torsdag 29. august 2013

Garmins avionics pakke

Garmin Launches G5000 Avionics Retrofit for Beechjets
Garmin launched a G5000 avionics modernization program for the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP, targeted for FAA STC approval in 2015, that will be available at certain Garmin dealers. The company estimates that the glass cockpit retrofit for the light twinjet will cost between $450,000 and $500,000 installed. In addition to modernizing the flight deck, the new avionics package is lighter and thus raises the jet’s useful load by 200 pounds. The Garmin flight deck for the 400A/400XP will include three landscape-oriented, 12-inch LCD flight displays, as well as two touchscreen display/controllers. According to Garmin, the displays permit multiple pages to be viewed side-by-side, allowing pilots to simultaneously view maps, charts, checklists, terrain, air traffic, flight plans, weather and video input, among others, on the three displays. The G5000 also features a digital autopilot, PBN/RNP 0.3 with LPV/APV approach capability, Doppler weather radar and options for synthetic vision, ADS-B and TAS/Tcas traffic solutions. “The G5000 is the ideal solution for Beechjet 400A/400XP operators,” said Garmin vice president of aviation sales and marketing Carl Wolf. “This upgrade offers existing owners and operators a chance to breathe new life into the aircraft they love with situational awareness tools, safety enhancements and NextGen capabilities.”

Boeing spår om flygerbehovet

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Boeing Raises 20-Year Global Demand for Pilots

Woodrow Bellamy III

Commercial airlines will require 498,000 new pilots and 556,000 new aircraft maintenance technicians by 2032 to keep pace with deliveries of new aircraft and overall air passenger demand, according to the 2013 Pilot and Technician Outlook report released by Boeing
 
The report shows an increase in the company's 20-year projected demand for airline pilots released last year, which called for 460,000 new pilots. 
 
In contrast, Boeing lowered its projected demand for technicians, because of the "introduction of more efficient and smarter airplanes" requiring fewer mechanics as airlines continue to retire older aircraft, which usually require more maintenance. 
 
Sherry Carbary, vice president of flight services at Boeing, says the report indicates a problem for the global aviation industry, which needs to start attracting more young people.
 
"We need to attract more young people to careers in aviation by continually looking at innovative ways to train pilots and technicians, moving away from paper and chalkboard-based learning to incorporate tablets, eBooks, gaming technology and three-dimensional models. Aviation is a great field to be in—we have a responsibility to make sure it's a viable career option for the world's youth," said Carbary.
 
Demand is greatest in the Asia Pacific region, which will require 192,300 pilots and 215,300 technicians by 2032, according to Boeing. 
 
Here's how the rest of the world breaks down in terms of demand for new pilots and technicians over the next 20 years according to Boeing's latest outlook: 
 
New Pilots by 2032

1. Asia Pacific - 192,300
2. Europe - 99,700
3. North America - 85,700
4. Latin America - 48,600 
5. Middle East - 40,000
6. Africa - 16,500
7. Russia and CIS - 15,200
 
 
New Technicians by 2032

1. Asia Pacific - 215,300
2. Europe 108,200
3. North America - 97,900
4. Latin America - 47,600
5. Middle East - 53,100
6. Africa - 15,900
7. Russia and CIS - 18,000

B787 - ETOPS

Thursday, August 29, 2013

United Seeks Approval for California-China 787 Route

Woodrow Bellamy III
United Airlines is seeking government approval for the authority to fly its fleet of Boeing 787s on a new nonstop route between San Francisco and Chengdu, China. 
 
The airline submitted an application to the Department of Transportation (DoT) Thursday seeking the approval. 
 
After lifting the ban that grounded the worldwide fleet of Boeing 787s in January due to problems with the lithium-ion battery, FAA did not impose any extended operations (ETOPS) restrictions on the aircraft. However, DoT is likely to scrutinize the application from United due to the grounding, and recent risks that were discovered regarding the emergency locator transmitter (ELT), which caused an Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner to catch on fire at London's Heathrow International Airport. 
 
If approved, the new routes will be available three times per week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. 
 

Shetland accident - CVR/FDR recovered

AS332 L2 Super Puma helicopter, G-WNSB – Latest News

The combined voice and flight data recorder from the AS332 L2 Super Puma helicopter has been successfully recovered and will be transported to the AAIB HQ in Farnborough later today.


Super Puma’s Black Boxes Found, Balpa Calls for CalmThe UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) recovered the cockpit voice/flight data recorder today from the Eurocopter Super Puma that ditched last Friday, killing four. According to preliminary information from investigators, it appears that “the approach [to Sumburgh airport] proceeded normally until approximately 3 nm from the runway, when there was a reduction in airspeed accompanied by an increased rate of descent.” Evidence suggests the helicopter was intact and upright when it entered the water, before rapidly inverting and drifting to a rocky shoreline, where it was largely broken up. Meanwhile, the British Air Line Pilots Association (Balpa) pilot union reacted to the outcries earlier this week against the Super Pumas. The recent suspension of operations was “an understandable response,” but the confidence of Balpa members in the Super Puma series remains unchanged, the union stated. “We should not rush to judge an aircraft that has three very different variants and has successfully transported millions of passengers worldwide in safety over 30 years,” it said. Accident statistics are scarce for UK offshore helicopter operations–the Step Change in Safety organization estimates that eight fatal accidents took place in UK offshore operations from 1992 to 2009, with three of them involving Super Pumas.

