NewsCommercial
US Airways retires last 737-400 after 26 years
US Airways flew its last Boeing 737-400 on 19 August, ending a more than a quarter century run for the type at the airline. The aircraft, registered N435US, operating flight number US737 flew a three-leg tour of US Airways and American Airlines hubs on its final day. The flight began at Charlotte Douglas International airport, stopped at Dallas/Fort Worth International and Philadelphia International airports before arriving back in Charlotte at 21:48 local time, Flightaware.com shows.
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A320 tweak to prevent computer 'forgetting' sharklets
Operators of Airbus A320s with sharklet wing-tips are being instructed to modify the aircraft to prevent the possibility that flight computers could forget the sharklets are fitted. Airbus has been delivering A320s with sharklets since the end of 2012 and the wing-tips will be a standard feature on the new A320neo. But during analysis of the A320neo design, Airbus determined that the flight computers could conceivably experience a “loss of sharklet identification”, says the European Aviation Safety Agency. EASA says that components used to activate the load-alleviation function are connected to flight computers using a common ground point. As a result, it says, the ground point segregation is “no longer effective” and carries the possibility of single-point failure. The aircraft would revert to behaving as if fitted with wing-tip fences, which preceded the introduction of sharklets. While Airbus has already introduced a change which restores the segregation, EASA is instructing operators of aircraft delivered without the modification to amend the sharklet ground connection within two years.
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Air Berlin Announces Q2 Profit, More Cuts
Air Berlin swung to an EUR€8.6 million net profit in the second quarter and announced further cost savings. Germany's second largest airline reported a second quarter net profit of EUR€8.6 million (USD$11.4 million), from a year-earlier loss of EUR€38 million. Revenue was up 3.6 percent to EUR€1.15 billion from EUR€1.1 billion in the previous year. Costs per available seat km excluding fuel were down by 2.8 percent and yield improved 3 percent. Air Berlin said it will cut the number of seats it offers and reduce the number of aircraft it operates as it launches a new plan to return to profit. The company, 29-percent owned by Etihad, will cut capacity by 10 percent, reduce its fleet by about 10 aircraft and close five crew bases, it said as it reported second quarter results. It is also in talks for a close bilateral cooperation with Alitalia, which Etihad has just agreed to buy almost half of.
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AirAsia Second Quarter Net Profit Jumps
AirAsia's second-quarter net profit jumped more than five times on foreign exchange gains, the deferment of taxes and a small increase in passengers. Asia's largest budget airline by passengers reported net profit for the three months to end June increased to MYR367.16 million ringgit (USD$116 million). Revenue rose to MYR1.31 billion ringgit from MYR1.25 billion. Without foreign exchange gains and deferred taxes, AirAsia's net operating profit fell 17 percent. The company attributed this to its Thai unit posting a quarterly loss for the first time. AirAsia said political unrest in Thailand kept loads and fares low, and that the situation is expected to persist until September. It had expanded capacity in Thailand by 23 percent during the quarter; passenger growth fell short at 16 percent despite a 14 percent cut in the average fare.
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Policymaker Could Be Chosen To Lead Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia is considering tapping one of its economic policymakers to lead an overhaul of Malaysia Airlines that aims to transform the troubled carrier into a "premium airline", a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Idris Jala, who heads the government's Economic Transformation Programme, previously led the national airline from 2005 to 2009. He steered the firm from heavy losses to record profits through hefty cost cutting, though critics have said it was an unsustainable long-term model. Malaysia Airlines, whose business has been devastated by the unexplained disappearance of flight MH370 and the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine, is set to be taken private by state fund and majority shareholder Khazanah.
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US aviation agency grounds Air India Dreamliner
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday grounded an Air India Dreamliner in Seoul to examine its engines. The American regulator's move came after some other airline's aircraft saw an inflight failure of its General Electric (GE) engine. FAA then decided to ground all aircraft fitted with the same series of GE engines wherever they were and examine the engines before allowing them to take off. The problem, say sources, could be with the engine's "angle valve" which work as the gear box. The AI Dreamliner (VT-ANP) operating on Delhi-Hong King-Seoul-HK-Delhi route was also fitted with the same series of GE engine and was grounded for checks by the FAA in Seoul. AI had to cancel the return leg of the flight to Delhi that this plane had to operate. The aircraft will be released after checks if the engine is found to be alright. The airline has put up stranded passengers in hotels. The inflight engine failure is not the first trouble some GE engines fitted on Boeing 787 and 747-8 have been experiencing for some time now. But it is the most serious one.
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FAA: Flight-sharing Services Violate Regulations
The FAA has essentially shut down flight-sharing systems that attempted to match pilots with passengers who wished to fly to the same destination. One such company, AirPooler, sought an FAA interpretation to ensure that its business model didn’t violate the regulations. AirPooler voluntarily asked the FAA “for confirmation that a pilot participating in the AirPooler service is not receiving compensation in violation of 14 CFR 61.113; and a legal analysis of whether pilots participating in the AirPooler website are commercial operators who would be required to hold a certificate under 14 CFR Part 119.”
