeam, the #1 airline alliance in the Greater China region, has operated out of a common location in China.

Air France-KLM will cut 2,000 in 2012 as the carrier looks to save about 800 million euros ($1.04 billion) annually over the next three years, French economic daily La Tribune reported on Wednesday.

Grupo Aeromexico, in November, transported one million 234 thousand passengers; the highest number for the month of November in the Company's history. This represents a 3% increase compared to the prior year, which was driven by an increase of 36% in passengers transported in the international market, mainly due to the recovery of Category 1 by the Mexican civil aviation in December 2010 . Thus, during the first eleven months of the year, Grupo Aeromexico transported a total of 13 million 38 thousand passengers; a 22% increase over the number registered for the same period in 2010.

Fitch predicts flat or nominal traffic growth for most airports in 2012. The sector faces headwinds in the form of carriers restraining capacity and macroeconomic pressures. Some are dealing with the last operational changes attributable to the mergers between United and Continental and Southwest and Airtran. Still others may feel the brunt of AMR's restructuring and route changes.

American Airlines customers can now have convenient access to a personal universe of movies, music and TV shows at 35,000 feet. Beginning today, customers traveling in premium class cabins will be the first to see the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 device onboard select flights.

Southwest Airlines (WN), has been recognized as one of the top 50 Best Places to Work, a significant achievement, as nearly 150,000 companies are rated by their employees on Glassdoor.

Russia and Ukraine will remove restrictions for the number of carriers and number of flights on the Moscow (DME)-Odessa (ODS) route, effective with the 2012 summer schedule. Currently, only two designated carriers—Transaero (UN) and AeroSvit (VV) are allowed to fly between these cities. Aeroflot (SU) is a VV marketing partner on this route.

Air New Zealand (NZ) has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Australia-based Licella Pty Ltd to examine developing and marketing a process to convert woody biomass into sustainable aviation biofuel in New Zealand.

BOC Aviation entered into a sale and leaseback transaction for four new Embraer 195s, the lessor's first such transaction involving Embraer aircraft. The aircraft are on long-term lease to Brazil's Azul. Two have been delivered and two are scheduled for delivery by the 2012 second quarter.

Cobham Aviation Services Australia has extended leases with Falko on an Avro RJ100 and a BAe 146-300QT. The two aircraft are part of a fleet of 17 BAe 146 and Avro RJ aircraft that are used by Cobham on behalf of blue-chip clients, including multinational mining companies on fly-in/fly-out contracts.

Desser Tire & Rubber Co. won a two-year contract from General Atomics Aeronautical for warehousing and supply of Desser OEM branded products as well as Dunlop and Goodyear aircraft tires.

Aircraft Leasing & Management announced the sale of one Boeing 737-700 from GF Ibis Leasing to CT Aerospace. The aircraft was delivered to CT Aerospace Nov. 21.



AVIATION QUOTE

And I have yet to find one single individual who has attained conspicuous success in bringing down enemy aeroplanes who can be said to be spoiled either by his successes or by the generous congratulations of his comrades. If he were capable of being spoiled he would not have had the character to have won continuous victories, for the smallest amount of vanity is fatal in aeroplane fighting. Self-distrust rather is the quality to which many a pilot owes his protracted existence.

— Captain Edward V. 'Eddie' Rickenbacker, USAS, 'Fighting the Flying Circus.'

ON THIS DATE

December 15th

--- In 1920... The first of a number of flying schools to train reserve pilots for the military opens at Orly, south of Paris.

---In 1955…The de Havilland Mosquito flies its final operational sortie with the Royal Air Force.

---In 1955…First flight of the Douglas DC-7.

---In 1959… Maj J W Roberts sets a new airspeed record of 1,526 mph (2,456 km/h) in a F-106 Delta Dart.

---In 1963…Alia- Royal Air Jordanian commences flight operations.

---In 1970... Artem Mikoyan, founder of the dynasty of MiG fighters, dies.

---In 1989…Atlantic Coast Airlines is founded…

---In 1996…The merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing is announced.

---In 2006….Lufthansa becomes the first airline to order the Boeing 747-8 passenger jet with an order for 20 planes and options for an additional 20 planes.

---In 2006…First flight of a U.S. Air Force aircraft, a B-52 Stratofortress, powered solely by a blend of synthetic jet fuel, produced by Syntroleum.

---In 2006…First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.

---In 2009…First flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Seattle.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE


Image © Dave Henderson, 2011.



HUMOR

51 Days

A bartender is sitting behind the bar on a typical day, when the door bursts open and in come four exuberant Marines. They come to the bar and order five bottles of beer and ten glasses. They take their order over and sit down at a large table. The caps are popped, the glasses are filled and they begin toasting and chanting, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" Soon three more Marines arrive, take up their drinks and the chanting grows, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" Two more Marines show up and soon their voices are are joined in raising the roof, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" Finally the tenth Marine comes in with a picture under his arm, he walks over to the table, and sets the picture in the middle and the table erupts.

Up jump the others, they begin dancing around the table, exchanging high-fives, all the while chanting, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days!" The bartender can't contain his curiosity any longer, so he walks over to the table. There in the center is a beautifully framed child's puzzle of the cookie monster. When the frenzy dies down a little bit the bartender asks one of the Marines, "Whats all the chanting and celebration about?"
The Marine who brought in the picture pipes in, "Everyone thinks that Marines are dumb and they make fun of us. So, we decided to set the record straight. Ten of us got together, bought this puzzle and put it together. The side of the box said 2-4 years, but we put it together in 51 days."



TRIVIA

General Trivia

1. A pilot is cruising VFR at an altitude of more than 3,000 feet agl while maintaining a magnetic course of 150 degrees. Everything else being equal, most conflicting traffic will approach his airplane from
a. the right.
b. the left.
c. approximately straight ahead.
d. This cannot be determined from the information given.

2. When an airplane reaches its absolute ceiling,
a. VX is greater than VY.
b. VY is greater than VX.
c. VX is identical to VY.
d. the airplane is on the verge of a stall.

3. The current world speed record for a propeller-driven, piston-powered seaplane was established in 1931 and is
a. 298 mph.
b. 348 mph.
c. 398 mph.
d. 448 mph.

4. True or false; a major advantage of a nuclear-powered airplane is that it would have incredible range and endurance. The “N’ in the designation, “Convair NB-36 Peacemaker,” indicates that the enormous bomber had nuclear power.

5. True or false; Hermann Göring, Nazi Reichsmarschall and Commander of the German Luftwaffe during World War II, had a nephew who was a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force and flew 48 bombing missions against Nazi Germany and occupied Europe.

6. True or false; the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight was first reported in a journal titled Gleanings in Bee Culture.

3. d. 448 mph.