Video for psykisk vedlikehold

This 2-Minute Video Will Remind You That Aviation Is Beautiful And Awesome




Considering how unpleasant commercial air travel tends to be these days, it's easy to forget how amazing modern jets really are.
In case you forgot that a metal tube hurtling through the air at hundreds of miles an hour, tens of thousands of feet above the ground, is impressive, just watch this two-minute video.
Produced by Wolfe Air Aviation, which offers aircraft equipped with aerial camera systems, it shows off footage shot from the company's modified Learjet 25.
It includes everything from fighter jets to the Boeing Dreamliner, taking off, landing, and firing weapons.
It's awesome. And beautiful. Now watch, and stop complaining about your legroom.

Sjekk http://tinyurl.com/qzbzmfq

Shetlandulykken - AAIB kan ikke fastslå hva som førte til ulykken

Det høres ut som en Controlled Flight Into Terrain
PRESS RELEASE
Date: 29 August 2013
Accident to AS332 L2 Super Puma helicopter, G-WNSB, on approach to Sumburgh Airport, on 23 August 2013
At 1717 hrs UTC on 23 August 2013, an AS332 L2 Super Puma helicopter crashed into the sea whilst on approach to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands. Four of the 18 occupants lost their lives.
The AAIB immediately despatched a team of investigators and support staff to Aberdeen and the Shetland Islands. In accordance with the normal protocols the AAIB invited representatives from the French accident investigation authority (BEA), the helicopter manufacturer, and the engine manufacturer to participate in the investigation.
Preliminary information indicates that the approach proceeded normally until approximately three miles from the runway when there was a reduction in airspeed accompanied by an increased rate of descent. The helicopter struck the sea approximately two miles west of the Runway 09 threshold.
The evidence currently available suggests that the helicopter was intact and upright when it entered the water. It then rapidly inverted and drifted northwards towards Garths Ness. The helicopter was largely broken up by repeated contact with the rocky shoreline. Some items of wreckage have already been recovered and will be transported to the AAIB's HQ in Farnborough.
Attempts to recover the Combined Voice and Flight Data Recorder, together with other wreckage items, are continuing. This is a challenging operation due to the nature of the environment in which the wreckage is located.
The investigation is ongoing and at this early stage it is not possible to identify the causal factors leading to the accident.

Syria - Det hardner til - Stor aktivitet på Akrotiri, Kypros

Udaloy class destroyer - Foto: Per Gram

– Russland sender marineskip til Middelhavet

Den russiske marinen sender to skip til Middelhavet på grunn av «situasjonen som er under utvikling der», melder nyhetsbyrået Interfax.
Byrået siterer en ikke navngitt kilde i den russiske generalstaben. Ifølge kilden vil en krysser fra den russiske Nordflåten legge i vei i løpet av de nærmeste dagene, og formålet er å styrke marinens nærvær i Middelhavet.
Senere skal et fartøy fra Svartehavsflåten også flyttes til Middelhavet og slutte seg til russiske marineskip som allerede befinner seg der.
– Den velkjente situasjonen som er under utvikling i det østlige Middelhavet gjør det nødvendig med visse justeringer i sammensetningen av marinestyrkene, sier kilden.
USA og andre vestlige land vurderer et militært angrep på Syria som en reaksjon på det som skal ha vært et angrep med kjemiske våpen utenfor Damaskus i forrige uke. Regjeringen i Russland er svært kritisk til planene om en mulig militæraksjon.
Det russiske forsvarsdepartementet har foreløpig ikke kommentert Interfax' opplysninger.

Shetlandulykken

Oppslaget under er klippet fra mre.no

Når dette skrives kl 10.00, så er det enda ikke kommet noe fra UK`s Air Accident Investigation Branch som har lovet å komme med en Bulletin straks de vet noe om ulykkesårsaken. Inntil så skjer er jeg enig med Hamre i at det å sette alle maskiner av typen Super Puma på bakken vil være noe drøyt. Jeg skulle gjerne visst mer om hvorfor det er så mange ulykker og hendelser på britisk side, men jeg finner bare spekulasjoner. Jeg har selv spekulert i om alt som har skjedd med typen vil få bæring på dens kandidatur som nytt SAR helikopter etter Sea King. Fra seleksjonsutvalgets leder sies det at det ikke er tilfelle, den er fremdeles en kandidat.

Ulykkeshelikopter vert sett inn i offshoretrafikken att

(NPK-NTB): Helikoptertypen Super Puma har vore involvert i fleire ulykker, seinast havariet utanfor Shetland i førre veke. No vert alle helikoptera av typen sett inn igjen i offshoretrafikken i Noreg.


