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Commercial

Hexcel to build new composites plant for Airbus and CFM contracts
Carbonfibre materials specialist Hexcel is to cement its relationship with Airbus via a $250 million investment in production and quality control facilities at Roussillon in France. The California-headquartered company was chosen in 2008 as exclusive supplier of carbonfibre prepreg materials for all A350 primary structures, a deal which was the largest in is 65-year history and which now accounts for more than $4 million in content on each A350. The new plant – to occupy 37 acres at the Osiris chemicals industry platform in Roussillon, close to Hexcel's existing weaving and prepreg manufacturing facilities near Lyon – will also be used to supply Safran with material for CFM Leap engines. Factory construction is to begin in mid-2015 and the plant should be fully operational, employing 120 people, by mid-2018.
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Rolls-Royce harvests a decade of research for new engine projects
As Rolls-Royce prepares to build and begin testing next year its seventh member of the Trent family – the 7000 for the Airbus A330neo – it is harvesting the fruits of a decade’s worth of research and development projects into two studies that could form the basis for a new generation of widebody – and even possibly narrowbody – engines in the 2020s. The UK propulsion specialist wants to develop technology and products that will secure a 50% share of the twin-aisle market, as well as – perhaps more ambitiously – help it break back into the growing single-aisle sector, vacated when it abandoned the International Aero Engines consortium in 2012, just when a host of new narrowbody programs were arriving on the market. The company earlier this year revealed its Advance and UltraFan designs. Although both are far from being formal programs, they are based on the three-shaft structure of the successful widebody Trent family, in particular the Airbus A350’s Trent XWB. R-R says they could, in theory, be ready to enter service as production engines as early as 2020 and 2025, respectively.
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EU Rules LCCs, Airports Given Illegal State Aid
Two European airports and a number of budget airlines, including Ryanair and Lufthansa's carrier Germanwings, have been ordered by EU regulators to pay back millions of euros in illegal subsidies. The European Commission also warned Belgium that it may be giving unauthorized subsidies to Brussels Airlines. The Commission rulings come amid a series of investigations in recent years into deals granted by regional authorities to attract budget airlines to secondary European airports. Such agreements have played a key role in the explosive growth of low-cost carriers and their success in competing with traditional rivals. The EU state aid regulator told Germany's Zweibruecken airport to recover EUR€1.2 million (USD$1.5 million) in illegal marketing and airport services deals from Germanwings, EUR€500,000 from Ryanair and EUR€200,00 from TUIFly.
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Airlines

Air Canada to expand pricing model to more routes
Air Canada has begun a trial program at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport to ensure that carry-on baggage will fit into overhead bins.
Airlines go à la carte: Why travellers should get used to baggage fees and more ‘unbundling.’ The move towards à la carte pricing is widely seen as an inevitability in an industry that’s under increasing pressure from its shareholders to embrace new sources of revenue. Keep reading</em>. The airline posted additional staff at the domestic and transborder departure areas at Pearson Tuesday to ensure travellers check their over-sized bags and prevent them from being carried on board. The trial, which has no end date, comes after the Montreal-based carrier announced earlier this month that it will begin charging a $25 fee for the first checked bag on its lowest-class domestic flights and on flights to and from the Caribbean and Mexico. The fee comes into effect on Nov. 2.
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Delta responds to DOT's proposed rules
Delta Air Lines Inc. blasted new rules proposed by the Department of Transportation on optional services. Delta said the rules would end up "complicating the booking process, providing misleading information and blocking the development of new and innovative fare products that provide value to consumers."
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Delta honors company founder with 737-900ER livery
Delta Air Lines on Tuesday dedicated an airplane to its founder C.E. Woolman, who in 1941 negotiated the lease to move Delta’s headquarters to Atlanta. The new Boeing 737-900ER jet carries Woolman’s name on its sides. The plane is also the first of many to have Delta emblazoned on its belly — which will make the airline’s planes overhead more recognizable to people on the ground.
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FedEx announces donation to Ark. college
Federal Express announced it has donated $250,000 to a community college in West Memphis, Ark., for a training program in aviation maintenance technology. Mid-South Community College plans to build a new building, which will be called the FedEx Aviation Technology Center, for the program.
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Seaborne signs Puerto Rican hub-connecting deal with United
Seaborne Airlines and United Airlines have forged an interline deal that allows customers traveling on both airlines to do so with the purchase of a single ticket. The deal connects the airlines at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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US Airlines Concerned About Ebola
Several US airlines are in close contact with federal health officials about Ebola-related travel concerns after a man infected with the virus was diagnosed in the US. The patient, now in hospital in Dallas, had flown from Liberia through Brussels to Texas, the Liberian information ministry said. US health officials said there should be no risk to fellow passengers, as the patient began showing symptoms only after his arrival. JetBlue Airways and American Airlines said they were closely following guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Airlines for America, the industry trade group, is also coordinating with the CDC on any government action related to Ebola concerns, JetBlue spokesman Morgan Johnston said. "We follow the guidelines (put) in place by the CDC specifically for airlines, and we work with our crews to protect the health of our customers and employees," American Airlines spokesman Josh Freed said.
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Airports

MIA introduces bilingual virtual assistant for travelers
Miami International Airport is deploying a virtual assistant named Leticia to help travelers navigate the airport. Leticia speaks Spanish and English, and is available 24 hours a day in the South Terminal.
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Military

Australia's first F-35 gets airborne
The Royal Australian Air Force’s first Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II made its debut flight from the manufacturer’s Fort Worth facility in Texas on 29 September. The 2h flight of the aircraft – designated AU-1 by Lockheed and A35-001 by the RAAF – was conducted by company test pilot Al Norman. Australia's lead aircraft will remain at Fort Worth alongside its AU-2 stablemate for further testing, before being delivered to the US Air Force training school at Luke AFB in Arizona in early 2015.
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Regulatory

