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Commercial

Crashed ATR deviated from non-precision approach
Preliminary information from the investigation into the TransAsia Airways ATR 72 crash in Magong shows that the crew opted for a non-precision approach after initially intending an ILS approach to the airport. The crew of the aircraft, operating flight GE222 from Kaohsiung, had been cleared to cruise at 7,000ft for the 23 July service. Weather conditions at Magong were poor with visibility down to 800m. Although the flight was typically 35min, the crew was still waiting for ILS clearance to runway 02 an hour after departure. Rather than staying with the ILS approach to runway 02 – for which the meteorological data was indicating tailwinds gusting to 11kt – the crew changed to a VOR approach to the opposite-direction runway 20. This decision followed approval for a Uni Air ATR to land on runway 20.
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Hybrid airship flight test campaign to begin next year
Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) is to launch a flight test campaign for its Airlander 10 hybrid airship around May 2015, following a delay in raising funds to support the effort. The company was originally due to fly the aircraft from its base in Bedfordshire in December this year, but encountered a delay in raising the required £5 million ($8.4 million). The equity round is due to be finalised on 15 August.
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Russian authority hands Rostov radar data to MH17 probe
Russian authorities have provided radar data from a regional air traffic centre to investigators analysing the loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The data has been sourced from the area control centre at Rostov, which oversees the Rostov-on-Don flight information region to which MH17 would have been handed after exiting Dnipropetrovsk airspace. Russian federal aviation regulator Rosaviatsia says its representative group, led by its deputy chief, has transferred requested information – including the Rostov air traffic data – to the Dutch inquiry.
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Airlines

Alaska Air Group CFO: We've improved fuel efficiency 2.5% in Q2
Alaska Air Group reported $157 million in net income for the second quarter, a 50% increase from the $105 million reported in the same quarter last year. Brandon Pedersen, the chief financial officer for Alaska Air Group, said quarterly results were aided by a 2.5% improvement in fuel efficiency due to replacing older aircraft. Alaska Air is the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.
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Airlines monitor Twitter comments 24/7
Airlines take different approaches to handling customer comments that they receive through Twitter. For example, Delta Air Lines says it monitors around the clock and other airlines provide timeframes when they monitor accounts.
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American Airlines adjusts international flights
American Airlines announced that it is shifting some service from Sao Paolo, Brazil, to Campinas, Brazil. American is also adjusting seasonal flights to Europe from several U.S. cities. "These schedule adjustments strengthen our global network and solidify the foundation we have been building," said Andrew Nocella, chief marketing officer for the carrier.
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Delta to start retiring iconic 747 fleet
Delta Air Lines plans to ground one-quarter of its Boeing 747 fleet in 2014. The carrier operates 16 747-400 aircraft, but will ground four of the planes this year because of "a re-evaluation of options to improve our international performance." The 747 entered service in 1970.
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EU Sanctions Force Russian Airline Flights Suspension
Low-cost Russian airline Dobrolyot said it will suspend all flights after its aircraft lease agreement was cancelled when the European Union introduced sanctions on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis. The EU announced punitive measures on Dobrolyot (Good Flight), run by Russian national carrier Aeroflot, in late July when it expanded its list of sanctions on Russia to 95 people and 23 organisations subject to travel bans and asset freezes. Dobrolyot began operations in June, carrying out its maiden flight to Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in March. It currently serves seven other cities in Russia.
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Emirates Suspends Flights To Guinea Over Ebola
Emirates has suspended flights to Guinea over Ebola, becoming the first major airline to impose a ban in response to the outbreak of the deadly virus in West Africa. Flights were suspended from Saturday until further notice, the airline said in a statement. "The safety of our passengers and crew is of the highest priority and will not be compromised," it said. The Ebola outbreak, which began in Guinea and has spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, has killed more than 700, making it the deadliest since the virus was discovered almost 40 years ago. Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. In line with guidelines from IATA and the World Health Organization, several major airlines and airports have started health screening of passengers on flights from West Africa.
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Hawaiian Airlines CEO: Up to 23% of interisland fare is federal taxes
Mark Dunkerley, the CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, said nearly a quarter of interisland airfares go to federal taxes. "There's an extraordinary amount of taxation on air travel," said Dunkerely. "Up to 23 percent of an interisland fare is federal taxes and fees."
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Royal Jordanian Resumes Flights To Iraq
Royal Jordanian, one of the main airlines serving Iraq, said on Sunday it had resumed flights to Iraq after a 24-hour suspension due to security concerns. The airline did not elaborate in its statement on why it reversed the decision it took on Saturday to halt flights to Iraq until further notice. Royal Jordanian has 30 flights each week to Iraq, serving Baghdad 11 times a week, as well as Basra in the south, and Irbil and Sulaymaniya in the Kurdish north.
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Airports