- Ulykka i førre veke ser vi på som ei enkeltståande hending. Vi meiner ikkje det forsvarar å setje helikoptera på bakken. Alle helikopter av typen Super Puma skal vere i drift frå torsdag morgon og gå som normalt, seier utvalsleiar og seksjonssjef for helikopter i Luftfartstilsynet, Geir Helge Hamre.
I Storbritannia har det motsette skjedd. Der har alle Super Puma-helikopter fått flyforbod etter at fire personar omkom då eit Super Puma L2-helikopter styrta utanfor Shetland.
I forkant av møtet onsdag i samarbeidsutvalet sendte oljefagforeininga Safe ut ei pressemelding der dei kravde at helikoptera vart sette på bakken som eit føre-var-tiltak inntil årsaka til ulykka utanfor Shetland er klar. (©NPK)

UAV - militærflygere i helvete


Piloting A Drone Is Hell

The cover story for the Atlantic's September issue reveals a surprising truth: drone warfare is more like The Truman Show than Terminator. In the future, autonomous robots might fight our battles for us, but for now, war is all too human; we rely on human pilots and human decision-making (plus a ton of cameras).

Military drones, like the RQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper, are best known for firing missiles at people and other targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, as part of a targeted killing program. Firing missiles was an upgrade for Predators; they were originally designed to conduct surveillance, flying high above war zones, recording what happens below and relaying that video to pilots located half a world away. That surveillance can be grueling: pilots spend entire shifts watching the same target, and might do so for days or even months. Inevitably, drone operators develop an intimate understanding of their targets' lives.

Author Mark Bowden's tour de force on the United States's drone war includes two first-hand experiences from drone pilots. The first involves a pilot who used a drone to defend Marines under attack on a road in Afghanistan:
'I could see exactly what kind of gun it was in back,' the pilot told me later. 'I could see two men in the front; their faces were covered. One was in the passenger seat and one was in the driver's seat, and then one was on the gun, and I think there was another sitting in the bed of the truck, but he was kind of obscured from my angle.'

On the radio, they could hear the marines on the ground shouting for help.

'Fire one,' said the colonel.

The Hellfire is a 100-pound antitank missile, designed to destroy an armored vehicle. When the blast of smoke cleared, there was only a smoking crater on the dirt road.

'I was kind of freaked out,' the pilot said. 'My whole body was shaking. It was something that was completely different. The first time doing it, it feels bad almost. It's not easy to take another person's life. It's tough to think about. A lot of guys were congratulating me, telling me, "You protected them; you did your job. That's what you are trained to do, supposed to do," so that was good reinforcement. But it's still tough.'

Another pilot discusses the longer missions, which are less about supporting fellow soldiers and involve more targeted killing:
The dazzling clarity of the drone's optics does have a downside. As a B-1 pilot, Dan wouldn't learn details about the effects of his weapons until a post-mission briefing. But flying a drone, he sees the carnage close-up, in real time-the blood and severed body parts, the arrival of emergency responders, the anguish of friends and family. Often he's been watching the people he kills for a long time before pulling the trigger. Drone pilots become familiar with their victims. They see them in the ordinary rhythms of their lives-with their wives and friends, with their children. War by remote control turns out to be intimate and disturbing. Pilots are sometimes shaken.

'There is a very visceral connection to operations on the ground,' Dan says. 'When you see combat, when you hear the guy you are supporting who is under fire, you hear the stress in his voice, you hear the emotions being passed over the radio, you see the tracers and rounds being fired, and when you are called upon to either fire a missile or drop a bomb, you witness the effects of that firepower.' He witnesses it in a far more immediate way than in the past, and he disdains the notion that he and his fellow drone pilots are like video gamers, detached from the reality of their actions. If anything, they are far more attached. At the same time, he dismisses the notion that the carnage he now sees up close is emotionally crippling.

Bowden's entire piece is 10,000 words long, and I recommend every single one of them.
[The Atlantic]

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-08/psychological-toll-drone-warfare

Helikopter - Russerne går løs på R22 markedssegmentet

Berkut VL to Take Initial Flight at MAKS 2013

The two-seat coaxial Berkut VL is set to take to the air during the MAKS International Aviation and Space Show, scheduled to take place from August 30 to September 1 near Moscow. The VL is seeking to compete in a market space with no existing Russian offerings, a segment currently ruled by U.S.-built Robinson R44s and R22s. The Berkut VL made its first public appearance at the last MAKS in 2011.
Related: Airframe News

Super Hornet - Oppdatering

Boeing, Northrop Grumman Impressed with Advanced Super Hornet

Woodrow Bellamy III
Boeing and Northrop Grumman said they are impressed with the features demonstrated by three weeks of flight testing the Advanced Super Hornet fighter jet. 
 
 
(Advanced Superhornet. Photo, courtesy of Boeing.)
 
During the flight testing the two companies said they saw improvements in the aircraft's radar signature, an increase of 130 nautical miles in the aircraft's combat radius. 
 
In a statement, Boeing said the new improvements will allow the next generation fighter jet to "outpace: enemy aircraft through 2030.  GE Aviation and Raytheon are also working with Boeing and Northrop Grumman on an advanced cockpit design for the aircraft. 
 
