NewsCommercial
Boeing, Panasonic partner for low-profile antenna
Panasonic Avionics and a division of Boeing have formed a partnership to develop a low-profile antenna for aircraft that will be available in 2016. "Our connectivity customers have always wanted an antenna like this, but the cost was always too high," said Todd Hill, director of global communications services, products and capacity at Panasonic.
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Maiden Leap-1C flight lasted nearly 3h
CFM International has confirmed the maiden test flight of its Leap engine family, beginning with a configuration to be used exclusively by the Leap-1C on the Comac C919. The test flight, to validate aerodynamics and mechanical items, took place on 6 October using a Boeing 747 testbed at Victorville in California. CFM says an analysis of the engine’s performance during the flight – which lasted nearly 3h – showed that it “behaved well” and that the test was “very successful”. The testbed will be used for the Leap-1A and -1B variants of the engine, for the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max respectively.
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Inquiry studies oxygen mask found on MH17 passenger
Dutch investigators are trying to determine why an oxygen mask was found around the neck of a passenger from the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER that crashed in eastern Ukraine. The Dutch prosecution office, Openbaar Ministerie, states that the mask was the same type installed on 777s for use in case of a drop in cabin pressure. No other occupants of flight MH17 have been found with masks, it says. Openbaar Ministerie says the mask being studied was found around the passenger’s neck, attached by a band, although examination for fingerprints and DNA has yielded no results.
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Airtanker crash spurs California to ground S-2T fleet
California’s firefighting agency has grounded 22 Grumman S-2T airtankers after a crash on 7 October killed a pilot in Yosemite National Park. The precautionary grounded began on 8 October as the investigation of the crash began. Agency officials say they lost contact with the DynCorp International-operated S-2T, while local reports quoted witnesses saying the aircraft crashed into a steep canyon wall.
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Thomson explores new seating concepts for 737 Max
UK holiday carrier Thomson Airways believes it can capitalise on an ancillary approach to new seating concepts for its Boeing 737 Max fleet. It has yet to decide how many seats it will install in the re-engined aircraft, for which parent TUI has orders for 60, but is to experiment with different seating arrangements aimed at creating a more social atmosphere for large and small groups. Thomson is looking at introducing a pod with two seats, with a table between, as part of the Max configuration. The carrier intends to test a version of this dual-seat arrangement on its current fleet.
LinkAirlines
Analyst: Airlines will continue to update fleets
Modest profitability has enabled airlines to accelerate investment, to the tune of $1 billion per month, in people, products and technology to enhance the travel experience. Robert Stallard, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets, expects carriers to continue buying fuel-efficient aircraft to update fleets.
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American Airlines forecasts healthy Q3 operating margins
American Airlines Group said it forecasts an operating margin of up to 12% for the third quarter. By the end of 2014, the carrier also expects to have 1,540 aircraft in its fleet.
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Delta to continue flying out of Dallas Love Field through 2014
Delta Air Lines will continue to offer service at Dallas Love Field through the end of the year, the carrier announced. Delta said it "remains committed to serving its North Texas customers at both Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport."
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Emirates Says New Plane Tracking Systems Unnecessary
Emirates' president Tim Clark said there is no need to improve modern aircraft tracking systems even after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, according to Spiegel magazine. The disappearance of MH370 in March has led to calls for real-time tracking of aircraft, and an airline-industry-led task force is looking at ways of improving tracking. Clark told the German online magazine that modern aircraft already had the necessary equipment but measures should be taken to ensure pilots can't turn off tracking devices.
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Norwegian Picks Rolls-Royce To Power Additional 787s
Norwegian has selected Rolls-Royce engines to power nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and signed up for a long-term maintenance and servicing contract worth USD$440 million. Rolls-Royce said in a statement that Norwegian would use its Trent 1000 engines for nine additional leased 787-9 aircraft, boosting the engine-maker's order book by USD$134 million. Norwegian's fleet expansion would bring the total number of its Trent 1000-powered 787s to 17. The new aircraft would be powered by the Trent 1000-TEN, the latest version of the Trent 1000 with improved fuel economics.
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Southwest debuts service to Chicago from Dallas Love Field
Southwest Airlines will begin its first-ever nonstop flights between Chicago and its home base at Love Field in Dallas on Monday when a decades-old governmental restriction that limited flights from that airport officially lifts. The move to add nonstop flights to Dallas, along with recently added flights to Washington, set up Southwest to take on Chicago stalwarts United Airlines and American Airlines on two of the most important domestic routes — and potentially force fares lower.
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United Airlines reports Sept. traffic
United Continental Holdings Inc. reported Thursday that passenger traffic in September dipped 0.2 percent, with most of the decline on its United Express regional flights. Passengers on United and United Express flew 16.63 billion miles last month. International traffic rose less than 1 percent, while domestic traffic declined by a similar amount, including 0.9 percent on United Express.
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Virgin America considers IPO
Passengers cherish Virgin America for its mood lighting, live TV, fancy cocktails and friendly flight attendants. That nice-guy approach to air travel wins awards and attracts a cult following, but may not fly with Wall Street. For all the accolades, Virgin America has lost $400 million since its founding in 2007. As Virgin America weighs a public offering there are warning signs for potential investors. Its brand-new aircraft come with a hefty debt load and the airline has failed to attract big-spending business travelers. To increase revenue — and satisfy shareholders — the airline might eventually be forced to take actions, such as raising fees, which risk alienating passengers.
