Formålet med bloggen er å bidra til informasjon om luftfart av alle slag. Også litt om ubåter og forsvarsspørsmål. Nyheter vil du finne her også, en del på engelsk som er det mest brukte luftfartsspråket. Har du selv noe som bør komme ut, så send meg en mail til per.gram@hesbynett.no
Hawkesbury River seaplane crash: Six people killed after aircraft goes down near Cowan
Updated The journey from Cottage Point to Rose Bay would normally take 20 minutes.
Numerous rescue vessels, including NSW Police divers and NSW Ambulance helicopters, attended the scene.
Some debris has been retrieved but the plane remains 13 metres below water.
The crashed aircraft, a DHC-2 Beaver registration VH-NOO, was operated by Sydney Seaplanes.
A marine command centre has been established at Apple Tree Bay boat ramp near Bobbin Head in the Ku Ring Gai National Park, near Cowan.
Police will guard the wreckage overnight until investigators from the Australia Transport Safety Bureau arrive at the scene tomorrow morning.
Police are urging anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them.
Eyewitnesses said the aircraft turned sharply to the right shortly after taking off, before crashing.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the plane "sunk rapidly" after crashing into the river.
Police divers were flown to the scene, and all six bodies were recovered on Sunday evening.
"The sequence of events leading up to the accident are not yet understood," the ATSB said.
Jeg har tidligere nevnt tapet av en norsk AIS-B satellitt. her er forklaringen, og den er ganske skremmende. Ikke noe QA der i gården. Den minner meg dessverere om en helikopterulykke med tap av liv i Norge, da koordinatene satt ved TO var fra feil offshore platform. (Red.) Russia Says Programming Error Caused Failure of Satellite
Launch FILE - A Russian Soyuz rocket, center in the
background, carrying satellites stands on the launchpad at the new Vostochny
Cosmodrome near Uglegorsk, in eastern Siberia in the Amur region, Russia, April
27, 2016.
MOSCOW - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin
said Wednesday that the failed launch of a 2.6 billion-ruble ($44.95 million)
satellite last month was due to an embarrassing programming
error.
Russian space agency Roscosmos said last month that it had lost
contact with the newly launched weather satellite - the Meteor-M - after it
blasted off from Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome in the Far
East.
Eighteen smaller satellites belonging to scientific, research and
commercial companies from Russia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Japan,
Canada and Germany were on board the same rocket.
Speaking to Rossiya 24
state TV channel, Rogozin said the failure had been caused by human
error.
The rocket carrying the satellites had been programmed with the
wrong coordinates, he said, saying it had been given bearings for takeoff from a
different cosmodrome - Baikonur - which Moscow leases from
Kazakhstan.
"The rocket was really programmed as if it was taking off
from Baikonur," said Rogozin. "They didn't get the coordinates
right."
The Vostochny spaceport, laid out in the thick taiga forest of
the Amur region, is the first civilian rocket launch site in Russia.
In
April last year, after delays and massive costs overruns, Russia launched its
first rocket from Vostochny, a day after a technical glitch forced an
embarrassing postponement of the event in the presence of President Vladimir
Putin.
NZ pilots want tougher penalties for laser attacks Pilots want harsher penalties for those caught shining
lasers at aircraft as the number of laser attacks continues to
rise.
Civil Aviation Authority figures show that there were 155 reported
laser incidents to the end of November this year, up from 152 incidents in total
for 2016.
What may seem like a bit of innocuous fun can cause temporary
blindness and put small aircraft passengers at risk, is the message from the New
Zealand Air Line Pilot's Association.
"Lasers are not toys and pilots and
air traffic controllers have been very concerned that it would only be a matter
of time before a serious accident would result from such dangerous and
irresponsible use," NZALPA President and airline pilot Tim Robinson
said.
NZALPA is pushing for laser attacks to be considered an equivalent
offence to high jacking and bomb threats.