“We continually insert new capabilities into today’s highly capable, already stealthy Super Hornet, and the Advanced Super Hornet is the next phase of this technology evolution,” said Debbie Rub, vice president and general manager of Boeing's global strike force unit.

Ryanair - UK blander seg inn i et irsk anliggende

UK orders Ryanair to cut Aer Lingus stake.
    Reuters Ryanair( Reuters ) - Britain's competition watchdog on Wednesday ordered Ryanair to cut its stake in smaller Irish rival Aer Lingus to 5 percent from 30 percent, saying the current arrangement had the potential to substantially reduce competition. Ryanair said would appeal against what it described as a "bizarre and manifestly wrong" decision in a legal process that could last years.

    BA B747 landet i Irkutsk på vei til Beijing

    British Airways Passengers Are Stuck In A Russian Hotel After An Emergency Landing In Siberia

    british airways boeing 747
    REUTERS/Toby Melville
    A British Airways Boeing 747 flying from London to Beijing on Wednesday made a successful emergency landing at Irkutsk airport in Siberia due to technical problems, Russian officials said.
    The 270 passengers and 16 crew have been taken to hotels in central Irkutsk, an airport official told the Interfax news agency. As they do not have Russian visas, they did not go through passport control and will not be able to leave the hotel.
    "The passengers' passports have been taken and they have been given copies," the official said, adding that it was not clear how much longer they would be stranded in the city.
    The flight information on British Airways' website confirmed the plane had made a stopover in Irkutsk and said the flight would be taking off again for Beijing at 3:00 pm (0400 GMT) on Thursday.
    Interfax said that according to initial information, the plane encountered problems with its navigational systems. British Airways engineers were expected to arrive later to inspect the plane.


    UAV - Japan kjøper Global Hawk

    Sjekk video her: http://tinyurl.com/nwecvuq

    Japan to Purchase 3 Global Hawk Systems
     Posted on August 28, 2013 by The Editor The Japanese government has decided to deploy the Global Hawk, an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, in fiscal 2015 to strengthen patrol and surveillance activities around Japan, government sources said. The Defence Ministry will include ¥200 million in research and study expenses in its budget request for the next fiscal year, which will stipulate the introduction of the aircraft in fiscal 2015, the sources said. The ministry is in the process of choosing a site to deploy the aircraft, with particular attention on the U.S. Air Force’s Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture.

    tirsdag 27. august 2013

    UAV - Styres av Google briller

    Legg merke til at maskinen havarerer fordi han med briller glemmer at han styrer den......

    Using Google Glass to Control a UAS

    Du får ikke sett hele bildet i videoen under. Sjekk denne linken for å få bedre presentasjon: http://tinyurl.com/lmc6r4c




    Google Glass developer Blaine Bublitz has actually come up with a way to control a Parrot AR Drone with his Google Glass wearable device. After some successful early tests controlling a connected ground-based robot with Glass-controlled head movements, Bublitz decided to up the stakes and try the same dynamic with a flying robot.The result is a Glass-controlled UAS that allows for pitch and roll controls that are still shaky at this point, but nonetheless impressive.
    For the coders out there, Bublitz offers a detailed run-down of how he cobbled together the head movement remote control mechanism here. For the rest of us, the demonstration looks like nothing less than machine-assisted telekinesis in action. It doesn’t take much to look at this and then imagine a mother pushing a baby carriage hands-free with Glass, or a truck operator using the wearable device to control a second vehicle.
    The demonstration, which took place two weeks ago, was part of the International NodeBots Day.

    Herculesulykken - TAWS og kummunikasjonsbrist- Fra Norrbotten Kuriren

    De får skulden för Herculeskraschen

    Luleå. "Det är väl det höyeste fjellet i Sverige?" undrade en besättningsman.
    Fjorton minuter senare är alla i det norska planet döda och Kuriren kan nu redovisa varför.

    Fakta/ Räddningsarbetet

    Haverikommissionen har även utrett räddningsinsatserna:
    På grund av militärövning fanns stora resurser, men ledningen var oklar.
    Vid Sjöfartsverkets sjö- och flygräddningscentral fanns mer kunskap om sjö än flygräddning.
    När flygräddningsentralen, efter att haveriet var konstaterat, lämnade över ansvaret till Polisen i Norrbotten rådde oklarheter om det verkligen skulle vara så.
    SOS Alarm dröjde med att larma Polisen och sjukvård.
    Polisen i Norrbotten reagerade sent.
    Kontakterna med anhöriga var bra.

    Slutsatserna framgår av Statens haverikommissions hemligstämplade slutrapport om Herculesplanet som kraschade i Kebnekaise. Tidigare har delrapporter lämnats.
    Besättningen gjorde felbedömningar och trafikledarna borde väglett den bättre. Men de arbetade med den kunskap de hade och besättningen hade instrument som gick att misstolka så slutomdömet är kritik av Norska Luftförsvaret och Luftfartsverket i Sverige.
    "Det är dessa svagheter och inte enskilda individers misstag som bedöms vara grundorsaken till olyckan", skriver Haverikommissionen.
    – Det är sekretess på rapporten. (Hemmelig)  Vi kommer inte att kommentera den i det här läget, säger utredningsledare Agne Widholm.

