News
Virgin freezes pay as it battles economic challenges
Virgin Atlantic has imposed a pay freeze for the financial year that began on 1 March as the carrier battles rising fuel costs and a recession-dogged global economy. The move comes just weeks after new chief executive Craig Kreeger took charge of the Gatwick-based airline with a mission to reverse its fortunes. In the year to 29 February 2012, the carrier lost £80.2 million ($119 million) and UK media reports over the weekend suggested losses had mounted over the following 12 months.
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Boeing moves closer to 777X launch
Boeing is getting closer to bringing a next generation 777 to the market, a senior executive said Monday. Speaking at the ISTAT Americas 2013 conference in Orlando, Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP-marketing Randy Tinseth said there had been “a lot of movement on this airplane in the last couple of months and we are working hard on our business case.” Boeing has just named Bob Feldmann as VP and GM of the 777X program.
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Boeing Confident On Permanent 787 Battery Fix
Boeing is confident that proposed changes to the 787 Dreamliner will provide a permanent solution to battery problems that grounded its newest jet, a senior executive said. Boeing has also made significant progress in pulling together a plan to launch a revamped version of its best-selling 777 wide-body jet, Boeing commercial planes marketing vice president Randy Tinseth told a conference of aviation financiers. Based on a mixed bag of industry indicators, Boeing sees continued strength in the aircraft market despite uncertainty over the world economy, Tinseth told the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading.
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Airbus Sees 2000 A320neo Orders By Month End
Airbus hinted on Monday at imminent orders worth over USD$10 billion for A320neo passenger jets, saying cumulative orders for the revamped jet would probably hit 2,000 by the end of this month. Airbus has so far sold 1,878 of the latest fuel-saving member of its single-aisle medium-haul jet family, which competes with the Boeing 737 in the largest part of the market. Boeing outsold Airbus in 2012 for the first time in six years and remains ahead this year.
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Iberia, Workers Closer To Agreement On Cuts
Spanish airline Iberia and its workers moved closer to agreement on mass job cuts on Monday after owner IAG, which also owns British Airways, accepted a compromise proposal put forward by a government-appointed mediator. Unions also said they were largely in favor of the proposal, which would save the jobs of 666 workers and increase redundancy payouts for others, but still needed to make a formal decision. "The company and a large majority in the unions were in favor of the proposal but we have to pass it to our decision-making committee," a spokesman for the UGT union said on Monday after a meeting with mediator Gregorio Tudela, a professor at Madrid's Autonomous University.
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Pilot Proposes Longer Heathrow Runways - Report
A plan to solve the capacity problems in the UK's hub airports by doubling the number of flights at London Heathrow Airport has been put forward by a leading pilot, according to a report in the Financial Times. Captain William 'Jock' Lowe, who was Concorde’s longest serving pilot, is proposing that the airport's existing northern and southern runways be extended from 3,900 meters and 3,700 meters to 7,500 meters.
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AirAsia Buys Into Philippine's Zest Airways
The Philippine unit of Asia's biggest budget airline AirAsia has agreed to acquire 49 percent of small-scale regional carrier Zest Airways, as it moves to turn its Philippines business into a moneymaking operation. AirAsia, which has moved aggressively into new markets and placed huge jet orders, said last month it wants to focus on its core Malaysian, Thai and Indonesian routes, then grow its Philippines and Japanese routes profitably. Philippines AirAsia, which is 40 percent owned by Malaysia-listed AirAsia, will acquire the stake in Manila-based Zest Airways via a share swap. Both firms declined to give the value of the deal.
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AviancaTaca chooses CFM engines for 33 A320neos
AviancaTaca has chosen CFM International LEAP-1A engines to power the 33 Airbus A320neo family aircraft it has on order. The airline also ordered CFM56-5B engines to power 18 classic A320 family aircraft. AviancaTaca earlier this year firmed an order for 51 A320 family aircraft, 33 of which are neos. Including a comprehensive engine maintenance service package signed by the airline, the engine-order agreement between AviancaTaca and CFM is valued at $2.7 billion, according to CFM.