Stakeholders comment on possible second airport in Atlanta
Plans to create what would be metro Atlanta's second commercial airport have prompted concerns including noise at a national park and potential harm to rare fish in nearby streams. The concerns are outlined as part of an environmental assessment for Silver Comet Field northwest of Atlanta. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained dozens of comments submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration through an open records request.
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Delta installs passport kiosks at Detroit airport
International travelers arriving at Detroit Metro Airport's McNamara Terminal will now have the option to bypass immigration lines and use automated passport kiosks to scan their passports and fill out declaration forms. John Fechushak, vice president for Delta Airlines in Detroit, said, "When you have been on a flight for 10 or 12 hours arriving into an international gateway, and (then) have to stand in line for several minutes even upwards of 30 to 60 minutes, anytime we can help shorten that process is a benefit to our customers."
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Miami airport reports more traffic for first half of 2014
The number of passengers flying into and out of Miami International Airport keeps inching up. For the first six months of the year, passenger numbers increased 1.74 percent to more than 20.7 million. While international traffic was flat, the number of domestic travelers increased 3.4 percent, from nearly 10.4 million to more than 10.7 million.
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NY Port Authority worker compensation policy takes effect
Thousands of low-paid cabin cleaners, baggage handlers and other airport workers are due for a raise today at Newark Liberty International Airport, where a mandatory wage policy is scheduled to take effect. A policy adopted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in April calls for $1-per-hour raises for airport workers earning $9 an hour or less, effective today. On Feb. 1, a $10.10-an-hour minimum wage will take effect under the policy, followed a year later by annual increments pegged to inflation. The policy applies to airline employees and to the employees of low-paying firms that airlines contract with to provide ground services. Those firms, which often pay minimum wage with few or no benefits, have proliferated in recent years in the highly competitive, deregulated airline industry as a way for airlines to cut costs.
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More Than 20 Dead In Fight To Control Tripoli Airport
Libya's government said more than 20 people had been killed in the latest battles between factions seeking to control of Tripoli airport, while fighting led to a huge fire raging nearby at the city's fuel depot. Rival factions allied to brigades from the towns of Misrata and Zintan have been fighting for nearly three weeks over control of the capital's airport in the worst violence since the 2011 NATO-backed civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. A steady stream of foreigners have been evacuated from the North African state since the fighting began last month, and on Sunday a Royal Navy ship took away around 100 British citizens, families and others from Tripoli.
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Military

Indian air force continues Dhruv grounding
The Indian air force has grounded its Hindustan Aeronautics Dhruv light helicopters, following a fatal crash on 25 July. All seven personnel on board were killed when the Mk III production standard aircraft came down after its crew issued a mayday call. “The type hasn’t been flown since the crash, and checks are on going," an air force spokesperson confirms. "Flights will resume once these are completed”.
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Rotary Wing

Airbus Helicopters offers robust defence of NH90
Airbus Helicopters has defended the NH Industries NH90 military rotorcraft following recent criticism from both the Dutch and Australian governments, describing the issues they raise as "under control". The Netherlands in June suspended further deliveries of the NFH naval variant of the helicopter until a persistent corrosion issue is solved. And the Australian National Audit Office in late July issued a stinging report into the performance of the 11t rotorcraft in operation with its armed forces. But Dr Wolfgang Schoder, executive vice-president light and governmental programmes at Airbus Helicopters, which has a majority stake in the NHI consortium, says the NH90 is "a mature helicopter" which is "being delivered according to our contracts".
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Corporate Aviation

