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NEWS

Second test of Boeing missile interceptor planned this week
The Missile Defense Agency says it will attempt to launch a Boeing ground-based midcourse defense missile again this week after the missile failed to intercept its target in a test last January. The launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is set to take place between Dec. 14 and 17, depending on weather conditions. It will be directed to a target missile launched from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, in the Western Pacific.
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Boeing, Lockheed Martin win contracts for unmanned helicopters
Boeing is gearing up production of its A160T Hummingbird unmanned helicopter under a nearly $29.9 million Navy contract, just as the company welcomes a new vice president, David Koopersmith, to head the AH-64D Apache and AH-6 helicopter programs. Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, will also be working on unmanned helicopters as part of a new $45.8 million contract to provide two K-MAX cargo aircraft and three remote control ground stations for the Marine Corps.
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Embraer to expand defense unit beyond aerospace
Embraer SA says it plans to expand its defense and security unit beyond aerospace in an effort to boost exports and growth. The company will take on applications for army, navy and security forces, said a company executive in a radio interview.
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Little agreement among analysts for 787 delivery prospects
Analysts say deliveries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will amount to little more than a "trickle" in 2011, if the high-tech new plane manages to debut next year at all. Richard Aboulafia of The Teal Group believes the cost of delays will require Boeing to deliver at least 1,000 of the jets before the 787 program is profitable, up from earlier projections of several hundred. Hans Weber of Tecop International agrees that Boeing will deal with extended financial fallout, but he says airlines will be happily flying their Dreamliners in 2013, while rival Airbus is still "going through hell" with its A350. "By 2013-2014, the 787 is going to look really good," he predicts.
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High stakes, high hopes for NASA's newest Mars rover
Curiosity is still about a year away from launch, but the stakes are high for NASA's most ambitious Mars rover. Because Curiosity weighs five times more than previous rovers, its landing on the Red Planet will require a complicated system of parachutes, rockets and a "sky crane" -- "our six minutes of terror," in the words of one NASA engineer. Such complexities have added about $700 million to the mission's budget and put it two years behind schedule, but hopes are high for the discoveries that could ensue. "We're trying to take the next step in addressing the question of whether life ever got started on Mars," says deputy project scientist Joy Crisp.
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Israel's security system aims to separate terrorists from travelers
Israel takes a series of effective yet discreet measures at Ben Gurion airport to prevent terror attacks. Israel uses "behavior pattern analysis," which includes investigating how travelers pay for their tickets. At the airport, agents speak with every traveler as they wait to check their luggage. If a traveler exhibits nervous or suspicious behavior, he will face questions from experienced investigators. Observers say that unlike the American security system, which focuses on detecting explosives, the Israeli system is designed to separate terrorists from travelers.
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Indianapolis councilman urges switch to private screeners
A city-county councilman in Indianapolis wants to replace the Transportation Security Administration with a private security agency at the Indianapolis International Airport. Ed Coleman has proposed a resolution that would urge airport officials, who have the authority to make the decision, to switch to a private company. However, John Clark, the Airport Authority's executive director, said he did not think that replacing the TSA with a private firm would improve the screening process.
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Report: Scanners can't detect some hidden items
A new analysis by researchers at the University of California suggests that full-body scanners used to screen travelers at the nation's airports may not detect some hidden items. The report found that the scanners could not detect items placed outside the side of the body.
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Ryanair to sue AENA over Spanish ATC strikes
Ryanair on Monday said it will take legal action against the Spanish air navigation and airports authority AENA, the aviation regulator AESA and the USCA traffic controllers union, over the unauthorized and unannounced workstoppageby air traffic controllers on Dec. 3 and 4, which forced the LCC to cancel over 500 flights.
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IATA: Air cargo rebound will continue in 2011 but at slower pace
IATA said the air cargo traffic rebound that started in late 2009 will continue through 2011, though not at the robust pace of 2010. The organization also noted that divergent levels of economic growth in different regions of the world are affecting the way the airfreight industry develops.
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Star Alliance courts Virgin Blue
As Air New Zealand and Virgin Blue work to persuade the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to reverse its draft ruling and approve their proposed transtasman alliance, speculation increased that Blue would join the Star Alliance following CEO John Borghetti’s presence at the Star CEOs' meeting in Queenstown, New Zealand on Monday.
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IATA urges global, harmonized approach to air cargo security
IATA continued to call for a "measured" response to the late October discovery of explosives disguised as printer cartridges in air cargo shipments that originated in Yemen, warning that "knee-jerk" unilateral actions by governments could slow global airfreight flows and by extension the world economic recovery.
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Phantom Ray gets 747 ride west

Boeing's Phantom Ray unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) headed west to Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California for more testing, the company says. Sitting on top of a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) - a modified Boeing 747 - Phantom Ray left St. Louis after a test flights at Lambert International Airport.
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QF: A380 flights to Los Angeles unprofitable with Trent 900s
Qantas Airways will not be able to operate any of its Airbus A380s profitably on the Sydney-Los Angeles route if it uses its existing Rolls-Royce Trent 900 powerplants, says the carrier in a statement of claim against the engine manufacturer. The carrier, which filed the claim in the Federal Court of Australia on 2 December, says each A380 would be able to carry only 80 passengers, instead of 450, on the route due to thrust limitations on the engines.
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Can Lockheed deliver on the Joint Strike Fighter dream?
The world's biggest military aircraft program is ending 2010 in much the same manner that it started the year, with uncertainty surrounding its long-term health, cost and delivery schedule.
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Ryanair: Single fleet rule no longer applies
Ryanair has now reached the size where it can operate a dual fleet without jeopardizing its low-cost model, according to deputy CEO and chief financial officer Howard Millar. By 2012 Ryanair plans to operate over 300 aircraft, carrying around 85 million passengers, which Millar believes gives it the critical mass to operate two types without losing any economic advantage.
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Other News