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MAS to take A380 deliveries into three figures
Malaysia Airlines is set to take Airbus A380 deliveries into three figures, nearly five and a half years since the first airframe was handed over to Singapore Airlines. Video images of the aircraft undertaking taxiing and flight tests has emerged, showing the aircraft sporting a "100th A380" marker on its forward fuselage, beneath the carrier's titles. Malaysia Airlines ordered six of the type and five have already been delivered. It is one of two carriers - China Southern Airlines being the other - to have received an A380 over the first two months of 2013.
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Boeing bumps 787-10X range to 7,100nm
Boeing has agreed to demands by operating lessor Air Lease (ALC) to slightly increase the range, thrust requirement and gross weight of the nascent 787-10X. "It's in the works," says ALC chief executive Steven Udvar-Hazy on the sidelines of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) conference. Previously Boeing has advertised the range for the double-stretch variant as between 6,700nm (12,400km) and 7,000nm, but that fell short of Udvar-Hazy's expectation for the aircraft.
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Other News
Regional jet makers expect aircraft size to grow: Small jet manufacturers are planning to invest heavily in their platforms and increase the size of current aircraft models, according to a panel discussion at the ISTAT Americas 2013 conference in Orlando, Fla. Superjet International VP-business development John Buckley revealed plans to stretch the 100-seat Sukhoi SuperJet. “As we move forward, we will be stretching the aircraft to 120 to 130 seats and begin to have a family of aircraft,” he said. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. EVP-Sales and Marketing Masao Yamagami said future plans for the 70- to 90-seat MRJ include a 100-seat model. Bombardier Aerospace, which rolled out the first CSeries flight test vehicle March 7 at its Montreal Mirabel facility, announced an extended variant of the CS300. SVP-Commercial Chet Fuller outlined plans to increase the capacity of the new CSeries aircraft to accommodate up to 160 seats. Embraer chief commercial officer John Slattery similarly detailed plans to invest heavily in the company’s E-Jet platform over the next few years to improve the aircraft’s noise, fuel burn, avionics and interior. It will then add a new wing, Pratt & Whitney GTF engine and Honeywell Primus Epic 2 cockpit avionics for a second generation E-Jet, which is expected to be larger than current models.
PW1000G Geared Turbofan (GTF) certification under its belt, Pratt & Whitney is looking to increase the engine’s bypass ratio to achieve even greater efficiencies. Speaking Monday at the ISTAT Americas 2013 conference in Orlando, P&W VP next generation product family Robert Saia said the next breakthrough for the PW1000G GTF family will be to increase the gear ratio from 3:1 to 4.5:1 because higher bypass ratios mean greater fuel efficiencies and reduced noise levels. GTF technology allows the fan to operate at slower speeds than the low-pressure compressor and turbine, enabling a larger fan and increasing the bypass ratio. Pratt says the GTF will have a fuel burn 16% lower than current regional jet and narrowbody engines and reduce noise by between 50% and 75%. The first engine, the PW1500G variant for the new Bombardier CSeries jet, gained Transport Canada type certification in February.
EasyJet will launch London Gatwick-Moscow Domodedovo flights March 18 after reaching an agreement with Russia’s Transaero Airline. EasyJet will also launch Manchester-Moscow flights from March 28. These routes were formally flown by British Midland International (bmi), which it had to give up after British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG) took over the carrier in April 2012. Details of the agreement have not been announced. EasyJet UK director Paul Simmons said, “We are well advanced in securing all of the necessary permissions and agreements to operate between Moscow and London. EasyJet has been meeting with the Federal Air Transport Agency in Moscow last week and is working with them to finalize all the necessary arrangements.”