Pilatus PC-24 is rolled out at Stans ceremony
Switzerland's Pilatus has rolled out the first example of its new PC-24 business aircraft - kicking off an anticipated two year certification campaign for the airframer's first jet-powered type. Unveiled at a lavish ceremony, which also celebrated the manufacturer's 75th anniversary, at Buochs airfield adjacent to its Stans assembly line on 1 August - Swiss national day - production for the Williams International FJ44-4A-powered PC-24 is already sold out for the next three years.
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Aviation Quote

For all professional pilots there exists a kind of guild, without charter and without by-laws. it demands no requirements for inclusion save an understanding of the wind, the compass, the rudder, and fair fellowship.

— Beryl Markham, 'West With the Night,' 1942.

On This Date

--- In 1807... Andre-Jacques Garnerin in Paris, France makes the first night ascent in a balloon.

--- In 1901... Octave Chanute arrives at the Wright brothers’ camp at Kill Devil Hill and photographs their flight tests with the 1901 glider.

--- In 1908... Count von Zeppelin takes the LZ4 on a 24-hour flight from Lake Constance, down the Rhine to Basel, then to Strasbourg and Mainz and back to Stuttgart, a total non-stop distance of 435 miles.

---In 1908... Wilbur Wright makes the first flight using stick controls near Le Mans, France. The flight lasts 1 minute and 45 seconds.

---In 1929…The first Challenge International de Tourisme 1929 (International Tourist Plane Contest), a sort of aviation rally race around Europe, kicks off in Paris. Sponsored by air racing governing body Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), German Fritz Morik flies his BFW M.23 to victory on August 16th.(N)

---In 1954…English Electric P.1, prototype of the English Electric Lightning.

---In 1955…First flight of a U-2 (article 341), the pilot was Tony LeVier. The term “article” was a Skunk Works designation which was similar to the term “serial number.” (Q)

---In 1959... The first medical evacuation by helicopter from a Mobil Army Surgery Hospital (MASH) team takes place when an S-51 flies out a casualty from a fire flight along the Pusan Perimeter.

---In 1971…First flight of the Agusta A109.

---In 2007…NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft launches from Cape Canaveral, enroute to a landing on Mars which would take place on May 25th, 2008.

---In 2007…A a suitcase containing US$800,000 in undeclared cash is discovered while being x-rayed at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires, sparking an international rift between Argentina and Venezuela known as “Maletinazo,” or “the suitcase incident.”

---In 2009…Bangkok Airways ATR72 crashes into an unused control tower at Ko Samui Airport (USM) in Thailand while landing in heavy crosswinds and rain, killing the captain. 10 of the 70 passengers on board are injured.

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Useful Latin Terms

Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.
Translation: When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults.

Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.

Translation: I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.

Trivia

Airman Exam – ATP

8391
What is the principal advantage of a sweepback design wing over a straightwing design?
A) Sweepback will accelerate the onset of compressibility effect.
B) Sweepback will increase changes in the magnitude of force coefficients due to compressibility.
C) The critical Mach number will increase significantly.

8327
Which of the following is considered an auxiliary flight control?
A) Ruddervator.
B) Leading-edge flaps.
C) Upper rudder.

8396
For a given angle of bank, the load factor imposed on both the aircraft and pilot in a coordinated constant-altitude turn
A) varies with the rate of turn.
B) is constant.
C) is directly related to the airplane's gross weight.

8358
What is the safest and most efficient takeoff and initial climb procedure in a light, twin-engine airplane? Accelerate to
A) best engine-out, rate-of-climb airspeed while on the ground, then lift off and climb at that speed.
B)an airspeed slightly above VMC, then lift off and climb at the best rate-of-climb airspeed.
C) VMC, then lift off at that speed and climb at maximum angle-of-climb airspeed.

9332
How soon after the conviction for driving while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs shall it be reported to the FAA, Civil Aviation Security Division?
A) No later than 60 days after the motor vehicle action.
B) No later than 30 working days after the motor vehicle action.
C) Required to be reported upon renewal of medical certificate.

