miamiair/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user54/1.pngoffline(netAirspace FAA) 19 Jan 15, 10:09
News
Commercial
13 top-selling narrowbody and widebody types of 2014 With the big two manufacturers having released their order and delivery figures this week, here are the 13 top-selling narrowbody and widebody types of 2014. 1. Airbus A320neo 2. Boeing 737 Max 3. Airbus A320ceo 4. Boeing 777X Link
Airlines
Allegiant Air Pilots Vote For Strike Pilots at low-cost US carrier Allegiant Air have voted overwhelmingly for a strike after two years of contract talks, empowering their union to request US government approval for a walkout. More than 98 percent of the 473 pilots who voted approved the strike, according to the Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224. The voters represented the vast majority of pilots at the low-cost carrier. The movement to strike raises the stakes for Allegiant, which entered mediation with its pilots in April of last year. A strike could result in significant flight disruptions as well as revenue loss for the Las Vegas-based airline, a potential anomaly in the US industry where strikes are infrequent. Link
American takes delivery of first Boeing 787 Representatives from American Airlines accepted delivery of the carrier's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. "American flight attendants, engineers and a test pilot arrived at Boeing for a long-awaited look at the first 787, and took her for a customer acceptance flight high above Washington state," the carrier told employees in a weekly newsletter. Link
SpiceJet's New Owners To Cut Fleet, Shrink Network The prospective owners of India's SpiceJet plan to cut the airline's fleet, shrink its route network and return to a 'plain vanilla' business model to achieve profitability, two people close to the investors said. Their plans include removing the 15 Bombardier Q400 regional aircraft from the airline's fleet and sticking to Boeing 737s, and focusing on profitable services to and between India's major cities. SpiceJet said on Thursday that Ajay Singh, who helped found the airline in 2005, has agreed to buy a controlling stake from billionaire majority owner Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group. He was expected to submit his plan, which could involve an investment of USD$240 million, by the end of January. The plan would need regulatory approval. Link
United highlights PGA Tour with new amenity kits This spring, United Airlines GlobalFirst and BusinessFirst passengers will receive PGA Tour-themed new special edition amenity kits. The kits come with a kit/shoe bag in PGA colors, plaid socks and golf balls and tees in addition to regular lotions, sprays, tissues and blindfold. Link
Airports
Atlanta airport studying ways to stay "world's busiest airport" The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport wants to hang onto its title of "world's busiest airport." The airport established a committee to study ways to boost marketing for the airport. The Beijing Capital International Airport in China, ranked as the second-busiest airport in the world last year, is closing in on the coveted title. Link
San Diego airport installs 8 passport control kiosks San Diego International Airport has installed eight automated passport control kiosks as one of 30 U.S. airports to offer the service. The self-service kiosks are located in Terminal 2 East. Link
Military
USMC's F-35B can fire missiles when it comes online It is still up in the air whether the US Marine Corps will have combat-ready Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs by its July 1 deadline for initial operational capability (IOC), but the first 10 jets are now fully cleared to fire weapons. The portion of the 2B software that manages weapons separation has completed the necessary testing, the Pentagon’s Joint Program Office (JPO) announced on 15 January. The F-35B’s software was validated after several weapons separation tests. “The weapons development program continues to track forward on the plan laid out by the technical baseline review approved in 2010,” Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 program executive officer, says in a statement. “All weapons tests needed for 2B software, the software the US Marine Corps will use to declare IOC, is complete and will be ready to go for their combat capability certification.” Link
Regulatory
FAA comments on LED runway lights In the rush to save energy by replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED (light-emitting diode-based) lights, airports and the FAA are trying to deal with visibility issues caused by LEDs installed in the runway environment. On Dec. 19, 2007, President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act. One of the stipulations in the law mandated improved light bulb efficiency and not, as many believe, an outright ban on incandescent bulbs. Nevertheless, as a result of this law some airports have switched to LED lights for runways and taxiways and obstruction lighting, apparently without considering how LED lights can affect visibility for pilots. Link
FCC approves Gogo's 2Ku Satellite technology The Federal Communications Commission this week approved Gogo's 2Ku dual antenna satellite technology, which is expected to deliver bandwidth capacity of up to 70Mbps. Gogo is expected to launch the technology later this year. Air Canada and United Airlines are among the carriers expected to test the technology. Link
Aviation Quote
Can the magic of flight ever be carried by words? I think not.
— Michael Parfit
On This Date
---In 1784... The largest hot-air balloon ever made, called Le Flesselle by the Montgolfier brothers, makes an ascent at Lyons, France. The balloon’s capacity is 700,000 cubic feet and it goes up to 3,000 feet.
---In 1915…First German aerial bombing of Britain, by two Zeppelins, thereby opening up a new era in the exploitation of aeronautics. During World War I, a total of 56 tons of aerial bombs was dropped on London and 214 tons on the rest of Britain.
---In 1918…U.S. School of Aviation Medicine began operations under Maj. Williams H. Wilmer, Signal Corps, Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, N.Y. A low-pressure tank was constructed to simulate altitudes up to 30,000 feet, and some studies were conducted at Pikes Peak.
---In 1946…First flight of the Bell X-1 (unpowered).
---In 1950…First flight of the Avro Canada CF-100 RCAF 18101.
---In 1959…The AEC demonstrated a 5-watt radioisotope thermoelectric generator (designated SNAP 3) to President Eisenhower as an example of the potential use of radioisotopes and static thermoelectric conversion for providing long-lived electric power for space.
---In 1961…Report of the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences stated that life in some form on other planets of the solar system may possibly exist, but that evidence of this is not available today.
---In 1961…Iris rocket, new solid-propellant single-stage sounding rocket, failed to attain programmed flight from Wallops Island, reaching only 86 miles' altitude instead of 160 miles.
---In 1961…NASA selected Hughes Aircraft Co. for placing of a major subcontract by Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build seven Surveyor spacecraft designed for soft landings on the Moon.
---In 1961…Marshall Space Flight Center awarded contract to Douglas and Chance Vought to study launching manned exploratory expedition into lunar and interplanetary space from Earth orbits.
---In 1961…Federal Communications Commission allocated a radio frequency to the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. to establish the first space satellite communications link between Europe and the United States on an experimental basis, a program calling for NASA launching of a series of experimental communication satellites capable of relaying telephone calls, television programs, and other messages across the Atlantic.
---In 1961…NASA announced indefinite suspension of the programming of the wide-angle camera in Tiros II, the experimental weather observation satellite launched on November 23, 1960. ---In 2006…Jet Airways announces its purchase of Air Sahara, creating the largest domestic airline in India.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
JLAmber/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user61/1.pngoffline(netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 19 Jan 15, 19:53
Uusally leave the anagrams alone but I'll have a go seeing as nobody else is:
