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Airlines

New app will allow Alaska Airlines flight attendants to know their passengers
A new mobile application being launched by Alaska Airlines will give flight attendants information about the likes and dislikes of frequent-flier passengers.
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Expanded video streaming increases entertainment choices on American Airlines
American Airlines this month is adding video streaming to its Airbus A319s, A320s and A321s and international widebody aircraft to give passengers more entertainment choices. To introduce the service, the airline is offering six free movies to passengers on those flights.
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Germanwings Pilot Rehearsed Crash On Outbound Flight
Germanwings pilot, suspected of deliberately crashing his aircraft into the French Alps in March, rehearsed entering the fatal descent settings on the previous, outbound flight, investigators said. The changes in autopilot settings, mimicking those which crashed the jet on its way back to Düsseldorf from Barcelona some two hours later, would barely have been noticeable because the jet was already descending, investigators said. "I can't speculate on what was happening inside his head; all I can say is that he changed this button to the minimum setting of 100 feet and he did it several times," said Remi Jouty, director of the French BEA accident investigation agency.
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Daily JetBlue flights to Cuba set to start on July 3
JetBlue is the first major carrier to announce plans to fly from New York's Kennedy Airport to Cuba now that travel restrictions have been eased. The daily flights to Havana are set to begin on July 3, according to the airline.
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Amazon Prime subscribers to get free movies on JetBlue flights
Amazon Prime subscribers will soon be able to watch movies and TV shows for free when they fly on JetBlue Airlines.
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Avolon Delivers Two Boeing 737-800 Aircraft to Malaysia Airlines
Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company, announces the delivery of two Boeing 737-800 aircraft to Malaysia Airlines. Today’s deliveries are Avolon’s second and third aircraft on lease to Malaysia Airlines.
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MH370: Winter seas force search teams to halt AUV operation
Search teams hunting for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have suspended use of autonomous underwater vehicles owing to increasing difficulties with operations in the onset of winter. But the search strategy has been modified to take into account the expanded zone of interest, which has been doubled in area to 120,000km2. The changes will enable “continuous search operations” during the winter season, says the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre which is overseeing the hunt for the missing Boeing 777.
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Tentative contract deal is reached between Southwest Airlines and dispatchers
Southwest Airlines and its dispatchers union have a tentative agreement to extend their contract through 2019, the airline and Transport Workers Union announced Tuesday. In the announcement, the company and union said the proposed contract “provides adjusted wage-scale increases, as well as continued opportunities for bonuses that are tied to individual and company performances.” The existing contract becomes amendable in November, but can be changed before that date. The proposed deal must be approved by members.
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United Airlines to put Boeing 767s on some trans-Atlantic flights
United Airlines is working to upgrade its fleet of Boeing 767s to operate on four of its trans-Atlantic routes originating in Newark, N..J. Currently, those routes are served by narrow-body Boeing 757s. The 767s offer more room for passengers as well as more premium seats than the 757, said company officials.
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Airports

Charlotte airport begins 10-year, $2.5M renovation plan
A new 10-year, $2.5 billion construction program is set to begin this summer at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. The upgrades will include a new runway, new roads and the expansion of the terminal lobby and Concourse A, according to airport officials.
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Competition in Cleveland gives consumer choices
Travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt says new competition in Cleveland is good news for consumers. "What's great here is that there is choice for the consumer – and that breeds healthy competition. The consumer comes out ahead no matter what."
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Lawmakers urge Congress to curb changes at Reagan National Airport
A bipartisan group of Congress-members from Virginia have penned a letter to the Senate and House transportation committees opposing any changes in operations at Reagan National Airport, saying it will hurt Dulles Airport. The lawmakers says previous changes have led to a decline in domestic traffic to Dulles, despite it being larger than National. where traffic has increased.
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Military

Israeli F-16I pilots get S-300 training opportunity
The Israeli air force has used a bilateral exercise with its Greek counterpart to prepare for apotential situation where it will have to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. In late April, the service took part in joint training with the Greek air force, which included performing missions against the nation's Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile system. The same equipment will soon be supplied to Iran, under a proposed deal with Moscow.
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Rafale takes first guided Meteor shot
A French team has conducted its first guided firing of MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile against an airborne target from a Dassault Rafale, and describes the activity as a success. Supported by personnel from France’s DGA defence procurement agency, Dassault and MBDA, the 28 April firing was performed from a Rafale B operating from the Cazauax flight test centre.
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UAV

FAA approves beyond line of sight, urban UAV flights
The US Federal Aviation Administration on 6 May announced an agreement to allow three organizations to begin unmanned air vehicle (UAV) flights on “extended” line of sight, beyond line of sight and urban operations. The agreement will allow BNSF Railway to operate a small UAV on 300-400nm missions inspecting rail lines for obstructions or damaged tracks, says Gary Grissum, the company’s vice-president of telecommunications.
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Redesigned 'Flying Elephant' nears unmanned cargo test
The Israeli military is due to commence flight testing next month in a bid to complete the development of an unmannedcargo deliverysystem dubbed the “Flying Elephant”. Aimed to meet a need to conduct resupply missions in support of combat personnel on the frontline, which becameacute during the second Lebanon war, the original plan was to develop a wheeled cargo pallet that can be loaded with 1t of ammunition, food or water. A parafoil with servo systems to ensure its aerodynamic shape should transport this payload over a distance of several kilometres, with a GPS navigation system to ensure that it reaches its intended delivery point.
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Aviation Quote

Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space.
— Douglas Adams, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.'