8151
An air carrier airplane's airborne radar must be in satisfactory operating condition prior to dispatch, if the flight will be
A) carrying passengers, but not if it is "all cargo."
B) conducted IFR, and ATC is able to radar vector the flight around areas of weather.
C) conducted under VFR conditions at night with scattered thunderstorms reported en route.

9117
Scanning procedures for effective collision avoidance should constitute
A) looking outside for 15 seconds, then inside for 5 seconds, then repeat.
B) 1 minute inside scanning, then 1 minute outside scanning , then repeat.
C) looking outside every 30 seconds except in radar contact when outside scanning is unnecessary.

9339
A pilot, acting as second in command, successfully completes the instrument competency check specified in FAR Part 61. How long does this pilot remain current if no further IFR flights are made?
A) 90 days.
B) 6 months.
C) 12 months.

9051
What is the hijack code?
A) 7200.
B) 7500.
C) 7777.

9354
A person may not act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft if alcoholic beverages have been consumed by that person within the preceding
A) 24 hours.
B) 8 hours.
C) 12 hours.

8342
Why do some airplanes equipped with inboard/outboard ailerons use the outboards for slow flight only?
A) Aerodynamic loads on the outboard ailerons tend to twist the wingtips at high speeds.
B) Increased surface area provides greater controllability with flap extension.
C) Locking out the outboard ailerons in high-speed flight provides variable flight control feel.

9050
Under what condition does ATC issue safety alerts?
A) If the aircraft altitude is noted to be in close proximity to the surface or an obstacle.
B) When weather conditions are extreme and wind shear or large hail is in the vicinity.
C) When collision with another aircraft is imminent.
8336
Which is a purpose of ground spoilers?
A) Increase the rate of descent without gaining airspeed.
B) Aid in rolling an airplane into a turn.
C) Reduce the wings' lift upon landing.

8331
Which is a purpose of leading-edge flaps?
A) Direct airflow over the top of the wing at high angles of attack.
B) Increase the camber of the wing.
C) Reduce lift without increasing airspeed.

9108
The illusion of being in a noseup attitude which may occur during a rapid acceleration takeoff is known as
A) inversion illusion.
B) somatogravic illusion.
C) autokinesis.

8325
When are outboard ailerons normally used?
A) Low-speed flight only.
B) High-speed flight only.
C) Low-speed and high-speed flight.

8152
While on an IFR flight in controlled airspace, the failure of which unit will precipitate an immediate report to ATC?
A) Airborne radar.
B) One engine, on a multiengine aircraft.
C) DME.

9120
Hazardous vortex turbulence that might be encountered behind large aircraft is created only when that aircraft is
A) operating at high airspeeds.
B) developing lift.
C) using high power settings.

9099
When setting the altimeter, pilots should disregard
A) effects of nonstandard atmospheric temperatures and pressures.
B) corrections for instrument error.
C) corrections for static pressure systems.

8201
What is the minimum number of flight attendants required on an airplane having a passenger seating capacity of 188 with only 117 passengers aboard?
A) Five.
B) Four.
C) Three.

8150
If an air carrier airplane's airborne radar is inoperative and thunderstorms are forecast along the proposed route of flight, an airplane may be dispatched only
A) when able to climb and descend VFR and maintain VFR/OT en route.
B) in day VFR conditions.
C) in VFR conditions.

8359
What procedure is recommended for an engine-out approach and landing?
A) The altitude and airspeed should be considerably higher than normal throughout the approach.
B) The flightpath and procedures should be almost identical to a normal approach and landing.
C) A normal approach, except do not extend the landing gear or flaps until over the runway threshold.

9333
An applicant who is scheduled for a practical test for an airline transport pilot certificate, in an approved flight simulator, is
A) required to have a first-class medical certificate.
B) not required to have a medical certificate.
C) required to have at least a current third-class medical certificate.

9340
An applicant who is scheduled for a practical test for an airline transport pilot certificate, in an aircraft, needs
A) a second-class medical certificate.
B) a first-class medical certificate.
C) at least a current third-class medical certificate.