The US Dept. of Transportation Monday announced it assessed a civil penalty of $600,000 against JetBlue Airways for “violating rules protecting air travelers with disabilities and for failing to disclose when flights sold by the carrier were being operated under a codesharing arrangement.” DOT noted that “$350,000 must be paid by the carrier” and “up to $250,000” may be used to improve its service to disabled passengers beyond what is required by law.

Airbus slightly raised its long-term projection for commercial aircraft demand in its Global Market Forecast released Monday, predicting that “almost 26,000 new passenger and freighter aircraft valued at $3.2 trillion will be needed between 2010 and 2029.”

Pratt & Whitney Canada said it will invest more than $1 billion in R&D over the next five years "to develop the next generation of high-performance aircraft engines." Investment includes a $300 million repayable contribution from the Government of Canada under the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Initiative.

US Dept. of Transportation's Future of Aviation Advisory Committee will present its recommendations to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at its final meeting on Wednesday. FAAC was created in April to provide information, advice, and recommendations to the LaHood on challenges facing the aviation industry. According to DOT, the recommendations "will focus principally on five issue areas: ensuring aviation safety, ensuring a world-class aviation workforce, balancing the industry’s competitiveness and viability, securing stable funding for aviation systems and addressing environmental challenges."

SITA announced it has acquired Com-Net Software, a provider of integrated audio-visual passenger communication system to airports and airlines in North America. SITA CEO Francesco Violante said it will “greatly enhance SITA’s airport management offering and will ensure our customers have best-in-class technology at airports.”

The Metropolitan Airports Commission has launched a new “Digital Concierge” program as well as the mobile application goHowAirport at Minneapolis-St. Paul International. The Digital Concierge program provides travelers with two four-sided digital touch screen directories in the MSP airport mall in Terminal 1, which MAC says “can be expanded in the future to provide additional interactive directories in other areas of the airport.” The mobile application, free for download on iPhone and BlackBerry mobiles also provides information on airport shops, restaurants and services, both at MSP and other airports, and will be available on Android devices early next year.



AVIATION QUOTE

The life of the modern jet pilots tends to be most unexpectedly lonely. . . . foreign countries are places to reach accurately and to leave on time. Distance is a raw material to work with.
— John Pearson, 'Sunday Times,' 4 Feb 1962.

ON THIS DATE

December 14-23, 1986

Dick Rutan, Jeana Yeager, and Voyager make first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.

Rutan, Yeager, and Voyager took off from Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 8:01 a.m. on December 14, 1986. The plane needed almost the entire 15,000 feet of runway, which was already one of the world's longest airstrips, to become airborne; the aircraft did not lift off until it was approximately 14,200 feet down the runway, and then it did so only after sustaining a bit of damage. Due to the large amount of fuel contained in Voyager's wing tanks, the aircraft's wings bobbed up and down while accelerating down the runway, and in the process, about a foot of each wing tip chipped off. Concerned about the condition of their craft, Rutan and Yeager circled the airfield and checked their plane's handling conditions. Fortunately, the plane seemed sound enough to continue the journey.

Rutan and Yeager completed their journey when they touched down at Edwards Air Force Base at 8:06 a.m. on December 23, 1986. The entire 24,986-mile trip had taken 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds, or a little more than 216 hours. During their trip, they had averaged around 116 miles per hour, and when they landed, they only had a few gallons of fuel left.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

A Pilot In Heaven

A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.

Saint Peter addresses this guy, "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?" The guy replies, "I'm Joey Shasta, retired pilot, of Pittsburg, PA."

Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the pilot, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom."

The pilot goes into Heaven with his robe and staff.

Next it's the minister's turn. He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last 43 years." Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom."

"Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a pilot and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?"

"Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept; while he flew, people prayed."



TRIVIA

Tail ID

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.

Tails:

1. Iran Air
2. Egypt Air
3. WestJet
4. Sri Lankan
5. Lynden Air Cargo
6. Aero California
7. Aviacsa
8. Germanwings
9. LOT
10. BMI

How bad is it that QANTAS can't use the A380 on the LAX route?

1. Iran Air
2. Egyptair
3. WestJet
4. Sri Lankan
5. Lynden Air Cargo
6. Flying Colours?
7.
8. Germanwings
9. LOT
10. bmi

AndesSMF wrote:How bad is it that QANTAS can't use the A380 on the LAX route?

Their claim seems a little fishy to me. Methinks it's just the lawyers right now.....

ANSWERS:

1. IR, Iran Air
2. MS, Egypt Air
3. M3, WestJet Airlines
4. UL, Sri Lankan Airlines
5. L2, Lynden Air Cargo
6. JR, Aero California
7. 6A, Aviacsa
8. 4U, Germanwings
9. LO, LOT Polish Airlines
10. BD, BMI