Laser perpetrators can face up
to three years in jail or a fine of $2000 if convicted of possession of a
high-power laser or up to 14 years in jail if convicted under the Crimes Act for
endangering transport.
Mr Robinson said pilots described the temporary
blindness and resulting headaches caused by laser pointers "as one of the most
terrifying things they've ever gone through".
Civil Aviation Authority
spokeswoman Philippa Lagan said temporary blindness was really dangerous,
especially for smaller aircraft and helicopters that only had one pilot
onboard.
"While people may think it's a fun thing to do the implications
are a massive concern."
Ms Lagan said they are working with police and
the pilot's association to raise awareness of the risks but were also
considering other options if the trend continued.
"If the number does
continue to go up, a possibility could be lobbying the government to get bans on
them," she said.
'AI's 28 pilots and 9 cabin crew skipped alcohol test in 2017'
(India)
As part of the safety regulations of Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), all pilots and cabin crew must undergo the
breath analyser (BA) test, before and after flights.
Twenty eight pilots
and nine cabin crew of Air India skipped the mandatory alcohol test this year,
the Centre informed parliament today.
As part of the safety regulations
of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), all pilots and cabin crew must
undergo the breath analyser (BA) test, before and after flights.
"As on
21.12.2017, 28 pilots and 9 cabin crew have skipped the BA test," Minister of
State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in response to a question in Lok
Sabha.
He said the license of these pilots and cabin crew were suspended
for three months.
Any crew member, who tests positive in the pre-flight
medical check or refuses to take a breath analyser test, is taken off flying
duty for at least four weeks, and the airline is required to initiate
disciplinary proceedings, according to civil aviation rules.
Air India
was also involved in a controversy earlier this year when the DGCA warned that
more than 500 of its pilots and crew could be grounded for skipping the alcohol
test.
Then Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal had written to the DGCA, requesting
it to take a lenient view as he said that the airline management had
misinterpreted the rules and had taken corrective measures.
Dette gjelder ikke bare IndiGo, men alle selskaper som har kjøpt fly med denne typen motorer. (Red.) India Grounds Hundreds of Airbus A-320 (NEO) flights Due to Technical
Snag The recurrent technical snag in Pratt & Whitney's engines
have dealt a crippling blow to India's largest low-cost carrier IndiGo's
business of late with almost eight hundred flights canceled since
June.
New Delhi (Sputnik) - India's largest low-cost carrier IndiGo had
to cancel hundreds of its flight on Friday as American aerospace manufacturer
Pratt & Whitney's (P&W) engines powering the Airbus A-320 (NEO)
encountered serious technical snags.
IndiGo has grounded at least eight
NEOs following consistent flaws in the engine; the last one was grounded on
Wednesday this week when engine number two of the aircraft NEO (VT-ITK)
failed.
"Our 8 Neos are grounded. Our schedule was planned in the month
of June itself pertaining to non-availability of these aircraft for the month of
July, August and September. The affected passengers have already been
accommodated with suitable options," an IndiGo spokesperson said.
The
delivery of A 320 Neo aircraft to Indian operators started in the first quarter
of 2016. Subsequently, operators started facing problem with the PW 1100G-JM
engine fitted on these aircraft due to wearing of bearing seal plate and
combustion chamber distress.
"Both Indigo and GoAir have confirmed that
these issues have impacted the delivery of aircraft. Further, national carrier
Air India has also experienced delay in deliveries of some A320 Neo aircraft
fitted with CFM Leap 1A26 engines by few days due to non-availability of engines
at Airbus facility," Jayant Sinha, India's Minister for Civil Aviation
said.
Meanwhile, Airbus has assured India's Directorate General of Civil
Aviation that it would soon address the combustion chamber distress problem.
"Regrettably, there have been days when we have had to ground as many as nine
A320 Neo (planes) due to lack of spare engines. While we do receive certain
compensation from Pratt & Whitney for these groundings, the operational
disruptions are quite challenging and we are not happy with that situation,"
Aditya Ghosh, IndiGo president, and whole-time director had said during the
post-Q1 earnings call on July 31.