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Taiwan F-16V passes design milestone
The most recent version of the Lockheed Martin F-16s has passed critical design review, making way for upgrades to Taiwan’s fleet of the single-engined fighter. The F-16V is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar in the nose cone, which improves upon the mechanically scanned radar systems currently in use. Northrop Grumman’s scalable agile beam radar (SABR) passed critical design review on 19 August. The milestone was announced by Lockheed, which Taiwan chose as lead systems integrated for upgrades to its fleet of 144 F-16A/B Block 20s. "Completing this milestone on schedule demonstrates our ability to meet program commitments," Roderick McLean, Lockheed's vice-president and general manager of the F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group, said in a statement. "It proves once again why customers turn to Lockheed Martin to upgrade their F-16 fleets and advance the mission capability of the world's most effective 4th-generation multi-role fighter."
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USAF grounds 82 F-16Ds due to new cracks
The US Air Force announced late on 19 August the grounding of 82 of 969 Lockheed Martin F-16s still in service after finding structural cracks. The grounding, which involves only the two-seat F-16D, could be lifted to allow aircraft to fly a limited number of flight hours with a temporary fix, the air force says. Engineers are still analysing options for a permanent repair, the air force says. The cracks, which were discovered in post-flight inspections, damage the canopy sill longerons in a space between the front and rear pilot seats, the air force says.
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K-Max demonstrates autonomous ground vehicle delivery
The US Army and Lockheed Martin have successfully tested the capability the K-Max unmanned helicopter has to deliver an autonomous ground vehicle. The army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) conducted the “Extending the Reach of the Warfighter through Robotics” testing at Fort Benning, Georgia, in an effort to test “robots moving robots”.
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Aviation Quote
It's hard to replace the gray matter that is inherent in every human being. No computer can do it quite that well yet.
— General John P. Jumper, USAF Chief of Staff, 'Air Line Pilot' magazine, April 2007
On This Date
--- In 1908... The first turn in the air performed by a monoplane is carried out by Antoinnette II, first flown at Issy-les-Moulineaux on July 22,1908. It lasts 1 minute, 36 seconds.
---In 1908... Wilbur Wright begins flying demonstrations of his Flyer A from the artillery ground known as Camp d’Auvers, 7 miles east of Le Mans, France, having moved from the Hunaudières race course.
--- In 1923... The first use of electric beacons mounted on the ground to provide sight direction for night flying is made in the United States.
---In 1985…Sir Freddie Laker accepts a £UK 8 million in a settlement with British Airways. Laker had sued twelve airlines for conspiring to drive Laker Airways out of business.
---In 1994…A Royal Air Maroc ATR-42 crashes while operating Flight 630 from Agadir to Casablanca, killing all 44 on board. The plane entered a nosedive as it climbed through 16,000 feet, an event caused deliberately, investigators say, by a suicidal pilot.
---In 1995…ASA Flight 529, an EMB Brasilia, crashes due to a faulty propeller blade. A post-crash fire kills nine passengers and the captain.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
The Pope Reaches Heaven
The Pope dies unexpectedly and finds himself at the gates of Heaven at 0300. He knocks on the gate and a very sleepy eyed angel opens the gate and asks, "wadda you want?" "I'm the recently deceased Pope and have done 63 years of Godly works and thought I should check in here."
The Heaven's gate watch checks his clipboard and says, "I ain't got no orders for you here, just bring your stuff and we'll sort this out in the morning" Off they go to an old W.W.I.I. barracks, 3rd floor, open bay. All the bottom racks are taken and all empty lockers have no doors. The Pope stows his gear under a rack and climbs into an upper bunk.
The next morning he awakens to sounds of cheering and clapping. He goes to the window and sees a shiny convertible coming down from the golden headquarters building on the hill. The sidewalks are lined with Angels cheering and throwing confetti. In the back seat of the convertible is a ole Paratrooper, his Jump Wings shining on his chest, a cigar in his mouth, a can of beer in one hand and his other arm around a beautiful blonde Angel.
This upsets the Pope greatly and he runs downstairs to heaven's gates and says, "Hey, explain this to me, here I am, the recently deceased Pope, and I have spent 63 years doing Godly deeds on Earth and am here in open bay barracks, and I see this old Paratrooper that I know has committed every sin known to man, staying in the mansion on the hill and getting a hero's welcome. How can this be?"
St. Peter calmly looks up and says, "We get a Pope up here every 20 or 30 years, but this is the first Paratrooper we've ever had.”
Trivia
General Trivia
1. The airport elevation shown on instrument approach charts is almost always the
a. highest point on any runway.
b. highest point on the longest runway.
c. highest point on the primary instrument runway.
d. the elevation of the airport reference point.
2. The first product advertised by skywriting appears to have been
a. Baby Ruth candy bars.
b. newspaper, The Daily Mail.
c. Cuban cigars.
d. American cigarettes.
3. Which of the following World War II bombers was armed with the most guns?
a. B-17 Flying Fortress
b. B-24 Liberator
c. B-25 Mitchell
d. B-29 Superfortress
4. A member of which of the following famous American families was a three-time U.S. National Soaring Champion, set numerous distance records, funded the Soaring Society of America during the Depression, and headed the U.S. Army's American Glider Program for Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold during World War II?
a. Aronson (Ronson lighters)
b. du Pont
c. Ford
d. Rockefeller
5. Who are the Quiet Birdmen?
a. A fraternal organization of pilots founded by Charles Lindbergh.
b. An informal organization of pilots who have experienced and survived an actual engine failure.
c. A fraternal organization of sailplane enthusiasts founded by Orville Wright.
d. An organization of pilots with hearing and/or speaking disabilities.
6. The first pilot to fly a complete circle in an airplane was
a. Glen Curtiss.
b. Alberto Santos-Dumont.
c. Orville Wright.
d. Wilbur Wright.