    Opålitligt
    Vid olyckan 15 mars 2012 omkom samtliga fem besättningsmän omedelbart.
    Det norska planet deltog i militärövningen Cold case. Klockan 13.40 startar planet från Evenes flygplats i Nordnorge. Planet ska till Kiruna och minuterna innan kraschen begär besättningen att få göra en visuell inflygning.

    Sikten är dålig.
    Av uppsamlade data och ljud framkommer att piloten och befälhavaren diskuterat den höjd de behöver. Utredningen konstaterar att de inte insett faran och bland annat diskuterar hur högt Kebnekaise är. En annan pilot har efteråt förklarat att denne vid en motsvarande flygning ställt in höjden på högsta hindret, Kebnekaise, och sedan lagt till 2.000 fot.

    Fel läge
    Olycksplanet flög för lågt. Terrängvarningssystemet hade satts i ett läge där innebörden blev att besättningen inte varnades innan planet körde in i fjällväggen. Innan dess lyste ett meddelande om detta val och kommentarer i planet tyder på misstolkning. Norska luftförsvaret hade ingen begränsning av hur det valda läget användes utan flygbefälet fick avgöra. Om systemet ställs i normalläge ges förvarning på 40-60 sekunder.
    Flygledarna, i Stockholm och Kiruna, samt besättningen har "inte till alla delar förstått varandras avsikter, heter det i rapporten. Flygledarna hade inte uppmärksammat rätt flygnivå vilket gjorde att planet oavsiktligt klarerades ut i "okontrollerad luft". Besättningen visste inte det.
    "Luftfartsverket har inte haft tillräckligt säkra arbetssätt", konstaterar utredarna.
    Stig Nordlund
    stig.nordlund@kuriren.com

    'Tidigare flygkrasch i Norge kusligt lik Herculesolyckan

    Senja. Samma flygtyp, månad och lika tragiska konsekvenser.
    Flygkraschen sydväst om Tromsö 1966 har klara paralleller till Kebnekaiseolyckan.
    Vid 1.30 natten mot 20 mars hörde befolkningen på Svanelvmon på ön Senja sex mil sydväst om Tromsö ett dån.
    På morgonen kom information om att ett militärt flygplan saknades. Planet var av typen C-130, fem år gammalt och samma modell som vid Kebnekaise, fast en äldre version.
    Dålig sikt
    Planet hade lyft från Frankrike kvällen innan och skulle landa på Bardufoss flygstation. Det var tätt snödrev och bara minuter innan landning försvann planet från radarskärmarna.
    21 mars hittades planet. Det hade flugit in i toppen på det drygt 800 meter höga Förste Svanfjell. Sju amerikanska officerare dog.
    Missförstånd
    Kommunstyrelseordföranden i Tranøy kommun, Senja, Odd-Arne Andreassen, var tonåring 1966 men minns fortfarande olyckan.
    – Om planet bara hade flugit tio meter högre hade olyckan kunnat undgås. Men ett missförstånd mellan flygledartornet och besättningen blev katastrofal, säger han till NRK.
    Planet deltog precis som vid Kebneolyckan i en vinterövning, Winter Express.
    Håkan Zerpe
    hakan.zerpe@kuriren.com

    UAV - På ville veier

    Drone crashes into Virginia bull run crowd


    A drone crashed into the grandstand at Virginia Motorsports Park during Saturday's Great Bull Run.
    An aerial drone, a pilotless aircraft of the type that has aroused intense public discussion in recent months, crashed Saturday into the stands at a public event in Virginia that has also aroused heated discourse.
    A drone crashed into the grandstand at Virginia Motorsports Park during the Great Bull Run, said Major W.B. Knott, of the Dinwiddie County sheriff’s office, reporting what might be described as the dramatic encounter between a controversial piece of hardware and a controversial spectacle.

    A drone of your very own

    A drone of your very own
    The technology is known mostly for air assaults, but you can get a personal flier online for $300 or less.
    Video
    When most Americans think of drones, they see military machines used to monitor and kill terrorists abroad. But more and more people are using them in ways you wouldn't expect. The Fold's Gabe Silverman introduces us to some of the engineers hoping to change your mind about drones.
    When most Americans think of drones, they see military machines used to monitor and kill terrorists abroad. But more and more people are using them in ways you wouldn't expect. The Fold's Gabe Silverman introduces us to some of the engineers hoping to change your mind about drones.
     
    Knott said he was told that four or five people suffered very minor injuries. They were treated by EMS personnel at the event, and none was taken to a hospital, Knott said.
    The bull run was billed as a daylong festival featuring bands, drinking, games and a tomato fight. The highlight was to be four scheduled bull runs in which participants were to try to elude or outrace 24 hefty specimens of male livestock.
    Animal rights organizations have contended that the event endangered both people and bovines.
    A Richmond area television station, WTVR-Channel 6, said the drone was being used to capture video of the event. An updated version of an earlier WTVR story said it was not clear who owned and operated the drone. The story said the drone was not being operated by the station nor was it recording video for WTVR-TV.
    In video posted on the station’s website, the drone was seen hovering above the stands. It appeared to be about four feet in diameter and reminiscent of a spider, with numerous appendages projecting from a central core. Then, it suddenly dipped and fell into the midst of about a dozen spectators. Others rushed toward the place where it came down. One picked it up and put it aside

    mandag 26. august 2013

    B787-9 - Hyggelige nyheter fra Boeing

    Monday, August 26, 2013

    Boeing Rolls Out First 787-9

    Woodrow Bellamy III
    Boeing has completed its first 787-9, as the company rolled the aircraft out of its Everett, Wash., production facility this weekend. 
     