Synd, men ikke overraskende. Et firma som synes å ha vært etablert som hevn mot Widerøe, mer enn et foretak med sunn økonomisk drift, er ikke liv laga. Widerøe trenger konkurranse. Prisene for å fly i våre nordligste egne er hårreisende. (Red.)
FlyViking innstiller driften
FlyViking har ikke tjent nok penger, og har hatt store tekniske problemer.
Her er det første flyet til FlyViking i en hangar i Canada, før det ble flydd til Nord-Norge og satt inn i trafikk. Nå innstiller flyselskapet driften.
Foto: FlyViking
Heine Richardsen har ledet FlyViking siden september. Nå avvikles selskapet.
Foto: Rune Nordgård Andreassen / NRK
– Hovedårsaken til at vi har tatt denne beslutningen er at det ikke er økonomisk forsvarlig å drive videre med det materiellet vi har i dag. Videre vil en styrt avvikling innen rimelig tid gjøre oss i stand til å innstille driften i FlyViking AS, samtidig som verken kunder, leverandører, ansatte eller innleid personell blir skadelidende, sier styreleder Ola Olsen ei pressemelding.
FlyViking vil forsøke å opprettholde ruta Ørland - Oslo - Ørland med innleid fly og personell fra andre flyselskaper.
– Vi beklager de ulempene dette vil medføre for kundene som har kjøpt billetter med selskapet etter den 12. januar. Samtlige kunder bes ta kontakt med selskapet, slik at de kan få refundert sine kjøp i henhold til salgsbetingelser og passasjerrettigheter, sier daglig leder Heine Richardsen.
Workhorse Group, whose concept for a “manned drone” attracted lots of attention last summer at EAA AirVenture, announced this week the SureFly aircraft will fly for the first time on Jan. 8, at the CES consumer technology show in Las Vegas. SureFly says its two-seat vehicle will be safer, easier to fly and more affordable than a conventional helicopter. It’s driven by eight contra-rotating propellers fixed to four propeller arms. It can carry a payload of 400 pounds up to 70 miles at about 75 MPH, the company said. Early models will be pilot-operated, but future models will be capable of autonomous flight. The company is working toward full certification of the vehicle by late 2019.
The design leverages the battery packs developed by Workhorse for its electric road vehicles, the company says. A gas combustion engine generates electricity, and a parallel battery pack provides a redundant backup power source, eliminating the need for long charging periods between flights, the company says. It’s controlled by a single joystick. Workhorse Group also said this week it is spinning off its aviation division, which includes the SureFly aircraft, into a separate publicly traded company named SureFly Inc. “SureFly has been one of the most exciting products we've ever developed,” said company CEO Steve Burns. “We believe the decision to spin off SureFly into a separate entity will better facilitate the long-term growth of both companies.”
EHang also recently flew a public demo if its one-seatdrone, flown by a remote operator. Clickherefor the video.
GE Aviation announced Thursday it had successfully test run its partially 3-D printed Advanced Turboprop engine, which is set to power the Textron Denali single turboprop. Details of the test were scant in the GE press release but “early indications show that we will meet or exceed all the performance numbers we have quoted for the engine,” said GE spokesman Brad Mottier. “We’re developing a real catalyst for the BGA market and we’re executing on plan. The integration of proven technologies has expedited the design, development and certification cycle of the engine.” The engine is a direct challenge to Pratt & Whitney Canada’s domination of the small-to-medium turboprop engine market and is scalable from 1,000 to 1,600 horsepower.
The engine was developed in concert with the Denali and by the time the new airframe, a direct challenge to the Pilatus PC-12 is ready the engine will have 2,000 test hours. Certification for both is planned for 2018. The engine was run at GE’s facility in Prague, Czech Republic. The engine is an outgrowth of GE’s purchase of the former Walter Aircraft Engines two years ago. GE has re-engineered the rugged and dependable design and introduced a lot of advanced manufacturing, including 3-D production of some main components that cut the parts count by more than 800. AVweb Editor-At-Large Paul Bertorelli had a look at the 3-D production of the engine in the following video.
Norsk skip skal lete etter passasjerflyet som forsvant
Nesten fire år etter at passasjerflyet fra Malaysia Airlines forsvant, blir det nå satt i gang et nytt søk. Søket skal gjennomføres med et norsk skip og med norsk teknologi.
NYTT SØK: Forskerne mener de vet hvor flyet 9M-MRO som fløy ruten MH370 natt til 8. mars 2014 er. Nå starter et nytt søk.
Foto: STRINGER / Reuters
Skipet Seabed Constructor eid av Swire Seabed i Bergen, er nå kommet frem til Durban i Sør-Afrika.
Der skal det ta inn forsyninger og nytt mannskap. Kursen settes så mot et punkt i det sørlige Indiahavet. Punktet er det mest sannsynlige stedet MH370 med 239 mennesker ombord styrtet natt til 8. mars 2014. Det opplyser (PDF) Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
NORSK SKIP PÅ VEI: Seabed Constructor med hjemmehavn Bergen kom fram til Durban i dag tidlig. Snart skal det ut i søkeområdet.
Foto: Ocean Infinity
Ny metode
Skipet skal bruke seks norske undervannsroboter bygd av Kongsberg Maritime i Horten. Disse skal samarbeide med roboter som holder seg på overflaten.
Folkene i Seabed Constructor vil koordinere denne svermen av roboter for å lete etter flyvraket.
Tre par med roboter vil bevege seg på hver side av skipet. Det melder Hydro International.
Systemet gjør det mulig å undersøke et stort område på kort tid, forklarer det amerikanske selskapet, Ocean Infinity, som skal lede søket.
AVANSERT ROBOT: Hugin-serien av undervannsroboter fra Kongsberg Maritime er utviklet for å kunne operere selvstendig på inntil seks kilometers dyp.
Foto: Kongsberg Maritime
It's getting a lot more lucrative to become a pilot Zack Tusing, 19, is working on his pilot's
license. He's hoping to get hired by an airline by the time he's
21.
Zack Tusing is training to be a pilot. One of his favorite
places to fly is a spot along the Hudson River, overlooking New York City. Sure,
he says, it's a little scary hovering next to skyscrapers and being suspended
over water in a one engine Cessna.
"Other than that, it's really cool,"
Tusing said. "Central Park is cool to see. Being right at the top of One World
Trade Center is cool. You can see Yankee Stadium."
Tusing is 19, and he
has been training to be a pilot since he was a toddler.
"When I was three
or four, my dad would hook up, I think it was a Microsoft Flight Simulator 1995,
on the computer, and I would just try to get the plane on the ground somewhere
without crashing," he said.
When he took his first actual flying lesson
at 13, the outlook for pilots wasn't great. It was 2011, and there had been a
decade of turmoil in the airline industry - with downturns after 9/11 and during
the recession. About 10,000 pilots were furloughed.
Entry-level pilot
salaries were about $22,000 a year on average, according to the aviation
advisory firm FAPA. Meanwhile, training could cost five times that, says Wendy
Beckman, who runs the aerospace department at Middle Tennessee State University.
"You heard stories of people on food stamps and living at home and
sleeping in crew lounges," Beckman said. Infinity Flight Group, a flight training school,
opened a few years ago with a three-plane fleet. Now it has 25 planes and it's
having trouble keeping up with demand.
Tusing didn't want to give
up his dream. In fall 2016, he enrolled in Penn State Abington's business
program, with plans to get his pilot's license after graduation.
But
there was a shift happening in the airline industry.
There's a mandatory
retirement age for pilots: 65. That time has come for a lot of them, says
Gregory John, who runs Infinity Flight Group, the pilot training school Tusing
attends.
"It's estimated [that in] the next 10 years, half of all pilots
will be retiring from major airlines," John said.
The big airlines, like
American and United, have hired more than 4,000 pilots this year - an eightfold
increase from just five years ago, according to FAPA.
A lot of those
pilots come from the regional airlines. That's left the regionals with a pilot
shortage. Last year, 35 percent of available pilot jobs at those airlines went
unfilled, according to the Regional Airline Association. The regional airlines
have had to up their game. They've more than doubled pilot starting pay, to
almost $50,000 a year on average, according to FAPA. Regional airlines are also
offering signing bonuses of up to $31,000, and they're helping to pay for flight
training.
"They'll help pay for some of your flight training," John said.
"They'll guarantee you a job."
Some are also relaxing their preference
for a college degree. So in January, Zack Tusing dropped out of college to train
as a pilot full time. Tusing has flown about 200 hours so far; he needs 1,500 to
get hired at a commercial airline. He says it'll probably cost him $80,000 all
told. But he sees a real future as a pilot.
Wanfeng Aviation Industry Buys Diamond Aircraft
Industries Ben Chen, the new chairman of Diamond Aircraft
Industies, welcomes Diamond employees to the Wanfeng Aviation
family.
Hangzhou, China-based Wanfeng Aviation Industry has
purchased Austria's Diamond Aircraft Industries. In late 2016, Wanfeng acquired
a 60-percent stake in Diamond's manufacturing operation in Canada as well as
rights to manufacture the seven-passenger DA62 twin and four-passenger DA40
single. The acquisition includes aero-diesel engine manufacturer Austro Engine.
AW139 global helicopter fleet reaches two million flight
hours The AW139 intermediate twin engine helicopter global
fleet has reached an outstanding milestone of two million flight hours, across
all operational scenarios on five continents, while performing a wide range of
missions with commercial, government and military operators. This accomplishment
was reached just three years after the achievement of the first million showing
impressive reliability, effectiveness, safety and supportability across a range
of missions.
AW139 helicopter in flightNearly 900 units of the AW139 are
today in service by more than 300 customers in 80 countries worldwide. Leonardo
Photo
With the AW139 fleet leader having exceeded 12,000 hours on a
single aircraft, nearly 900 units are today in service out of over 1000 on order
by more than 300 customers in 80 countries worldwide. The global reach of the
AW139, assembled in Philadelphia and Vergiate, has resulted in the type becoming
a benchmark as the best-selling helicopter in its weight category and the most
successful helicopter programme in the last 15 years. The type covers the widest
range of applications with high flexibility including SAR, EMS, law enforcement
and homeland security, patrol, firefighting, disaster relief, offshore
transport, VIP/Corporate transport, utility and military duties.
This
latest operational achievement is the combined result of the AW139's design,
quality, performance and market success as well as Company's capability in
supporting the worldwide fleet. The two million flight hour milestone was made
possible through the variety of Leonardo services and support packages and the
extended support network distributed in geographies around the world.
The
AW139 complies with the latest certification and safety standards, offering
outstanding overall performance with impressive power margin and one engine
inoperative capability and also with a certified 60+ MGB 'run dry' capability
which provides the highest standard in terms of safety.
Designed to allow
high versatility and customized solutions, the AW139 is available with more than
1000 certified equipment options. Among some of the latest innovative systems
available for the type are the LIPS and FIPS(Limited and Full Icing Protection
Systems, respectively), and the OPLS (Obstacle Proximity Lidar System) that
enhance mission capability and safety.
The AW139 has significantly grown
its capabilities in years. This includes a maximum take-off weight extension
(MTOW) to 7,000 kg for newly built and retrofitted aircraft, and as a result,
new Cat A offshore enhanced procedures, avionic suite releases delivering
ADSB-Out (automated dependent surveillance-broadcast), TCAS II (Traffic Alert
and Collision Avoidance System), RNP performance (Required Navigation
Performance), EGPWS update (Enhanced Ground Proximity System), Wide Area
Augmentation System/Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance, and many other
features.
Supportability has also been strengthened. A 30 percent
reduction in maintenance time has been achieved with a dedicated Service
Excellence initiative. Leonardo has established a Reliability Data Sharing Group
(RDSG) and has launched a Flight Crew Operations Manual (FCOM) as additional
services. Since its certification in 2004, approximately 5,300 pilots and 7,700
technicians have been trained with over 150,000 simulator hours logged to
date.
The AW139 helicopter is part of the family of new generation
helicopters produced by Leonardo that also includes the AW169 and AW189. These
models all possess the same high-performance flight characteristics and safety
features whilst sharing the same common cockpit concept and design philosophy.
This approach facilitates synergies for operators of these types in areas such
as training, maintenance and support. The AW139 design, success and experience
have been key to the development of these latest additions to the product range
and the family concept itself.
EgyptAir crew reacted wrongly to collision-avoidance orders (01JAN2017 -
Belgium) Belgian investigators have disclosed that the crew of
a climbing EgyptAir Airbus A300-600 freighter misunderstood an instruction to
level off from its collision-avoidance system before a serious airprox involving
an Air France A320.
The A300, flying east from Ostend to Cairo on airway
UL607, had been cleared to 21,000ft after take-off and was climbing at
2,500ft/min.
Belgium's Air Accident Investigation Unit says the A300 was
set to pass behind the northbound A320 which was flying on airway UN873 at the
higher level of 22,000ft. The controller instructed the A320 to diverge left
from the airway, towards a waypoint designated FERDI, to speed its
crossing.
Although the A300 crew had been advised about the A320, which
would cross from right to left above them, and had correctly read back
instructions to maintain 21,000ft, the freighter continued to climb.
Both
aircraft issued collision-avoidance advisories, with the A300 crew ordered to
level off, having not shown any "visible change" of vertical speed as the jets
approached.
Investigators state that the A300 crew later claimed to have
"understood a 'climb' instruction". The captain took control from the autopilot
and, instead of levelling the aircraft, increased its climb rate to
3,500ft/min.
The A320 crew obeyed a corresponding collision-avoidance
advistory to climb, and initiated a climb at 1,500ft/min.
As the A300
passed above its cleared level and reached 21,300ft, its colliison-avoidance
system started ordering the crew to descend. But the captain only reduced the
climb rate instead of commencing the required 1,500ft/min descent.
The
A300 had still been climbing when the A320 passed 1.2nm in front, and 522ft
above.
Investigators state that the aircraft were separated by 0.69nm
horizontally and 427ft vertically at their closest approach point.
"Both
aircraft cover this distance in 4s when flying at cruise speed," the inquiry
points out.
While investigators have yet to reach formal conclusions over
the 1 January incident, pan-European air navigation
organisation Eurocontrol has simulated the encounter to explore alternative
scenarios.
If the A300 crew had responded correctly to the 'level off'
order, the aircraft would have probably levelled between 20,700ft and 20,900ft
depending on the pilots' promptness. No advisory would have been issued to the
A320 crew.
But if the A300 had continued to climb as recorded during the
incident, and the A320 crew had not responded to their 'climb' order, the
vertical separation between the two jets would have halved to just 215ft at
their closest point of approach.
The pilot who flew the last combat mission of the Second World War died in Florida last week of lung cancer at the age of 93. Army Air Force Lt. Jerry Yellin was with another aircraft attacking Japanese air bases on Aug. 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito announced the unconditional surrender of Japan. Yellin’s wingman, a younger pilot named Lt. Philip Schlamberg, whom Yellin was mentoring, was shot down and killed. Yellin didn’t know the war had ended until he landed in Iwo Jima as the radio transmission telling forces to stand down didn’t reach him.