Air France-KLM will cut capacity on its underperforming medium-haul network this summer a further 5.3%, while boosting long-haul capacity 2%. The strict capacity control, representing 0.3% growth overall, follows a sharp downturn in Air France-KLM’s full-year profitability. “Following the early adoption of certain measures during winter 2012-2013, all the actions decided as part of Transform 2015 will be implemented in summer 2013,” the company said in a statement. Air France-KLM said its medium-haul network reorganization is “still underway,” leading to the 5.3% capacity reduction in capacity. Likewise, its regional flights—performed by BritAir, Regional and Airlinair—are being shifted to the new HOP! brand, which will launch March 31.
Etihad Airways has opened its first US line maintenance base at Chicago O’Hare Airport. The base will perform all scheduled and non-scheduled line maintenance for Etihad Boeing 777 aircraft flying daily service from Abu Dhabi. It will also provide line maintenance services for Air Berlin Airbus A330s, operating 3X-weekly from Berlin beginning March 23 and increasing to 5X-weekly in summer 2013. Etihad said it will also offer full technical handling “for at least one other carrier.” The new Chicago facility will be staffed with Abu Dhabi-trained line maintenance aircraft engineers with additional engineering support to be provided by Chicago-based Flightcheck LLC. Etihad Airways president and CEO James Hogan said, “As partners, it makes operational and commercial sense to work together on issues such as common maintenance, and we expect the synergies and efficiencies we achieve through this specific integration to deliver tangible benefits for both our businesses.” The two carriers launched a partnership in December 2011.
FL Technics was selected by Seal Dynamics to serve as its sales and marketing representative in Russia, the CIS and CEE for its components and consumables.
Ducommun Inc. won FAA repair station certification for commercial aerospace aftermarket support in Phoenix.
ARSA cautioned that sequestration could delay more than 1,400 ongoing aircraft and parts manufacturing projects. “ARSA strongly encourages congressional leaders to avoid the automatic budgets cuts set to go into effect because of sequestration,” the Virginia-based trade association said in a statement. “In particular, it will exacerbate certification and inspection delays for repair stations, hindering job creation and economic growth.”
UTC and Maine Aero Services will jointly develop an aviation maintenance technician school in Bangor, Maine, as a satellite classroom under the United Technologies Center name.
Aviation Quote
The worst day of flying still beats the best day of real work.
Anonymous
On This Date
---In 1908…The U.S. Aerial Experiment Association’s first aircraft, the Red Wing, makes its first flight. This flight ends in a crash, from which pilot Thomas Baldwin, survives.
---In 1910... Lieutenant J. W. Dunne’s D5 tailless biplane is tested at Eastchurch, Kent, England. It has a 60-hp Green engine and was built by Short Brothers.
---In 1932…Newark Airport receives installation of landing aid equipment to assist with night landings.
---In 1948…Northwest Airlines Flight 4422, a Douglas DC-4 (NC95422) returning to the United States from Shanghai, China, crashes into Mount Sanford in Alaska, killing all 30 on-board. Though the crash was witnessed by several locals, it became buried in snow and lost for near half a century. Removal of wreckage was only allowed by Parks Departments officials in 1999, and remains found of one passenger was also found and positively identified through DNA testing.
---In 1950…An Airflight Limited Avro 689 Tudor V (G-AKBY, nicknamed “Star Girl”) crashes while on approach to Llandow’s Runway 28 in Sigingstone, Wales. While attempting to correct a lower-than-normal approach, the pilot’s correction causes a stall causing 80 of the 83 aboard to perish. The blame was placed on improper loading, creating a a center of gravity issue and the subsequent low angle of attack while trying to land. At the time it is the most deadly aviation disaster in history.
---In 1955…First flight of the Aérospatiale Alouette II helicopter.
---In 1957... The prototype Boeing 707 jet lands after a press demonstration flight from Seattle, Washington to Baltimore, Maryland during which it covers 2,350 miles in a record time of 3 hours 48 minutes.