     
    (Boeing's first 787-9. Photo, courtesy of Boeing.)
     
    The 787-9 is 20 feet longer than the 787-8 and carries 40 more passengers. It also has a range that is 300 nm farther than the 787-8. 
     
    The roll-out was one of few bright spots for Boeing's 787 program, following a four-month global grounding of the Dreamliner fleet earlier this year after a battery fire in January diverted an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight. After the grounding was lifted, a fire broke out on an Ethiopian Airlines 787 at Heathrow Airport, leading to a new airworthiness directive from FAA instructing operators to remove the aircraft's fixed emergency locator transmitter (ELT). 
     
    Boeing plans on flying the 787-9 for the first time later this summer. 
     
    Launch customer Air New Zealand is scheduled to take delivery of its first 787-9 in mid-2014.

    Helikopter - Curved Approaches

    Monday, August 26, 2013

    Government-Industry Program Works on Curved Rotorcraft Procedures

    The European Commission is overseeing a joint government-industry program aimed at developing new curved Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) procedures for helicopters using satellite-based augmentation systems (GNSS-SBAS).
    French consulting and engineering group Egis is leading a consortium consisting of Pildo Labs, CGX Aero and DSNA on the two-year Curved Applications for Rotorcraft Environmental (CARE) enhancement project. The CARE group's goal in designing and implementing the new IFR procedures is to improve rotorcraft navigation and enable helicopters to avoid "noise sensitive urban areas," according to a statement from Egis. 
    After defining the criteria for these satellite-based procedures, the CARE group will identify benefits and begin to promote the new procedures to airports and helicopter operators

    Nytt kystvaktfartøy under bygging

     
    Pressemelding, 26.08.2013
    Nr.: 69/2013

    Nytt topp moderne fartøy til Kystvakten

    Regjeringen vil styrke Kystvakten for fremtiden. Nordkapp-klassen skal fases ut og i 2016 skal det første nye topp moderne fartøyet erstatte KV Andenes.
    KV Andenes tilhører Nordkapp-klassen som har vært i trofast tjeneste i over 30 år. Fartøyene har vært godt tilpasset tjenesten de har gjennomført, men begynner nå å bli gamle. Derfor vil regjeringen som et ledd i Nordområdesatsingen gå inn for kjøp av nye topp moderne kystvaktfartøy for å erstatte denne fartøyklassen og begynner med et som skal erstatte KV Andenes.
    -Situasjonen i Nordområdene forandrer seg konstant. For å møte utfordringene som kommer må vi være best mulig rustet. Derfor har vi i regjeringen i statsbudsjettet bestemt at vi skal kjøpe et nytt helikopterbærende og isforsterket fartøy som er planlagt levert i 2016, sier forsvarsminister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen. 
    Det er ikke snakk om å kjøpe flere fartøyer, men å erstatte gamle med nye moderne og fremtidsrettede fartøyer.
    -Nordkapp-klassen var langt fremme teknologisk når den ble innført for over 30 år siden. Nå begynner levetiden å gå mot slutten, derfor må vi gjøre noe. Det nye fartøyet vil representere et kvantesprang innen teknologi sett i forhold til de gamle, sier statsråd Strøm-Erichsen. 
    Utfordringene i dag og de som kommer i fremtiden i nordområdene er store. Når trafikken gjennom Nordøstpassasjen etterhvert øker må Norge være beredt til å kunne ivareta norske interresser og områder.
    -Kystvakten møter krav og forventninger fra mange aktører som blant annet fiskeri- og havbruksnæringen og oljebransjen. Beredskap i forhold til miljøvern er også et krav som blir viktig i fremtiden. Det er derfor viktig at vi har fartøy som kan møte disse utfordringene. Vi må følge med og helst ligge i forkant teknologisk, sier forsvarsminister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen. 
    Planen er at det nye erstatningsfartøyet skal være på plass i 2016.

    Charter til Egypt stoppes ut året


    Den spente situasjonen i Egypt, gjør at UD fraråder reiser til landet. Nå innstiller de største reiseselskapene alle reiser ut året. Foto: Muhammad Hamed (Reuters)
                                   

    Alle Egypt-reiser innstilles ut året

    De største norske charterselskapene dropper alle reiser til Egypt ut året. Kundene får til bud om besøke andre feriemål i stedet.