LinkAirports
Family of Dead TSA Officer Sues LA, Police
The family of a US TSA officer who was fatally shot when a gunman opened fire in a terminal at Los Angeles Airport last year has sued the city and its police department, alleging that security failures led to his death. Gerardo Hernandez, 53, became the first US Transportation Security Administration agent killed in the line of duty when he was shot 12 times at point-blank range in Terminal 3 of the airport as he stood at the entrance to a security checkpoint.
LinkMilitary
US Air Force moves ahead with F-16 service life extension
The US Air Force is pushing ahead with an effort to extend the service lives of 300 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters as a stopgap measure until the F-35 Lightning II is operational in sufficient numbers. The service announced on 2 October it would finalise the design of the aircraft within 18 to 24 months and wants to give prospective industry bidders a “first look” into the scope of work needed to extend the aircraft’s service life from 8,000 flight hours to between 10,000 and 12,000 flight hours. The request for information (RFI) is seeking industry input into the production and deployment of modification kits for Block 40, 42, 50 and 52 aircraft.
LinkRegulatory
UK To Start Screening Passengers For Ebola
Britain said it would start screening passengers entering the country through London's two main airports and the Eurostar rail link for possible cases of the Ebola virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates Ebola has killed over 3,800 people in Western Africa, and earlier this week a Spanish nurse became the first person known to have caught the virus outside Africa. That, combined with London's status as a global transport hub, has raised the level of public concern about the risk of the disease spreading to Britain, leading to calls from some politicians for the government to step up its border defences.
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Aircraft Cleaners Walk Off Job Over Ebola Concerns
About 200 airline cabin cleaners walked off the job at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday to protest what they say is insufficient protection from exposure to the Ebola virus for workers whose jobs include cleaning up vomit and bathrooms. Picket lines were set up overnight by non-union Air Serv cleaners outside Terminal D at LaGuardia for a one-day strike prompted by fears about the virus, forcing airline cabin crews to clean the planes themselves. Some signs read "Air Serv exposes us to vomit, blood and faeces without protection" and "Air Serv puts worker safety at risk."
LinkCorporate
Embraer set to produce Legacy 450 and 500 in US
Embraer has broken ground on a project that will add two production lines to its Melbourne, Florida, facility and nearly triple its business jet manufacturing footprint there. The Brazilian company already builds its Phenom 100 entry level and Phenom 300 light business jets at the US plant, of which it has produced 80 aircraft in the past three years. Plans are to add production lines for both the super light Legacy 450 and midsize Legacy 500. The first Legacy is scheduled to roll off the line in the second half of 2016, says Marco Tulio Pellegrini, president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets.
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Aviation Quote
We're going to make the best impression on the traveling public, and we're going to make a pile of extra dough just from being first.
— C. R. Smith, American Airlines, on the introduction of the Boeing 707, Forbes magazine, 1956.
On This Date
---In 1898... Augustus Herring pilots a powered biplane based on Octave Chanute’s glider design.
---In 1907... Robert Esnault-Pelterie makes the 1st airplane flight with a control stick, using a single, broom handle-like lever.
---In 1933…A United Airlines Boeing 247D crashes near Chesterton, Indiana while making a multi-stop transcontinental flight between Newark and Oakland, killing all four passengers and three crew on board. Investigators determine that a nitroglycerin bomb had exploded in the baggage compartment, marking history’s first air sabotage incident. No motive or suspects were ever named.
---In 1954…An RAF English Electric Canberra wins the Christchurch Centenary air race, flying 11,792 miles (18,976 km) from England to New Zealand in 23 hours 50 minutes
---In 1968… SR-71 (977) lost due to a wheel/tire failure on takeoff at Beale AFB on 10 October 1968. RSO Jim Kogler ejected, Pilot Gabrial Kardong rode the aircraft to a stop at the end of the runway. Both crew members unharmed. (Q)
---In 1972…Competitive fly-off between the Northrop YA-9 and Fairchild YA-10 begins, continuing until December 9.
---In 1982…First flight of the Mil Mi-28.
---In 1988…The US Air Force publicly unveils the F-117 Nighthawk.
---In 1990…First flight of the Learjet 60.
---In 1997…Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553, a DC-9-32 (registred LV-WEG) crashes in Uruguay, killing all 69 passengers and five crew. The accident is blamed on a frozen pitot tube, which prevented the crew from receiving accurate speed measurements.
---In 1998…A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 (registered 9Q-CSG) is struck by a shoulder-fired missile just after takeoff from Kindu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The crew attempts an emergency landing but fails, and all 41 on board perish. Local rebels claim responsibility for the attack.
---In 2011…Flying a modified Yakovlev Yak-3U powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2000 engine, William Whiteside sets an official international speed record for piston-engined aircraft in the under-3,000 kg (6,615-pound) category, reaching 655 km/hr (407 mph) over a 3-km (1.863-mile) course at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the United States, greatly exceeding the previous record of 491 km/hr (305 mph) set in 2002 by Jim Wright
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Editor’s Choice
Humor
The Difference Between Airplanes and Women:
An airplane will kill you quick . . .
A woman takes her time.
Airplanes like to do it inverted.
Airplanes can be turned on by a flick of a switch.
An airplane does not get mad if you 'touch and go.'
An airplane does not object to a preflight inspection.
Airplanes come with manuals.
Airplanes have strict weight and balance limits.
You can fly an airplane any time of the month.
Airplanes don't have parents.
Airplanes don't whine unless something is really wrong.
Airplanes don't care about how many other airplanes you have flown.
When flying, you and your airplane both arrive at the same time.
Airplanes don't mind if you look at other airplanes, or if you buy airplane magazines.
If your airplane is too loose, you can tighten it.
It's always OK to use tie downs on your airplane.