On This Date

---In 1927…VARIG is founded as the first Brazilian airline.

---In 1936... Amy Mollison lands at Wingfield Aerodrome, Cape Town, South Africa, to set a new record of 3 days, 6 hours, 26 minutes for a flight from England.

---In 1937... The first successful pressurized airplane cabin is achieved in the Lockheed XC-35.

---In 1956…National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) announces the start of a new research program and a new airplane, the Lockheed U-2. This was the first public acknowledgement of the existence of the U-2. The NACA announcement listed, high altitude research, air turbulence studies, connective cloud tests, wind sheer testing, jet stream research, cosmic rays studies, ozone and water vapor studies. All this research happened much later. The U-2 was a spy plane, the research projects were just a cover story.

---In 1960…The Soviet Union exposes an American cover-up about the status of a USAF Lockheed U-2 spy plane that was shot down over Russia six days prior. Assuming the aircraft was destroyed and the pilot killed, the US said a weather recon aircraft was lost, added NASA titles to a different airframe for media photos, and said the aircraft reported problems with oxygen before disappearing. Russia then came forward, adding information previously held back, that the pilot had survived and much of the spy aircraft was intact, proving the American scheme. Pilot Frank Powers would be returned to the United States in February of 1962.

---In 1964…Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashes in San Ramon California after a suicidal passenger shoots both pilots in-flight. Francisco Gonzales, having financial and marital problems, purchased a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver and even notified friends and family that he’d be dying on May 6th or May 7th. He purchased a $105,000 insurance policy at Stockton Airport (SCK) before boarding the Fokker F-27 Friendship (N2770R) bound for Reno, Nevada. A few minutes after reaching their assigned altitude of 5,000ft, a sound is heard on the radio and the aircraft disappears from radar. The final transmission is determined by investigators to be the First Officer saying “Skipper’s shot. We’ve been shot. I was trying to help.” All 44 on the aircraft perish. The daughter of the the Captain, Julie Clark, goes on to become one of the first female airline Captains herself for Hughes Airwest and Northwest Airlines, and then going on to become an aerobatic pilot.

---In 1979... Air France is the first airline to operate the Lockheed L-1011-500, a long-range version of the TriStar with shorter fuselage, more powerful engines, and improved aerodynamics.

---In 1981…Austral Lineas Aereas Flight 901, a BAC-111 (LV-VOX) crashes 9 miles out on approach to Buenos Aires-Jorge Newbery Airport in Argentina. While in a holding pattern over the Río de la Plata, the aircraft succumbs to a violent thunderstorm, killing all 31 onboard after crashing into the river.

---In 1984…The Pilatus PC-9, a low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft, makes its maiden flight.

---In 1986…Aircraft designer Al Mooney dies at the age of 80.

---In 1990.. Air India Flight 132 catches fire on landing at Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport in India. An improperly installed fuse pin on the #1 engine on the Boeing 747 causes a fuel line to rupture after the reverse thrust is activated on landing. All 215 people on the aircraft escape with their lives, although the aircraft is completely destroyed.

---In 1991…The brand new Space Shuttle Endeavour, built to replace the destroyed Challenger, arrives at Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

---In 2000… Asteroid 2000 EH26 had a Near-Earth Flyby (0.041 AU).

---In 2002…China North Airlines Flight 6163, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (B-2138) crashes into the bay near Dalian, China, after a passenger sets fire to the cabin. The man is said to have terminal cancer, and purchased seven insurance policies worth $1.4 million for himself just prior to boarding the flight, where he uses gasoline snuck onto the aircraft into a water bottle. The fiery crash kills all 112 people aboard, who die mostly from carbon monoxide inhalation.

---In 2005…Aero Tropics Air Services Flight 675 crashes into the side of a mountain while on approach to Lockhart River Airport in Australia, killing all 15 occupants. The Swearingen SA.227DC Metro 23 (VH-TFU) strikes the ridge at a height of 1,200ft, well below the minimum safe altitude of 2,060ft, and is blamed on the crew not noticing their AGL (above ground level) altitude and increased descent rate.

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Trivia

General Trivia

1. True or false; The highest-scoring non-German fighter ace of all time was an American.

2. True or false; When Buzz Aldrin left the lunar lander, Eagle, to join Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission, he had to be careful not to close Eagle’s door because it did not have an outer handle.

3. True or false; It is possible to fly a conventional airplane in such a way as to reduce its stall speed to 0 knots.

4. From reader Richard Somers: An airline mechanic is taxiing a Boeing 747 from a maintenance hangar across an active runway and along active taxiways to the terminal building. He is required to have
a. an FAA pilot certificate.
b. an FAA taxi certificate.
c. a driver’s license.
d. None of the above.

5. Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first and second pilots to fly an airplane. The third person was:
a. American.
b. Brazilian.
c. British.
d. French.

6. Dynamic hydroplaning occurs when water cannot get out of the way of rolling tires fast enough and literally lifts the tires off the runway surface. The speed above which this occurs depends on the
a. gross weight of the airplane.
b. tire footprint area.
c. tire pressure.
d. depth of the water.