---In 1974…Mars 6 entered into orbit and launched its lander. The lander returned atmospheric descent data, but failed on its way down.
---In 1975…An Air Vietnam Douglas DC-4 (XV-NUJ) is shot down by a surface-to-air missile in Pleiku, Vietnam, killing all 26 souls aboard.
---In 1979…Atlantic Southeast Airlines is founded.
---In 1980…A pair of B-52 Stratofortress aircraft make an around-the-world nonstop trip in 42.5 hours.
---In 1981…Soyuz T-4 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station.
---In 1996…Florida West International Airways restarts operations.
---In 1998... The first two of four Boeing E-767 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircrafts are officially handed over to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force.
---In 2007…Continental Airlines increases their Boeing 787 order from 20 to 25, adding five of the 787-9 series.
---In 2008…Southwest Airlines grounds 44 aircraft for inspections, days after the FAA accuses as many as 117 of its 737s of flying without proper airworthiness certificates.
---In 2009…Cougar Helicopters Flight 91, a Sikorsky S-92A, registration C-GZCH, ditches in the Atlantic Ocean off Canada, killing 17 of the 18 people on board.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
A Tight Wad Goes For A Ride
Sue and Bob, a pair of tight wads, lived in the mid west, and had been married years.
Bob had always want to go flying. The desire deepen each time a barn-stormer flew into town to offer rides.
Bob would ask, and Sue would say, "No way, ten dollars is ten dollars."
The years went pay, and Bob figured he didn't have much longer, so he got Sue out to the show, explaining, it's free to watch, let's at least watch.
And once he got there the feeling become real strong. Sue and Bob started an argument.
The Pilot, between flights, overheard, listened to they problem, and said, "I'll tell you what, I'll take you up flying, and if you don't say a word the ride is on me, but if you back one sound, you pay ten dollars.
So off they flew. The Pilot doing as many rolls, and dives as he could.
Heading to the ground as fast as the plane could go, and pulling out of the dive at just the very last second. Not a word. Finally he admitted defeat and went back the air port.
"I'm surprised, why didn't you say anything?"
"Well I almost said something when Sue fell out, but ten dollars is ten dollars."
Trivia
General Trivia
1. What was so unique about the bomb dropped on North Vietnam to commemorate the 6 millionth pound of ordnance dropped on that country by the United States during the Vietnam War?
2.When the surface wind blows across a runway at a _____-degree angle, the crosswind component during takeoff or landing is half the reported wind speed.
3.There are four forces—one of them is P-factor—that contribute to the left-turning tendency of a single-engine, propeller-driven airplane. What force tends to yaw a tricycle-gear airplane to the right when raising the nose for liftoff?
4. Balloon fenders were used on
a. airplanes.
b. balloons.
c. dirigibles.
d. gliders.
5.During World War II, a pilot flying low over the coast of New Ireland (an island in Papua New Guinea) spotted a lone Japanese soldier striding across a beach and totally exposed to the approaching Corsair. The pilot was touched by the soldier’s bearing, stride, and dignity, his refusal to run for cover. Instead of firing his guns, he pulled skyward and sought another target. Who was this famous pilot?
6. True or False? A pilot may drop a bowling ball from his aircraft while in flight.
7. A pilot planning a flight at an FBO was overheard saying apologetically, “I’m postponing my flight because of poor visibility. I’m only a student.” What experienced pilot replied with, “That’s OK, son. So am I”?
8.Why is that sultry time of year between early July and early September referred to as the “dog days of summer”?
miamiair wrote:ANSWERS:
1. It was a toilet filled with explosive material and modified with a rack, fins, and a nose fuse. It was dropped by Cmdr. Clarence Stoddard from the right wing of his Douglas A–1H Skyraider, Paper Tiger, during October 1965.
GQfluffy wrote:What a sh!tty thing to do.