    – Sånn situasjonen er i Egypt, og med det reiserådet Utenriksdepartementet har utstedt, har vi besluttet å innstille også vinterflygnignene til Egypt, sier informasjonssjef Elisabeth Larsen-Vonstett i Star Tour til NTB.
    Siden 15. august har UD frarådet alle reiser til Nord-Sinai og Kairo. I tillegg frarådes «alle ikke-nødvendige reiser» til det øvrige Egypt. Samme dag bestemte reiseselskapene Ving, Star Tour og Apollo å hente hjem sine ferierende kunder og avlyse resten av sommersesongen.
    Nå er det klart at også første del av vintersesongen, som skulle startet 15. oktober, blir innstilt.
    Les også: Politisk uro har gitt Spania turistrekord

    Kontakter alle

    – Vår første avgang til Egypt er foreløpig satt til 2. januar. I samråd med UD vil vi vurdere situasjonen utover høsten før vi tar en avgjørelse om hva vi skal gjøre på nyåret, sier Larsen-Vonstett.
    De som allerede har bestilt ferie til Egypt med Star Tour, vil bli kontaktet av selskapet med tilbud om en annen reise eller pengene tilbake. Det er snakk om rundt 300 personer.
    – Det er ikke flere enn at vi har kapasitet til å ringe alle, sier Larsen-Vonstett. Hun sier det har vært en merkbar nedgang i bestillinger til landet.
    Les også: EU vil revurdere forholdet til Egypt

    Flere innstiller

    – Selvfølgelig reiser man ikke sånn situasjonen er nå og med det reiserådet som kommer fra UD. Men mange ser nok også fremover og tar ikke sjansen på å bestille og så risikere å få ferien avlyst. Det er ikke lett å finne alternativer dersom for eksempel påskeferien går fløyten, sier Larsen-Vonstett
    Hun opplyser at også Ving og Apollo er med på avgjørelsen om midlertidig å fjerne Egypt fra reisemenyen. Også danske og finske turoperatører innstiller sine reiser til landet ut året.

    Southwest landingen - Uheldig utvikling mellom FAA og NTSB

    Friction Escalates in Air Crash Probe


    How convenient - A pedestrian crossing (kommentar Per Gram)

    By ANDY PASZTOR

    Friction between federal aviation regulators and crash investigators threatens to impede a probe into a Southwest Airlines Inc. landing accident last month in New York, according to the carrier's safety officials.

    The July 22 accident at LaGuardia Airport, which resulted in more than a handful of injuries but no fatalities, underscores growing tension between experts at the National Transportation Safety Board, responsible for uncovering the causes of accidents, and regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration interested in swiftly punishing pilots or bringing civil-enforcement actions against airlines in the wake of a crash.
    That inherent conflict is now exacerbated, according to industry and government-safety experts, by the growing importance of social media in disseminating air-safety information. As a result, many airline officials increasingly feel trapped between competing demands for ever faster releases of information, coming from passengers as well as different parts of the government and even their own top executives.

    Escalating public pressure for nearly instantaneous details about airliner incidents and accidents has shaken up the previously staid, traditional world of accident investigations. The safety board's leaders increasingly are turning to Twitter to rush out details of significant findings-sometimes before advising on-site investigators of impending messages.

    Those unconventional announcements in turn are prompting the FAA and industry players to speed up their internal investigations and responses.

    The LaGuardia situation "is a good example of the multitude of information requests that come into the airline" after a typical crash or major incident, according to Timothy Logan, Southwest's senior risk-management official. Even before investigators from the safety board had completed their preliminary inquiry, he said, regulators from a number of different offices within the FAA already were seeking some of the same information from the carrier.

    "I'm not sure it serves anybody's purpose," said Mr. Logan, because it wasn't coordinated properly and in any event, "the safety investigation should take precedence." FAA officials helping the NTSB on investigations are prohibited from working on potential enforcement cases.

    About a week after the LaGuardia accident, Mr. Logan told an international safety conference last week in Vancouver, British Columbia, one part of the agency asked Southwest for information related to the plane's "black boxes," or onboard data and voice recorders.

    "I haven't even seen it yet, how am I going to give it to you?" he recalled responding. The FAA is barred from using cockpit-voice recordings for enforcement.

    "We're in the middle" of the tussle, Mr. Logan told the conference, because there is "certain information we're told we can't provide" to the FAA.

    Calling the situation "very frustrating," he said "we need to get this worked out" to avoid broader delays and complications that could affect investigations of many other commercial-aviation accidents.

    "We have four different parts of the agency coming at us" at the same time, Mr. Logan told a handful of attendees at the conference after his prepared remarks.

    Pilot-union leaders at Southwest have privately expressed the same general complaints to the FAA, according to people familiar with the details.

    Ten of the 149 people aboard the Southwest Boeing 737 were injured when the plane landed on its front wheels at LaGuardia, causing the nose gear to collapse and substantially damaging other parts of the aircraft. The high-profile accident temporarily closed the busy runway.

    The captain of Southwest Flight 345, arriving from Nashville, took the unusual step of taking over the controls during the last 400 feet of the descent, and investigators are now trying to determine if she throttled back the engines prematurely. The plane switched to a nose-down position in the final four seconds of flight.

    The NTSB has said it found no airplane malfunctions that could have caused the botched landing, though investigators haven't yet disclosed their conclusions.

    The FAA said it is "supporting the NTSB and examining our areas of responsibility to determine if any near-term action is necessary to ensure safe operations," but a spokeswoman declined to elaborate. Also on Sunday, a Southwest spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics of the probe but said its quality hasn't been hurt.

    In an email response, an NTSB spokesman said the board relies on social media since many journalists use Twitter because "it is instantaneous and often meets their deadlines." The statement called it a valuable tool "to inform the media and the general public about the status of accident investigations."

    The Southwest probe highlights the dramatic procedural and attitude changes already embraced by Southwest's safety team in this new era.

    Dennis Post, the airline's senior accident investigator, told the same Vancouver conference that the prevalence of Twitter and videos taken by passengers using cellphones has drastically altered the way Southwest begins examining in-flight emergencies.

    "Our passengers are our first investigators," Mr. Post said, calling them "on-scene reporters" eager to share information about all types of events.

    Every day, he added, "we have teams pulling everything we can off social media" in order to create a novel warning system about unusual events throughout Southwest's nationwide network.

    In the event of a crash, Mr. Logan said aircraft makers and many other airlines resort to the same Internet-savvy tactics.

    But he worries that the resulting flurry of tweets and videos could end up confusing, rather than enlightening, most people.

    "The last thing we need is a [public relations] war in the midst of a significant event," he told accident investigators last week.

    UAV- Goose busting......

    Ottawa Employs Goose Buster UAS to Keep Beaches Clean

    Fed up with geese fouling the grass and water at its Petrie Island beaches, the City of Ottawa government is calling in UAS strikes. It’s proving amazingly effective, said Orléans Coun. Bob Monette. The place used to be haunted by as many as 140 geese, which can eat several pounds of grass in a day and poop out nearly as much in waste.
    “Now we’re down to anywhere from 15 to 20 on a daily basis,” Monette said. The weapon the city’s deployed is a “hexcopter,” a remote-controlled chopper with rotors that can hover, soar, circle and — most importantly — scoot along just above the ground, scaring the bejesus out of dozing geese. It’s operated by contractor Steve Wambolt, a former IT worker who launched his own business after one too many layoffs.
    “When he takes it out, they put their backs up straight and they’re watching,” Monette said. “When he starts it and it goes up off the ground, they sort of walk into a formation, and as soon as it starts moving, they all take off and they don’t come back until the next day.”
    Wambolt starts buzzing the geese at about 4 a.m. It also works on seagulls, though they’re a bit braver and have to be harassed almost constantly to keep them away. Both sorts of birds can be territorial and nasty to beachgoers. Their droppings also feed bacteria in the water, which can make swimming dangerous.
    The idea is to teach the geese that Petrie Island is an unpleasant place for them so they’ll eventually find a new place to hang out entirely, Wambolt said.
    “Now what our strategy is going forward is, instead of waiting for them to land on the beach and chase them off, we’re going to get there before they land. We’re hoping once they find the area inhospitable enough, they won’t come back,” he said. He has two employees and they also operate remote-controlled toy trucks on the ground, which are particularly good for keeping seagulls from landing.
    They work six hours a day on the beach, Wambolt said, but it’s spread out across many hours. They harass the birds for about three hours early in the morning, then retreat for maintenance and battery charging, and return for shorter periods later. Sometimes at 3 p.m., sometimes late at night. They’re still learning the birds’ habits and trying new ways to disrupt them.
    “This is changing each day because I’m only three weeks into a three-month contract,” Wambolt said. The hours are tough but it’s a lot of fun to spend all day piloting remote-controlled toys, he said. “I’m in perma-hobby mode.”
    Since Wambolt went to work at the end of July, Monette said, the east beach at Petrie Island the geese favoured hasn’t had to be closed once due to germy water.
    Wambolt’s usual business is in aerial photography. He met Monette, his own councillor, to pitch his photo services for surveying city properties, and the goose-frightening sideline came about when Monette had a brainwave and asked how low the hexcopter can fly.
    Geese have been a growing problem at Petrie Island. The long-term management plan for the area the city adopted in 2011 called them a pest species that’s “having an impact on the quality of the visitor experiences and is creating a potential health risk.” Because Petrie Island has sensitive wetlands, they’d need to be run off the beach as delicately as possible, the plan said, avoiding things like chemical repellents. Without recommending any particular thing, the plan talked about reducing the area’s yummy grass, planting other vegetation and building fences to make flying in and out harder, and exploring non-toxic chemical solutions like certain fertilizers whose smell really gets up their beaks.
    A couple of years ago the city started using a fish-based fertilizer on Petrie Island’s grass, one the geese didn’t like, but it didn’t take. “It seemed to work at the start but then it seemed like the geese got used to it,” Monette said.
    The contract lasts from July to the end of October and it’s costing the city $30,000, money Monette considers well spent if it makes a popular beach safer and more pleasant.
    The city spends about $75,000 a year on raptor assassins to keep the gull populations down at the Trail Road landfill, partly because those birds eat at the dump and then head to the Ottawa River to do some dumping of their own.