FAA orders replacement of some cockpit displays
The Federal Aviation Administration will require airlines to replace cockpit displays on Boeing 737 and 777 aircraft. The FAA estimates the industrywide cost of the replacements at close to $14 million.
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NTSB says Part 135 accidents are up
The US National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on aviation accidents in 2013 shows accidents involving operations under Federal Air Regulations Part 135 increased compared with the previous year. Scheduled commuter operators suffered eight accidents in 2013 – three of them fatal, compared with four in 2012. On-demand Part 135 operations, which include charter, air taxi, air tour, and air medical flights, showed increases in all categories in 2013. The number of total accidents was 44, fatal accidents ten, and fatalities 27. These figures are all up, with the accident rate per 100,000 flight hours increased to 1.24 from 0.99 in 2012.
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Task Force Delays Aircraft Tracking Proposals
An airline industry-led task force looking at ways to improve aircraft tracking after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has delayed its recommendations, possibly until December. An IATA spokeswoman said the draft proposals would not be delivered to the UN's aviation body as previously expected. The disappearance of the Malaysian airliner in March sparked a global drive for a system that would make it possible to pinpoint the exact route and last location of an aircraft. "After an exhaustive internal review, it was determined that we needed more clarification on the recommendations and on guidance for implementation," IATA spokeswoman Mona Aubin said. Aubin did not say what clarifications were being sought. She said IATA now expects to bring the recommendations to its board by December at the latest.
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Aviation Quote

No one expects Braniff to go broke. No major U.S. carrier ever has.

— The Wall Street Journal, 30 July 1980.

On This Date

---In 1910…History’s first mid-air collision takes place near Milan, Italy. One pilot is injured, but both survive.

---In 1918... The Kettering Bug pilotless airplane being developed by Charles F. Kettering makes its first successful unmanned flight test, albeit for only nine seconds.

---In 1941…German pilot Heini Dittmar sets an airspeed record of 1,004 km/h (624 mph) flying a Messerschmitt Me 163A. Due to the secret nature of the program, however, the record is unofficial.

---In 1948…The Bukken Bruse disaster takes place in Norway as the Short S.25 Sandringham 5 flying boat (registration LN-IAW) flips over while landing in bad weather, killing 19 of the 43 people on board.

---In 1969…The Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod enters servie with the Royal Navy.

---In 1970…A Martin 4-0-4 (registered N464M), carrying the Wichita State University football team, crashes into a mountain near Silver Plume, Colorado, killing 31 of the 40 on-board. The crash was attributed to poor pre-flight planning after the co-pilot chose a more scenic route without considering terrain limitations.

---In 1972…An Aeroflot IL-18 crashes on takeoff in Adler, Russia, killing 109 people.

---In 1980…A Westland Sea King helicopter rescues 22 passengers from the Swedish ship Finneagle in the North Sea.

---In 1981…President Ronald Reagan announces the order of 100 Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bombers, re-starting the stalled program.

---In 1984…McDonnell Douglas is awarded a $438 million contract to develop the T-45 Goshawk jet trainer.

---In 1990…Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 (registration B-2510), hijacked by a man seeking political asylum, collides with two aircraft on the ground while landing in Hong Kong, killing a total of 128 people. The hijacker wanted to go to Taiwan, but the aircraft did not have enough fuel, and he agreed to go to Hong Kong instead. On approach, the hijacker took control of the aircraft and landed at a high rate of speed, crashing into a China Southern 757-200 (Registered B-2812) and a China Southwest 707-300 (registered B-2402). Aboard the three aircraft, 96 people survive.

---In 1996…Aeroperu Flight 603, a 757-200 (registered N52AW), crashes into the Pacific Ocean killing all 70 on board. The aircraft had been giving erratic and erroneous aircraft speed and altitude information during the night flight, and not knowing their true altitude, the crew clipped the water and crashed after a struggle to recover. The crash was attributed to tape left over a static port after aircraft cleaning.

---In 2001…Once known as the “Flying Bank” thanks to its exemplary financial stability, Swissair grounds its fleet after running out of cash. The failure is the culmination of a series of bad investments combined with the sales downturn following the September 11th attacks. Most of its routes and planes would eventually be taken over by Swiss.

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Humor

More Birdman Wisdom

You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.

When one engine fails on a twin engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.

The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice versa.

Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.

Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.
Remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be held on a sunny day.

Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you've made.

Weather forecast are horoscopes with numbers.

Never run out of altitude, airspeed and ideas all at the same time. (Submitted by gonavy505)

It is not a good idea to eject over an area you have just bombed.

Three things an aviator can't use: 1) Altitude above you. 2) Runway behind you. 3) Fuel you can't use.

Equipment problems that go away by themselves will come back by themselves.

Trivia

Airports

1. Chicago O'Hare
CGX
OHA
CHI
ORD

2. Kansas City Int'l Airport
KCK
KAN
MCI
KCM

3. Greater Cincinnati International Airport
CNN
CIN
CIA
CVG

4. Orange County International
ANA
SNA
OCC
ORG

5. Orlando International Airport
OLL
MCO
MCM
ORL

6. Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport
HOU
GWB
BUS
IAH

7. Portland International Airport
PIA
POR
PDX
PTL

8. London Heathrow
ENG
LON
LND
LHR

9. Milwaukee Mitchell Field
MLK
MIL
MKE
MKK

10. Dallas - Ft. Worth Intl Airport
DFW
DAF
DLF
DAL