lørdag 31. mars 2012

Bra performance - 29 344 fot for dette lille flyet


Pipistrel LSA Flies Above Mt. Everest

In the midst of his flight around the world, Slovene pilot Matevz Lenarcic took his Pipistrel Virus to 29,344 feet above the Himalayas -- not directly overflying the summit of Mt. Everest, but reaching an altitude about 300 feet above that highest peak. "There were a lot of trouble getting the permits to fly over the Everest (the Nepali permit got cancelled right before the flight)," according to Pipistrel's news release, "but Matevz did it anyway, so the news were only released a day later to prevent him from having any trouble with Nepal authorities." Matevz is now "already safely in India," the company said.

The Virus SW 914 Turbo was modified with an Intercooler unit for the flight. Matevz's track took him to the east of the Everest peak, on the Nepali side of the mountain. On his way to the mountain, Matevz reported on his blog that "visibility was again very poor, mountains were hiding in the clouds, heavy traffic in the air and bad communication was present." Finding a weather window for the Everest flight was challenging. "If it is clear they are high winds and severe turbulence which can easily destroy aircraft, in more calm days the clouds with snow could come over the Himalaya." After the flight, he wrote that "the weather was very beautiful, relatively good temperature, only minus-27-Celsius, north westerly wind of 40 knots and from time to time turbulence. The Pipistrel Virus was performing perfectly, also MH oxygen mask." Pipistrel said the flight was a first for a Slovenia-built aircraft.

Marlin på Flesland besøk


Bildet er tatt i dag av Jens Leo Iversen, Flesland Fhyhistoriske Forening. Den sivile varianten, AW101, er kandidat i forbindelse med valg av nytt redningshelikopter etter Sea King. Prosessen går forøvrig sin skjeve gang. Anbudspapirene er ikke engang sendt ut, og det ryktes at Faremo overkjører prosessen og går for NH90. Spørsmål er stillet i Stortinget, men stortingsrepresentant (FrP) Jan Arild Ellingsen har ikke fått svar 14 dager etter at svarfristen har gått ut.

Fremtidens cockpit

Flyoperativt Forum tar opp emnet i forbindelse med AF447


On 21-22 March the Royal Aeronautical Society held its ‘The Aircraft Commander
 in the 21st Century’ Conference. Organised by the RAeS Flight Operations Group, the conference sought the answers to tricky questions surrounding the role of aircraft commander and how it will evolve in the future.
Increasingly the design of the flightdeck and levels automation is becoming more important and the rapidity of technological change is staggering, with ‘more advances in the past 15 years than in the previous 90′.
In this exclusive video from the conference, Captain Scott Martin, Experimental Test Pilot at Gulfstream Aerospace talks us through the evolution of the flight deck and how Gulfstream manages to balance the role of automation with providing easily accessible information for the pilot.
Sjekk Martins presentasjon her: http://tinyurl.com/c6rux4r

Sun n` Fun

Sun n` Fun er straks over. Søndag den 1. april er siste dag for dette flotte arrangementet for flyinteresserte i Florida. Programmet er omfattende og du bør kikke litt på videoen om et team jeg ikke har hørt om før nå:http://tinyurl.com/cghdbne

Apollo 11 motorene lokalisert

Engines from Apollo 11 moon flight found in the Atlantic

By Sam Jones, The Guardian
Thursday, March 29, 2012 19:30 EDT
 
[Image via NASA]
 
Salvage operation led by Amazon boss aims to recover engines that powered the first moon landing
Nearly 43 years after they thrust the Apollo 11 astronauts moonwards through a blue Florida sky, the mighty engines that helped deliver man to the Sea of Tranquillity have been found in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
The five engines, last seen driving the Saturn V rocket free of the Earth on 16 July 1969, were found in a search led by the Amazon chief executive and space enthusiast Jeff Bezos, who hopes to recover at least one.

The engines took 2½ minutes to hurl the rocket 40 miles into the heavens before falling into the ocean. Four days later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.
Bezos – who credits the Apollo 11 mission with fuelling his passion for science, engineering and exploration – embarked on the salvage mission a year ago after deciding it might be possible “with the right team of undersea pros”.
“I’m excited to report that, using state-of-the-art deep sea sonar, the team has found the Apollo 11 engines lying 14,000 feet below the surface, and we’re making plans to attempt to raise one or more of them from the ocean floor,” Bezos wrote in a breathless blog post on Wednesday.
“We don’t know yet what condition these engines might be in — they hit the ocean at high velocity and have been in salt water for more than 40 years. On the other hand, they’re made of tough stuff, so we’ll see.”
He gave no details about where the engines had been found, or how they had been identified.

A380 - Pålegg om mer ettersyn vedr. sprekker


EASA orders additional inspections on A380 wing parts

 European safety authorities are instructing Airbus A380 operators to conduct additional checks on wing parts for the type.

The latest airworthiness directive requires visual inspection of shear cleats after full-scale fatigue testing turned up cracks on two intercostals cleats on the fixed leading edge.

In its directive the European Aviation Safety Agency states that the check must be carried out within 2,500 cycles.

A380s have been subject to close scrutiny in recent weeks following the discovery of cracks in wing-rib foot structures.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news. Foto fra Farnborough 2010: Per Gram

NAV Canada utvider ADS-B området

Flyoperativt Forum vil belyse ADS-B prosjektet i Nordsjøen den 18. april.

NAV Canada Extends ADS-B Coverage
Air navigation service provider NAV CANADA said it has expanded its surveillance to cover a 1.3-million-square kilometre portion of airspace over the North Atlantic as the implementation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) expands.
"We estimate that this, combined with ADS-B in northeastern Canada will save air carriers $91 million in fuel costs and result in a reduction of 239,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from now to 2020," says Rudy Kellar, vice president, operations. "With this additional coverage, an intercontinental flight could go through approximately 3,300 kilometres of ADS-B coverage."
NAV CANADA's latest ADS-B expansion follows previous deployments over Hudson Bay in 2009, covering over 850,000 square kilometres, and northeastern Canada in 2010, which added more than 1.9 million square kilometres. The total coverage area for ADS-B now stands at more than 4 million square kilometres, made possible by a total of 15 ground stations installed along the Hudson Bay shoreline, the northeast coast, as well as southern Greenland.
The combined impact of all these ADS-B deployments, projected to 2020, is estimated to be $379 million in fuel cost savings for air carriers, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 1,017,000 metric tons, NAV Canada said.
Currently there are more than 1,000 aircraft from 30 airlines that are ADS-B equipped and certified in Canada.
Incorporating ADS-B surveillance in oceanic airspace required considerable engineering and software upgrades to NAV CANADA's oceanic air-traffic system Gander Automated Air Traffic System Plus (GAATS+). The GAATS+ display automatically detects when a properly equipped aircraft moves into ADS-B airspace permitting the controller to apply the new surveillance separation standard. Communications between oceanic controllers and pilots in the North Atlantic airspace covered by ADS-B has also improved through VHF radio installations.
 

fredag 30. mars 2012

Pratt Sola legger ned

195 ansatte mister jobben

Den høyteknologiske flymotorbedriften Pratt & Whitney Norway Engine Center på Stavanger lufthavn, Sola, innstiller driften etter mange år med store tap. 195 ansatte mister arbeidet sitt.
Flymotorbedriften har tapt 658 millioner kroner på driften de siste fem årene. Bare i 2010 tapte bedriften 64 millioner kroner av en omsetning på 931 millioner kroner, opplyser talsmann Tore Svanes som er talsmann for Pratt & Whitney Norway Engine Center, til Aftenbladet.
De store tapene gjorde at det ikke lenger er muligheter til å fortsette driften. Det var styret i bedriften som fredag formiddag besluttet å innstille all virksomhet på Sola.
Motorverkstedet som er spesialisert på vedlikehold og reparasjoner av avanserte jetmotorer av typen CFM-56, skal avvikle driften gradvis utover våren og sommeren. Noen endelig dato for sluttstrek er ikke satt.

Gratulerer til Stein Erik Nodeland

Stein Erik Nodeland ny direktør for Luftfartstilsynet

Stein Erik Nodeland er i statsråd i dag tilsett som direktør for Luftfartstilsynet. Han er 54 år og busett i Bærum. Nodeland har sidan 2010 vore tilsett i Forsvarsdepartementet som programdirektør for F-35-programmet.
- Med Stein Erik Nodeland får Luftfartstilsynet ein leiar med brei erfaring og gode føresetnader i det viktige arbeidet med å sjå til at luftfartsverksemda i Noreg blir utøvd på ein sikker og effektiv måte, seier samferdselsminister Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa.
Stein Erik Nodeland har utdanning frå Luftforsvarets flygeskole, frå Luftkrigsskolen, Forsvarets høgskole og frå Luftforsvarets stabsskole. Han har òg tilleggsutdanning i økonomi frå NHH. Nodeland har bakgrunn som jagarflygar og har hatt stabs- og leiarstillingar på ulike nivå i Forsvaret. Han har mellom anna vore skvadronsjef og generalinspektør for Luftforsvaret. Han har òg vore flygar i SAS. I tillegg har han vore sjef for den operative delen av Bodø hovedflystasjon.
Luftfartstilsynet har kontor i Bodø. Direktør i Luftfartstilsynet blir tilsett på åremål for seks år.
Pressefoto (Foto: Forsvaret)

Flyger forfalsket dokumenter


Trist historie fra nærmiljøet her. Klikk på artikkelen for bedre lesbarhet.

Et godt år for Avinor

Avinors årsberetning og regnskap er publisert via børsmelding til Oslo børs.

Avinors resultat etter skatt for året 2011 ble 843,6 millioner kroner. Konsernets samlede driftsinntekter utgjorde 8621,8 millioner kroner, 9,6 prosent høyere enn året før. Økningen skyldes trafikkvekst og økt kommersiell virksomhet, særlig ved de største lufthavnene. Det er beregnet 421,8 millioner kroner i utbytte til Avinors eier, Samferdselsdepartementet.
Totalt økte antall passasjerer med 10,3 prosent til 44,3 millioner. Kommersielle inntekter utgjorde 50,3 prosent av totale driftsinntekter innenfor lufthavndriften, og økte med 12,4 prosent i forhold til 2010.
– De kommersielle inntektene er avgjørende for å holde avgiftene på et lavest mulig nivå, sier konsernsjef Dag Falk-Petersen
Antall flybevegelser økte med 4,5 prosent.– At økningen i flybevegelser er såpass mye lavere enn passasjerøkningen betyr flere passasjerer per flybevegelse. Dette er bra, både for flyselskapenes inntjening og for miljøet, sier Falk-Petersen.
I tillegg til avganger og landinger ved norske lufthavner, ble det gjennomført 43 952 gjennomflygninger av norsk luftrom, en økning på 11,6 prosent.
Det ble ikke registrert luftfartsulykker med eller uten personskader i norsk luftfart i 2011 der Avinor medvirket til årsaken.
Konsernets interne mål for punktlighet og regularitet er henholdsvis 88 prosent og 98 prosent. Måloppnåelsen avhenger av samspillet mellom lufthavn, flyselskap og ytere av lufthavnrelaterte tjenester, samt værmessige forhold. Punktligheten endte i 2011 på 86 prosent. Regulariteten ble 98,6 prosent. Flightstat.com kåret Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen til den mest punktlige av de store lufthavnene i Europa med en avgangspunktlighet på over 87 prosent.
Avinor legger betydelig vekt på sitt samfunnsansvar. Ytre miljø er integrert i Avinors styringssystem og alle Avinors lufthavner har utslippstillatelser. Avinors klimaregnskap viser samlede årlige klimautslipp fra egen virksomhet på om lag 16.800 tonn CO2, herunder 4.900 tonn fra Oslo Lufthavn Gardemoen. Det er iverksatt omfattende ENØK-prosjekter på mange lufthavner, samtidig som det satses på fornybare energikilder og varmeveksling mot blant annet sjøvann. Flere lufthavner har tilrettelagt for parkering og lading av el-biler, samt gått til anskaffelse av el-biler eller andre kjøretøy med redusert klimagassutslipp. I tillegg til å gjennomføre egne tiltak, kompen¬serer Avinor på eget initiativ for gjenværende utslipp ved å investere i utslippsrettigheter gjennom FNs grønne utviklingsmekanisme. Lufthavnene i Oslo, Trondheim og Kristiansand er akkreditert i bransjeordningen Airport Carbon Accreditation, som nå omfatter over 50 prosent av all flytrafikk i Europa.
Ved utgangen av året var det 3077 fast ansatte i konsernet. Sykefraværet var på 4,6 prosent.

torsdag 29. mars 2012

SAS- og Norwegian-fly kolliderte på Gardermoen

Mange passasjerer fikk seg en ubehagelig overraskelse da de to flyene støtte sammen på Gardermoen i 18.45-tiden torsdag kveld. I tillegg skal en passasjerbro ha truffet et annet SAS-fly.

De to flyene støtte sammen da Norwegian-flyet ble taxet inn til naboplassen der et SAS-fly allerede sto parkert, skriver VG Nett.
– Sammenstøtet skjedde i forbindelse med at SAS-flyet ble skjøvet bakover, og et Norwegian-fly taxet inn til naboplassen. Da toucher vingene mot hverandre, sier informasjonssjef i SAS, Knut Morten Johansen, til VG Nett.
Les også: Russisk fly i nestenulykke ved Gardermoen
– Et SAS-fly sto på gate 13 og ble pushet ut da et Norwegian-fly på vei inn traff SAS-flyet med vingen. Det resulterte i at vingletten på Norwegian-flyet falt av og SAS-flyet fikk en skade på halen, sier Jo Kobro, informasjonssjef ved Oslo lufthavn, til Dagbladet.
Ingen skal ha blitt skadd i kollisjonen og det skal kun være snakk om beskjedne skader på de to involverte flyene.

Tror du Indiske flyselskaper er tvilsomme?

Hva synes du om Kina?

Subject: Think twice before flying Chinese!


I like the line about the Germans being kind of picky about this stuff:~)

For anybody who is not familiar with a jet engine, a jet fan blade should be perfectly smooth.

A pilot for a Chinese carrier requested permission and landed at FRA (Frankfurt, Germany) for an unscheduled refuelling stop. The reason became soon apparent to the ground crew: The Number 3 engine had been shutdown previously because of excessive vibration, and because it didn't look too good. It had apparently been no problem for the tough guys on the ground back in China: as they took some sturdy straps and wrapped them around two of the fan blades and the structures behind, thus stopping any unwanted wind-milling (engine spinning by itself due to airflow passing thru the blades during flight) and associated uncomfortable vibration caused by the sub optimal fan.

Note that the straps are seat-belts ....how resourceful! After making the "repairs", off they went into the wild blue yonder with another revenue-making flight on only three engines! With the increased fuel consumption, they got a bit low on fuel, and just set it down at the closest airport (FRA) for a quick refill.

That's when the problems started: The Germans, who are kind of picky about this stuff, inspected the malfunctioning engine and immediately grounded the aircraft. (Besides the seat-belts, notice the appalling condition of the fan blades.) The airline operator had to send a chunk of money to get the first engine replaced (took about 10 days). The repair contractor decided to do some impromptu inspection work on the other engines, none of which looked all that great either. The result: a total of 3 engines were eventually changed on this plane before it was permitted to fly again.

Unions have great value - Editor in Chief, Aviation Intl. News

IFATCA blows whistle on Chile

An international air traffic controller organisation is urging action in Chile where working conditions represent a ‘serious concern’.
IFATCA said it had been alerted to the situation by its member association the College of Air Traffic Controllers of Chile which has reported a severe deterioration in conditions.
IFATCA, which represents over 50,000 air traffic controllers in more than 130 countries, said Chile had apparently stalled in its pursuit to improve its air traffic management system to ensure the provision of safe, secure and efficient air traffic services.
“It may even have reversed course,” it said.

Teknikken går fremover


Noen av oss har vært på Vagar; opp fossen, så til høyre-prosedyre. Selskapet fikk nylig levert sin første A319 som jeg dessverre ikke finner bilde av.
Sjekk denne:

Atlantic Airways, flag carrier of the Faroe Islands, has claimed to have completed Europe’s “first commercial flight using a pioneering computerised navigation system for take-off and landing”.

The flight, using an A319, departed from the Faroe Islands’ Vágar Airport at 0815 yesterday, bound for Copenhagen on what was the airline’s 24th birthday. It landed back in the Faroe Islands at 1400 with 142 passengers on board.

The RNP-AR (Required Navigation Performance, Authorisation Required) procedures, said an Atlantic statement, uses “sophisticated positioning equipment to enable flight crews to fly an approach or take-off path that replicates the route that would be flown in visual meteorological conditions”.

The airline explained that it had worked with Airbus subsidiary, Quovadis, with “the aim of enhancing safety and optimising service regularity at the Faroes airport, which can be subject to low cloud, poor visibility and turbulence in certain conditions”. It continued, “High terrain at either end of the airport runway requires pilots to fly a non-linear approach path. The RNP-AR 0.1 system developed by Quovadis guides the aircraft along the defined curved flight path, around the obstacles, and ensures that it is aligned with the runway when it reaches the flight crew’s decision height – the height at which the runway must be visible for the landing to be completed”.

Airbus har planer - Research and Development

  Nyhet fra i går:
Airbus Plans to Sink €2 Billion Into R&D
Christian Scherer, head of Airbus strategy and future programs, told a group of European decision-makers on Tuesday that the manufacturer plans to "invest nearly two billion euros in environmental research and development this year." He went on to explain that Airbus plans to hire more than 4,000 highly-skilled people in 2012, as well as additional employees within its supply chain.

Flygeleder - Supert yrke for kvinner

Flere kvinner søker flygelederstudiet

To uker før søknadsfristen går ut, har 264 personer søkt flygelederstudiet. Kvinneandelen blant søkerne går opp.

Jesper Krogh i Grand Forks (ingress)-Tidligere år har vi hatt en lavere andel kvinnelige søkere. Her har vi sett en endring de siste årene – og den positive trenden fortsetter, sier sjef for utdanning og trening i Avinor, Jesper Krogh.

Kjønnsfordelingen blant årets søkere er 57% menn og 43% kvinner. I 2011 var den kvinnelige andelen søkere på 38 prosent.

-Samtidig som vi ser positivt på den nevnte utviklingen, er vårt hovedfokus å få flest mulig kvalifiserte søkere uavhengig av kjønn. Her ser vi også en forbedring i forhold til tidligere, og andelen kvalifiserte menn og kvinner er omtrent like stor, sier Krogh.

Vil ha flere Med to uker igjen til søknadsfristen går ut (15. april), oppfordrer Krogh flere til å søke flygelederstudiet, som gir søkerne muligheter til et cirka ettårig studieopphold i USA, fulgt opp av et år med oppfølging og praksis hjemme i Norge.

Startlønnen for flygeledere er 570 000 kroner i året, noe som er svært konkurransedyktig sammenlignet både med medisin- og ingeniørstudiet.

onsdag 28. mars 2012

Moro på Youtube og FaceBook - Tacocopter var en fleip...

Tragedies: The TacoCopter Was Just a Hoax


taco-copter-fake.jpg
The new hotness that was the TacoCopter, the food-delivering unmanned aerial vehicle that took the internet by storm, has been revealed as a hoax by Wired.
The TacoCopter website promised "easy ordering on your smartphone" and "unmanned delivery agents" that are "fast and work tirelessly." But the dream of aerial taco delivery has been shattered: It turns out that the TacoCopter was simply a "product concept created by Star Simpson, an MIT grad" along with Dustin Boyer and Scott Torborg. Simpson admitted to creating the fake website so that he "would keep thinking about how to make something like this work."
Simpson believes it'll eventually be possible if the FAA relaxed its regulations and that "a network of command and recharging centers attached to kitchens capable of fulfilling demand orders could easily satisfy the taco delivery needs of a metropolitan area like San Francisco." For now though, no tacos from the sky

Flykaptein går amok

'We're all going down, say your prayers': Berserk JetBlue captain restrained by PASSENGERS after being ejected mid-flight from cockpit and running up and down screaming

  • Clayton Osbon, 49, had been JetBlue captain for 12 years
  • Came out of toilet telling passengers: 'Say your prayers, say your prayers'
  • Screamed 'Iraq, al-Qaeda, terrorism, we're all going down'
  • Passengers watched as he tried to break into cockpit after was locked out
  • Four passengers, including a retired NYPD sergeant, jumped the man
  • Packed flight from JFK to Las Vegas made emergency landing in Amarillo
By Daily Mail Reporter

|
A JetBlue flight captain went berserk mid-flight and had to be restrained by passengers as the plane made an emergency landing.

Clayton Frederick Osbon, 49, screamed 'say your prayers, say your prayers' at horrified passengers after running up and down the aisle shouting 'Iraq, al-Qaeda, terrorism, we're all going down.'
Passengers said the captain of yesterday's flight 191 from JFK to Las Vegas went 'crazy' after he went to the toilet and returned to find that he had been locked out of the cockpit.
His co-pilot had become concerned about his increasingly erratic behaviour.

tirsdag 27. mars 2012

NASA Operation IceBridge - Sjekk av is og isbreers utvikling

The NASA P-3 being prepared for a Beaufort Sea survey flight on a chilly morning in Fairbanks, Alaska. Credit: NASA/M. Studinger
Last week, IceBridge scientists carried out what are considered the most important sea ice flights of the Arctic campaign: crossing the Arctic Basin from Greenland to Alaska. This year's Arctic Basin flights came earlier than previous years thanks to the weather. "Every year, blizzards with wind speeds of over 100 miles per hour and white out conditions lock us down for a few days," said Michael Studinger, IceBridge project scientist.

On March 14, the P-3 made the long flight from Thule, Greenland to Fairbanks, Alaska, gathering sea ice data along the way. IceBridge scientists then spent the next few days flying survey missions over ice in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. "This is a new area for IceBridge and an important data set to monitor changes in the Arctic environment," Studinger said.

With three additional days' worth of sea ice data, the P-3 made its return flight to Thule early on March 19. In addition to conducting one more sea ice flight than originally expected, the IceBridge team also gained a flight day compared to what they would have had in Thule due to weekend closures there. After a no-fly day for aircraft and instrument maintenance, scientists and crew resumed sea ice flights out of Thule on March 21.

Read more about the Arctic Basin sea ice surveys here: http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/icebridge/posts/post_1332009187674.html

Norsk Helikopterservice nyansetter

Det står iallefall på deres web side.
Situasjonen på norsk sokkel er slik at Bristow opereres fra Houston mens CHC skal opereres fra Dallas. Det er de store på norsk sokkel i dag. Blueway flyr nå en AW139 på sokkelen og NHS er i startgropen i samarbeid med Bond Helicopters. Lurer på hva oljeselskapene, særlig Statoil, mener om dette? Jeg hørte i dag at det kan være at Statoil demonstrerer at de ikke liker dette ved å tildele småselskapene noen bein med kjøttslintrer slik at de kan komme seg på beina. Følg med! Men Premier da NHS, hvordan kan det være Premier uten å ha fløyet en meter?

mandag 26. mars 2012

DFC til Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen

Helicopter hero who saved 30 soldiers by flying one-handed awarded one of RAF's highest honours

  • Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen, 31, has received the Distinguished Flying Cross
By Christopher Leake
|

A pilot who saved the lives of 30 British soldiers by flying his helicopter one-handed has been awarded one of the RAF’s highest honours.

Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen’s Chinook was flying at 115mph just 50ft above the ground when his co-pilot – who had been shot by the Taliban – lost consciousness and slumped forward on to his controls.

As the helicopter plummeted to the ground, Flt Lieut Cullen, who is nicknamed 'Dan Dare' by his comrades, pulled his co-pilot upright with one hand while fighting to regain control of the aircraft with the other.

Courage: Flight Lieutenant Dan Cullen, who saved the lives of 30 British soldiers by flying his helicopter one-handed, has been honoured by the RAF

For his skill and courage he has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross – the RAF’s second-highest award.

The drama began when Flt Lieut Cullen, a veteran of five tours of Afghanistan, was sent to pick up troops who had been clearing a Taliban bomb factory in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. As the soldiers sprinted to his Chinook, Taliban insurgents opened fire.

Flt Lieut Cullen, 31, of 18(B) Squadron based at RAF Odiham, Hampshire, heard a bang and felt a bullet pass inches behind him.

Another shot punched a hole in the cockpit window and wounded his co-pilot.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2119859/Helicopter-hero-saved-30-soldiers-flying-handed-awarded-RAFs-highest-honours.html#ixzz1qFrZyR6F

I say this again: ADS-B kan brukes som ACAS

Science News

... from universities, journals, and other research organizations

NASA Flight Tests New ADS-B Device On Ikhana UAS

ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2012) — NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center flew its Ikhana MQ-9 unmanned aircraft with an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, device, for the first time on March 15.

 
It was the first time an unmanned aircraft as large as Ikhana -- with a 66-foot wingspan, a takeoff weight of more than 10,000 pounds, and a cruising altitude of 40,000 feet -- has flown while equipped with ADS-B. ADS-B is an aircraft tracking technology that all planes operating in certain U.S. airspace must adopt by January 2020 to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.
It also was the first flight of hardware for the NASA Aeronautics research project known as UAS in the NAS, which is short for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System.
The equipment performed well during a flight lasting nearly three hours in restricted air space over Dryden's Western Aeronautical Test Range, which is part of Edwards Air Force Base and the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center.
Being equipped with ADS-B enables NASA's Ikhana to provide much more detailed position, velocity, and altitude information about itself to air traffic controllers, airborne pilots of other ADS-B equipped aircraft flying in its vicinity, and to its pilots on the ground. Currently, only air traffic controllers can see all the aircraft in any given section of the sky.
The ADS-B checkout flight aboard Ikhana kicked off a series in which researchers will collect ADS-B data while performing representative air traffic control-directed maneuvers.
As part of a collaborative effort, FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., recorded ADS-B data from the flight and will help analyze the performance of the system installed in the aircraft. Researchers also evaluated new ADS-B laptop software for displaying surrounding air traffic information to the UAS pilots on the ground.
"ADS-B is a cornerstone capability required in the NextGen, and understanding its performance and suitability for integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system is critical to the overall goals of the project," said Sam Kim, deputy manager of integrated test and evaluation for NASA's UAS in the NAS Project.
Developing technologies that will enable unmanned aircraft to fly safely among other planes in the nation's skies is the job of Kim's team.
ADS-B is a key component of the largest transformation of air traffic control ever attempted in the United States. Known as the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, it is a multi-billion-dollar technology modernization effort that will make air travel safer, more flexible and more efficient. As the system gets better, its capacity will grow and the demand for different types of air transportation -- even unmanned aircraft -- will increase.
Current tracking devices aboard aircraft are called transponders, but the ADS-B isn't just a new-fangled transponder. It provides much more detailed and accurate information to air traffic controllers, and will enable navigation by satellite in addition to the current system of ground radars.
Ground radars interact with transponders once every four to 12 seconds in order to get an aircraft's position, velocity, and altitude. In contrast, the ADS-B constantly and automatically broadcasts information every second to air traffic controllers. The more frequent updates, coupled with information updated through the Global Positioning System, result in much greater accuracy in the display of an aircraft's position, velocity and altitude.
The effort is part of the Dryden-led UAS in the NAS Project, which is designed to contribute capabilities to reduce technical barriers related to the safety and operational challenges of unmanned and passenger-carrying airplanes sharing the same air space.
The UAS in the NAS Project is managed from Washington by the Integrated Systems Research Program office in NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.
Learn more about the Ikhana UAS: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-097-DFRC.html

Bildet: NASA's Ikhana, a modified General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Predator B, glides in for landing at Edwards Air Force Base at the conclusion of the first checkout test flight of the new ADS-B Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast aircraft tracking technology on an unmanned aircraft system. (Credit: NASA / Tony Landis)

Akkurat dette selskapet som startet sine flyvninger i går, er en av grunnene til misnøyen i Spania. Det som fremkommer under er sakset fra Spaniaavisen.

8 av 10 fly til og fra Spania kanselleres torsdag

Slik rammer generalstreiken.
MADRID Når fagforeningene stopper Spania i 24 timer torsdag betyr det at 80 prosent av alle flyvninger mellom Spania og resten av Europa innstilles.

Skal du til eller fra Spania 29. mars er du i trøbbel. Myndighetene og fagforeningene er blitt enige om en minimumsservice under streiken, og det betyr at bare 20 prosent av flyene mellom Spania og resten av Europa går som normalt.

Les også: Fagforeningene stopper Spania i ett døgn
For innenlandstrafikken vil halvparten av flyene til Kanariøyene og Balearene gå som normalt.

Internasjonale flyvninger utenom Europa kuttes med 60 prosent.

Togtrafikken på lokale og regionale ruter kuttes mellom 70 og 75 prosent, mens 8 av 10 langdistansetog og AVE-tog står.

Skal du ut og reise til eller fra Spania torsdag, må du ta kontakt med flyelskapet ditt for å få råd.

Emission Trading - India skrur til.......

Foto: Yahoo News
India bans its airlines from paying EU carbon tax
 
 
India has barred its airlines from complying with the European Union carbon tax scheme, joining China in resistance to plans that have caused a backlash among the EU's trade partners.
The European Union imposed a carbon levy on air travel with effect from January 1, but no airline will face a bill until 2013 after this year's carbon emissions have been tallied.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told parliament on Thursday that "the imposition of carbon tax does not arise" because Indian airlines would simply refuse to hand over their emissions data.
"Though the European Union has directed Indian carriers to submit emission details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government," he said.
India's resolution to boycott the scheme follows China's decision last month to prevent its airlines from complying with the EU directive.
The two Asian giants have attacked the EU scheme, calling it a unilateral trade levy disguised as an attempt to fight climate change.
According to a so-called Moscow declaration adopted last month by countries opposed to the tax, governments have decided on a list of retaliatory measures to be taken if necessary, including banning their airlines from participating.
It also allows governments to take tough retaliatory measures against EU carriers and aviation companies and impose their own taxes on EU airlines.
The 27-nation EU has said the carbon tax will help it achieve its goal of cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and that it will not back down on the plan.
It claims that the cost for the airlines is manageable, estimating that the scheme could prompt them to add between 4.0 euros ($5.50) and 24 euros to the price of a long-haul round-trip.
Industry insiders have expressed concern that the scheme could spark a trade war between the EU and the countries opposed to the tax.
The chief executive of European plane manufacturer Airbus, Thomas Enders, called for a "freeze" on the EU plan Thursday, saying that it would otherwise cost the sector thousands of jobs.
"Delay it, freeze it for one or two years," he said according to Dow Jones Newswires, arguing that the scheme "will do nothing but induce strife... retaliation and counter-retaliation."
Earlier this month the head of the Airbus parent company EADS said Beijing had already begun to block purchases of Airbus planes by Chinese companies in reaction to the dispute.

søndag 25. mars 2012

I vacuumet etter Spanair....

Spanish new low-cost airline Iberia Express launched


A model of the new Iberia Express A model of the new Iberia Express, which is now taking flights

Spain's Iberia has launched a new entry in Europe's competitive market for low-cost airlines.

The new airline, Iberia Express, begins on Sunday with prices starting at 25 euros (£21) for a one-way ticket.

Iberia Express will cover Spanish cities including Madrid and the islands such as Ibiza, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

The launch comes after Spain's fourth-largest airline Spanair collapsed in January, stranding 20,000 passengers.

Iberia is owned by the same parent company as British Airways.

The low-cost Iberia Express has 500 staff and has a fleet of four Airbus A320 aircraft, according to Iberia chief executive Luis Gallego.

"The containment of costs will allow Iberia Express to grow and compete with the low-cost operators," he said.
Labour dispute
The new airline's website is advertising for pilots and cabin crew.

The airline will initially fly to the cities of Vigo, Santiago and Granada, as well as Menorca, Ibiza, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma.

Later, it will expand to the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Greece, Latvia and the Netherlands, Mr Gallego said.

The airline is also the subject of a labour dispute, with the union representing Iberia's 1,600 pilots fearing it will lead to job losses.

Spanair's collapse cause misery for its passengers

The dispute with the union led to 12 days of work stoppages in December and January to protest the low-cost airline.

Separately, the Spanish government has said it is taking legal action over the collapse of Spanair, saying it could be fined 9m euros.

In 2010, Spanair reported an operating loss of 115m euros.

After Spanair's collapse, Irish rival Ryanair said it was examining opportunities in Spain. "We certainly see it as an opportunity to expand our base," it said.

lørdag 24. mars 2012

Airbus og Boeing sammen imot EU`s ETS


Brothers` in Arms mot EUs Emission Trading scheme:

Boeing has joined Airbus in criticising the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme.
Last week Airbus, together with several other companies, called on European leaders to take action and prevent a possible trade war developing. China is believed to be withholding the go-ahead on a number of Airbus orders worth $12 billion.

Speaking in Geneva yesterday, Reuters quoted Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, “This is not about Boeing and Airbus; it is about what is best for our customers and how we are going to get the whole industry to reduce its environmental footprint….I don't think the European ETS approach is the right one. We need to have a standstill on this and work with ICAO and get some international rules in place that everyone can sign up to, and ones that will drive us to make the investments we need to improve the efficiency of airplanes”.

Første ubemannede helikopter i USN armeres


A team at Webster Field Annex is working briskly to support an urgent Navy request to weaponize the MQ-8B Fire Scout, marking the first time the Navy will arm an unmanned aircraft.
The Fire Scout team and NAVAIR’s structures rotary-wing division personnel conducted the first of a series of tests March 7 on the newly installed hardware, which will gauge how the system will operate in the shipboard environment.
“This is the very first weaponization program on this aircraft,” said Jeremy Moore, Fire Scout weapons system integration lead. Part of the Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) acquisition process, “it was identified by the fleet as an urgent need for joint forces, so we are pressing forward as hard as we can to get it out there.”
The Navy plans to arm the MQ-8B Fire Scout with a laser-guided rocket, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), in just 18 months. Typically, this type of development would take two to three years at a minimum, Moore said. Arming the Fire Scout with a guided rocket will enable the fleet to engage hostile threats with the Fire Scout independent of air support from carrier or shore-based aircraft. This capability will keep the warfighter out of harm’s way, Moore said. Foto: NG

Colgan ulykken nok en gang

Colgan seeks to stall official in court

Published : Thursday, 22 Mar 2012, 5:44 PM EDT
CLARENCE CENTER, N.Y. (WIVB) - According to a published report, a retired FAA official may be barred from testifying in civil lawsuits filed by the families of Flight 3407 victims.
Christopher Montelton is a former inspector, who criticized the performance of Colgan Air's pilots more than a year before the tragedy. And now, Colgan is reportedly trying to stop him from testifying, claiming he's unable to thoroughly answer questions about the crash.
Pilot error was cited as a main cause of the 2009 tragedy that killed 50-people in Clarence Center. New pilot training laws were created after the victims' families pushed for tougher safety standards.
Sjekk video her: http://tinyurl.com/7vhagvq

The solution is - Unmanned


Anticipation and excitement over the first-ever launch of a private spaceship to the International Space Station next month is steadily building, astronauts and NASA flight controllers said Tuesday.
Private space company SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, Calif., is preparing to launch its Dragon capsule to the space station April 30. The unmanned capsule will be the first of a new fleet of commercial spacecraft being developed to deliver cargo to the station in the wake of the space shuttle retirement last year.
The Dragon capsule will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. If all goes well, it will fly up to the orbiting laboratory, conduct tests, and then dock there May 3.
"Our fingers are crossed for SpaceX to launch and successfully come to the space station," NASA astronaut Sunita Williams said during a news conference Tuesday. Williams is due to lift off atop a Russian Soyuz spacecraft July 15, along with a Russian cosmonaut and a Japanese astronaut, to serve on the space station's Expedition 32 and Expedition 33 missions.

Qantas har problemer med A380 - Flere vingesprekker

Foto: Qantas
Qantas has found the more serious "type two" cracks in the wings of the two A380s it has inspected since European air-safety regulators ordered checks of the worldwide fleet of Airbus superjumbos last month.

Australia's largest airline is considering pursuing Airbus for compensation for the disruptions caused by the inspections and repairs to its flagship aircraft.

Engineers discovered "limited" numbers - or fewer than 10 - "type two" cracks on both the Nancy-Bird Walton, which has been under repair in Singapore since suffering a mid-air engine explosion in November 2010, and another A380. The latter has been repaired and since returned to service.

Advertisement: Story continues below
Qantas will inspect another aircraft from its 12-strong A380 fleet next month for the type-two defects.
Friday, Mar 23, 2012
WASHINGTON -- The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program -- the centerpiece of future tactical aviation and a key to implementing new military strategic guidance -- made strong progress in its development last year, a defense official said today.
Frank Kendall, the acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the House Armed Services Committee that the fighter aircraft is essential to the Defense Department and that it made "strong progress" in 2011.
"Last fall, the department engaged in a strategy and budget review where everything -- and I do mean everything -- was on the table," Kendall said. "After a careful look at the joint strike fighter program, the department determined that we do need the JSF (and) that we need all three variants of the fighter, and that we need the planned inventory of 2,443 jets."
That said, Kendall added, "you must recognize there is still a long way to go for JSF." The F-35 flight test program is only about 20 percent complete and "many of the more challenging elements of flight test are still ahead of us," he said.
Kendall said the F-35 development has reached a crucial point in the conversion from conceptualization to actual production.
"The JSF program is undergoing the critical transition from development to production," he said. "Historically, this is always a difficult phase for any program, but particularly so for a high-performance aircraft."
That transition has been even more difficult for the F-35, Kendall said, because the program began production very early, well before flight testing had begun.
That decision for early production resulted in an unprecedented level of concurrency, which drove the need for significant changes in the program, he said.
"With this year's budget, I believe we are now set on a course for program stability," Kendall added.
Navy Vice Adm. David Venlet, the program manager for the F-35, also said the program now is on track.
"The F-35 has schedule and budget realism now going forward," Venlet said. "It is transparent in the discovery and correction of issues arising in tests that are typical in all fighter aircraft development."
Venlet told the Congress members he believes the F-35 "is a critical presence in the combined force battle space. It makes many other systems and capabilities and effects better because of the presence of the F-35's sensors."
The admiral called the F-35 a "critical presence" to many nations as well as a bond of joint strength across all U.S. military services.

fredag 23. mars 2012

Regjeringen kjøper 52 F-35

Vel, prisen vet ingen. Spørs om de milliardene som er bevilget er nok.
Kommer tilbake med flere synspunkter etterhvert. Her er pressemeldingen:

Pressemelding, 23.03.2012
Nr.: 30

Nye kampfly til Forsvaret

Med langtidsplanen for Forsvaret legger regjeringen frem en samlet plan for anskaffelsen av Norges nye kampfly, F-35. En oppdatert kostnadsanalyse viser at investeringskostnaden for den norske F-35-anskaffelsen er i tråd med anslagene regjeringen la frem i 2008.
Levetidskostnaden beregnes nå til å være om lag 10 prosent lavere enn det som var beregnet i 2008.
- Kjøpet av våre nye kampfly er et generasjonsløft for Norge, sier forsvarsminister Espen Barth Eide.
Regjeringen legger i langtidsplanen for første gang frem en helhetlig finansieringsplan for kampflyanskaffelsen. Denne inkluderer en midlertidig økning av forsvarsrammen med 22 - 28 mrd. kroner fordelt over hele anskaffelsesperioden. Ved utløpet av fireårsperioden 2013 - 2016 vil forsvarsbudsjettet derfor ligge tre milliarder kroner høyere enn 2012-budsjettet som en konsekvens av de midlertidige økningene til kampflyanskaffelsen.
- Vi vil sikre at Norge også i fremtiden skal kunne gripe raskt og effektivt inn ved hendelser over de store land- og havområdene vi rår over. F-35 er viktig for å hevde norsk suverenitet og skape en krigsforebyggende terskel, sier forsvarsministeren.
Regjeringens forsvarsambisjon står fast. En struktur på 48 kampfly, i tillegg til de fire treningsflyene som ble besluttet anskaffet i 2011, oppfyller denne ambisjonen. Endelig beslutning om anskaffelse av de siste seks kampflyene tas etter at de første 42 (+4) kampflyene er bestilt.
For å jevne ut den budsjettmessige belastningen vil regjeringen gjennomføre anskaffelsen av flyene over noen flere år enn det som tidligere har vært lagt til grunn. Det er derfor aktuelt å fremskynde den allerede vedtatte anskaffelsen av fire treningsfly, ved å anskaffe to av flyene ett år tidligere, allerede i 2015. De to øvrige vil da leveres i 2016. Det er videre aktuelt å fremskynde oppstarten av hovedanskaffelsen fra 2018 til 2017, samtidig som anskaffelsesperioden planlegges forlenget frem mot 2023 - 2024.
Da regjeringen ba Stortinget om fullmakt til å anskaffe fire treningsfly i 2011 ble det redegjort for en oppdatert kostnadsramme for hele investeringen på 61 mrd. kroner (reelle 2011-kroner). En fornyet kostnadsoppdatering som fremlegges i denne langtidsplanen viser det samme nivå i dag. Levetidskostnadene er derimot redusert med 10 prosent i forhold til beregningene i 2008. Tallene er eksternt kvalitetssikret i tråd med Finansdepartementets retningslinjer.
Det planlegges med å gjennomføre kampflyanskaffelsen som fortløpende anskaffelsesbeslutninger i det enkelte bestillingsår. Dette innebærer at regjeringen legger opp til å legge frem beslutningsgrunnlag for Stortinget i forkant av hver bestilling av fly.

Widerøefly landet trygt i Bodø i kveld


Nesehjulsproblemer førte til full utykning i Bodø i kveld. Flyet landet trygt rapporteres det. Jeg kan ikke fri meg fra å kommentere hjulproblemer med Dash 8 serien. Litt flere enn det som kan sies å være et gjennomsnitt vil jeg tro. Foto: Widerøe

Laserterror

Flyger blendet av laserlys

Besetningen på et KLM-fly ble så sjenert av et laserlys at de meldte fra til politiet.
Mannskapet på et KLM-fly meldte seint torsdag kveld at de ble truffet av en kraftig, grønn laserstråle mens de var under innflyging til Sola.
Dette skal ha skjedd cirka 8 kilometer øst for Rimestad i Time, og politiet fikk meldingen klokken 22.27.
Politiet har foreløpig ingen mistenkte.
Operasjonsleder Frank Roland gjør oppmerksom på at det kan få fatale konsekvenser ved feil bruk av slike laserlys.

torsdag 22. mars 2012

Her styrter helikopteret

Sjekk linken: http://tinyurl.com/7wrenzh

Dramatisk video viser et amerikansk angrepshelikopter treffe bakken ved en av koalisjonens utposter i Afghanistan.
Videoen viser et Apachehelikopter av typen AH-64 fly lavt over en militær utpost i Sar Howzah i provinsen Paktika sørøst i landet.

Det sneier en bygning, og begynner å klatre før piloten later til å miste kontrollen og helikopteret smeller i bakken. Helikopteret unngår så vidt å treffe en gruppe mennesker.
To amerikanske Apachehelikopteret fulgte en Isaf-patrulje som var på vei for å samle forsyninger som ble sluppet fra lufta dagen i forveien. Et av helikopterne styrtet. Til alt hell kom ingen på bakken til skade, og begge ombord overlevde.
Videoen ble første gang lagt ut på nett for flere dager siden, melder Daily Mail.
En talsmann for de amerikanske styrkene sier til ABC News at episoden ble filmet i Paktikaprovinsen 6. februar.
Bakgrunnen for ulykken er nå under etterforskning. Bildet over viser et tilsvarende helikopter som havarerte under andre forhold.

Sjeldent jagerflybesøk

Sola flystasjon får i helgen besøk av to britiske jagerfly av en sjelden type.
Flyene er av typen Eurofighter Typhoon som sammen Saab Gripen konkurrerte med det amerikanske F-35 om å bli Luftforsvarets neste jagerfly når F-16 er moden for pensjonering om noen år, opplyser major Bjørn Vikås på Sola, til Aftenbladet.
Flyene som tilhører 6. skvadron i RAF, er på treningstur. De lander tidlig fredag ettermiddag og drar mandag morgen tilbake til basen Leuchars utenfor Dundee i Skottland. Dette er samme base som norske Catalina- og Mosquito-fly opererte fra under krigen.
Sola har bare en gang tidligere hatt besøk av Typhoon-fly. Det var i juni i 2007. Foto: Jon Ingemundsen

- Kameratstøtte blir det viktigste nå

Over 600 deltok i minnestund på Gardermoen.

MINNESTUND: Flagget henger på halvstang utenfor hangaren på Gardermoen i formiddag. FOTO: BJØRN LANGSEM/DAGBLADET.



GARDERMOEN (Dagbladet): Minnestunden for de fem omkomne i flyulykken på Kebnekaise startet i formiddag på Gardemoen. Foto: Dagbladet

På minnestunden er det massivt oppmøte fra de omkomnes kolleger - i alt rundt 600 personer fras 12 - 13 forskjelige luftfartsavdelinger.

Alle tok av seg hatt og hodeplagg for sine døde kamerater da de ankom seremonien på den militære flyplassen på Gardermoen for å minne oberstløytnant Truls Audun Ørpen (46), kaptein Ståle Garberg (42), kaptein Bjørn Yngvar Haug (40), kaptein Siw Robertsen (45) og kaptein Steinar Utne (35).

Fly like a bird - Fleip eller fakta?

Sjekk denne selv og les gjerne kommentarene til den.
http://tinyurl.com/7zr2abv

onsdag 21. mars 2012

F-35 ; flere dårlige nyheter

Igjen, er det ingen grense for hvor mye dette flyet skal koste oss?

Lockheed F-35 Overruns Top $1 Billion, Government Auditor Finds

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s first 63 F-35 fighter jets are exceeding their combined target cost by $1 billion, showing the Pentagon’s costliest program lacks a reliable design and efficient manufacturing, according to U.S. congressional auditors.
The Pentagon is absorbing $672 million and Lockheed Martin the remaining $328 million in added costs for the aircraft in the first four production contracts, the Government Accountability Office said in prepared testimony today for a House Armed Services Committee hearing on tactical aviation. The committee is conducting the first oversight hearing on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the fiscal 2013 budget.

Attachment: GAO Report
“The long-stated intent that the Joint Strike Fighter would deliver an affordable, highly common fifth-generation aircraft that could be acquired in large numbers could be in question,” Michael Sullivan, the GAO’s director of acquisition management, said in the statement.

Hvorfor finner man ikke FDR/CVR?


Spørsmålet kom fra en slektning og er høyest relevant. Boksen har en pinger som sender et signal når den er under vann, men ikke på land. Flyet har Emergency Locator Transmitter som spretter av flyet idet det treffer noe hardt. Den kan havne langt unna CVR/FDR, og kanskje under mange meter med snø, jord, is eller hva det må være. Etter AF447 i 2009 ble det igangsatt arbeide for å få såkalt continous streaming of data via satellitt. Det lar vente på seg, men "den sorte boksen" må få et lokaliseringssystem innebygget. Bildet er fra en Jetstream som havarerte i 2004.

Tidligere GIL forsøker å selge F-18 Super Hornet

Sakset fra AN i dag:

Dette flyet vil ikke Norge ha

* Langt billigere enn F-35.
* Mye større rekkevidde.
* Støyer ikke mer enn F16.
Rune Grønlie
Publisert 21.03.2012 kl 10:00 Oppdatert 21.03.2012 kl 10:01

Forsvarsdepartementet sitter på et tilbud om kjøp av en skvadron med F-18 Super Hornet fra flyfabrikanten Boeing.
– Et bedre valg i nordområdene, mener tidligere generalinspektør (GIL) Per-Oskar Jacobsen.
Jacobsen var øverste sjef for Luftforsvaret i perioden 1997–2000. Nå driver han selskapet Jepcon Consulting som blant annet driver konsulentvirksomhet for Boeing.
I forrige uke besøkte han bodøordfører Ole Hjartøy og de tillitsvalgte ved Bodø hovedflystasjon.
– Jeg fikk hakeslipp da jeg hørte at Bodø hovedflystasjon skal legges ned. Jeg ser det på som helt urealistisk, sier han.
Ikke vurdert
Foreløpig ser ikke Forsvarsdepartementet tilbudet fra Boeing som aktuelt, men bekrefter at de mottok det 16. februar. Ifølge Jacobsen er F-18 Super Hornet langt rimeligere enn F-35. Og - ifølge ham - på støynivå med F-16.
Det betyr at en skvadron kan operere fra Bodø uten at man må flytte rullebanen eller gå inn med andre investeringer.
Han påpeker at innfasingen av F-35 i Forsvaret allerede er utsatt og at det er usikkerheter rundt pris og leveringstidspunkt av flyet.
– Man kan utsette innfasingen av F-35, slik at dette flyet kan bli ferdigtestet og til man vet hva det vil koste, sier han. Fot oav F-18 Growler. Boeing