NewsAirlines
Air NZ Sells Safe Air Maintenance Business To Airbus
Air New Zealand has agreed to sell its Safe Air maintenance business to an Australian unit of Airbus for an undisclosed sum. Safe Air has been sold to Airbus Group Australia Pacific, which maintains helicopters and aircraft, including Royal Australian Air Force Orion and Hercules planes.
Link
American sponsors Wings for Autism event at Kansas City airport
American Airlines partnered with Kansas City International Airport and ARC to hold a Wings for Autism event to introduce children with autism to the flying experience. The event also let airport workers see how some autistic children react to the airport environment.
Link
Poor lighting and signage led to BA 747 wing smash
Poor signage and taxiway lighting at Johannesburg contributed to a British Airways Boeing 747-400 crew’s inadvertently following a narrow taxiway before the jet’s wing sliced into a service building. But the inquiry into the accident, which demolished part of the building and led to the 747’s being written off, also points out that the pilots did not brief the taxi route and were unaware of a caution note in the aerodrome chart warning of potential confusion risks.
Link
Etihad calls for more open European market
Gulf carrier Etihad Airways has welcomed the European Commission (EC) review of aviation policy as a chance to embrace “bold reforms” that put competition and passengers’ interests in the spotlight.
Link
JetBlue is teaming with Avis to expand consumer options
JetBlue Airways has announced a partnership with Avis to enhance flight and rental options for customers, as well as to allow customers to earn TrueBlue points through car rentals. Avis services will also be available through Blue Inc., JetBlue's new web portal.
Link
LOT cyberattack grounds 1,400 passengers at Warsaw airport
Star Alliance carrier LOT Polish Airlines was forced to cancel 11 out of 200 scheduled flights Sunday at Warsaw’s Frederic Chopin Airport after its computers were hacked, grounding 1,400 passengers.
Link
Lufthansa flight attendants give June 30 deadline to avoid strikes
Lufthansa flight attendant union said it would announce several strike actions July 1 if an agreement has not been reached by June 30 over pay and pension benefits. On Saturday, arbitration between Lufthansa and UFO ended without an agreement.
Link
Virgin Australia Cargo to launch July 1
Virgin Australia will launch Virgin Australia Cargo on July 1 as part of the airline group’s Virgin Vision 2017 strategy. The airline said the move would “dramatically change the competitive dynamics of the air cargo market in Australia.”
LinkAirports
Stewart International Airport launches runway improvements
The Hudson Valley's Stewart International Airport will repave and refurbish its two runways with a $1.7 million Federal Aviation Administration grant.
Link
Military
Embraer expands Super Tucano presence in Africa with Ghana sale
Ghana has joined the growing club of African Embraer A-29 Super Tucano operators after ordering five of the Brazilian light-attack turboprops for its air force. In a 22 June statement, Embraer said the contract should come into effect later this year once “certain conditions have been fulfilled”. The deal provides aircraft as well as logistics support, and establishes a local training programme for the A-29 pilots and mechanics in Ghana.
Link
Israel details F-16 ACE bid for Croatia
Israel is offering Croatia surplus Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs upgraded to the ACE configuration, as replacements for its Mikoyan MiG-21 fighters. The Israeli air force is phasing out its F-16A/B-model trainers, ahead of deliveries of the new-generation Lockheed F-35A, which are expected to begin in 2017.
Link
US report calls for dual-capable F-35C and tactical nukes
A US think tank has proposed installing nuclear weapons on the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter for deployment aboard aircraft carriers as a hedge against Russia and China. Clark Murdock of the Center for Strategic and International Studies floated the idea of a return to carrier-based nuclear weapons in a new report published on 22 June. The US government has committed to outfitting only the land-based F-35A with nuclear weapons as a “dual-capable aircraft,” namely the Boeing B61-12 thermonuclear guided bomb.
LinkCorporate
Gulfstream boosts connectivity for G450 and G550
Gulfstream has received US Federal Aviation Administration approval for a modification that allows operators of G450 and G550 aircraft to benefit from enhanced connectivity. Covering the installation of the Satcom Direct Router, the enhancement simplifies cabin communications on the two twinjets. “This equipment elevates the airborne office to a new level,” says Mike West, vice-president, product support sales and new business development, Gulfstream.
Link
Aviation Quote
The airline business is fast-paced, high risk, and highly leveraged. It puts a premium on things I like to do. I think I communicate well. And I am very good at detail. I love detail.
— Robert L. Crandall, CEO & President of American Airlines.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Trivia
General Trivia
1. What was the largest, heaviest and most powerful American Production fighter of WW2?
2. Five American Aircraft Carriers have been converted into floating museums. What are their names and where are they located?
3. Which of the following is not true?
A) The 172 was Cessna's first production airplane to be equipped with a tricycle landing gear.
B) The Hawker Siddeley Trident was the first production airplane with an autoland system.
C) On early models of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, the tail gunner could bail out of the aircraft by jettisoning the entire turret.
D) The pilot of the An-2 Colt, can use an on-board compressor to vary the air pressure in the oleo struts to suit the type of surface on which he/she intends to land.
4. Why does moving the center of gravity forward make an airplane more stable in the pitch and yaw axis?
5. During W2, Germany launched V-1 buzz bombs from northern France towards London. These pilotless aircraft incorporated an autopilot to keep the airplane pointed in the target's direction. Without a navigation system, how did the bomb "know" when they were over the target?
Poor lighting and signage led to BA 747 wing smash
Poor signage and taxiway lighting at Johannesburg contributed to a British Airways Boeing 747-400 crew’s inadvertently following a narrow taxiway before the jet’s wing sliced into a service building. But the inquiry into the accident, which demolished part of the building and led to the 747’s being written off, also points out that the pilots did not brief the taxi route and were unaware of a caution note in the aerodrome chart warning of potential confusion risks.