Yellin left the Army a short time later with a Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal and a serious case of post-traumatic stress disorder. He spent much of his life protesting war and trying to help fellow veterans who’d had trouble rejoining society after the war. In recent years he has been the national spokesman for the Spirit of ’45, a nonprofit organization that promotes the legacy of World War II veterans,
A group of 20 lawmakers led by Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) is urging leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to include funding in the final fiscal year 2018 defense spending package to buy new wings for the Air Force’s aging but heavily used A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air-support aircraft.
In a Dec. 15 letter, the group wrote that 110 A-10s, or more than a third of the fleet, will have to be grounded if they do not receive new wings, creating a “significant capability gap.” Those groundings could begin in 2018, as the old wings reach the end of their service lives.
The A-10 Warthog. Photo: Air Force.
The letter said the A-10, also known as the Warthog, remains a vital weapon against current and potential adversaries. In the fight against the Islamic State, for example, the A-10 has dropped about a fifth of all munitions, more than any other aircraft.
While the FY 2018 defense authorization act and the House-passed FY 2018 defense appropriations bill both contain provisions that would allow the Air Force to restart wing production, the Senate appropriations bill does not. Congress has not yet determined how or when it will produce a final version of the appropriations bill.
The letter is addressed to Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) and Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. It is copied to House and Senate leaders.
Besides McSally, the letter is signed by 17 House members and two senators. McSally is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a former A-10 pilot.
The A-10 fleet consists of 283 aircraft, of which 173 have already received new wings. When the Air Force was considering retiring the fleet, the wing production contract expired, leaving 110 aircraft without new wings, the letter said. But the Air Force now intends to keep flying the Warthog.
"Now that the Air Force has confirmed that it plans to maintain the A-10 fleet well into the foreseeable future, the remaining 110 wing sets must be delivered as soon as possible," the letter said.
The A-10 was built by Fairchild Republic, now part of Northrop Grumman [NOC].
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
Narrative: The military helicopter impacted the ground during a training mission for unknown reasons in Musannah Air Base. The navigator died, two pilots suffered minor injures. NHIndustries NH90's are based on the Musannah Air Base, so its possible that the helicopter took off from there.
USAF Could Start Re-engining First Two B-52s By 2022
Dec 21, 2017James Drew|Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
The U.S. Air Force has been studying engine replacement options for the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress since 1971, but the concept of upgrading 1960s-vintage bombers with new engines has never really taken off until recently because of Russia's and China's resurgence: U.S. Air Force
The U.S. Air Force says theBoeingB-52H bomber’s 1960s-vintage Pratt & Whitney TF33-103 engine is “not sustainable past 2030” and must be replaced to keep the Stratofortress flying for another two decades, and the first two test aircraft could start undergoing modification by fiscal 2022.
Seventy-six of the Strangelovian Cold War bombers remain in the service’s arsenal and the fleet has been tapped to carry the new nuclear Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile.
To keep the colossal aircraft flying beyond 2050 and meet the high power demands for next-generation weapons, a fire control radar and other electrical systems, the Air Force wants an eight-for-eight swap of the original TF33 with a similarly sized, but far more efficient, commercial replacement.
The service is specifically targeting a 20-40% improvement in fuel consumption compared to the TF33 and enough power-generation capacity to support a peak electrical load of 400-500 kVA. The old bomber will require substantial modification, including a new power architecture and full authority digital engine controls. But the service still wants to minimize any impact to the airframe and onboard systems, while maintaining the gross takeoff weight of 488,000 lb.
These and other details were provided to potential engine manufacturers and prime integrators at an industry event Dec. 12-13, 2017, at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.
“The B-52 has a long past and a long future (2050+), but the TF33 is not sustainable past 2030 due to age, obsolescence and diminishing manufacturing sources,” the government says in an industry day slide presentation released Dec. 15.
The document notes that the Air Force is considering the potential purchase of 650 engines, enough to upgrade 76 aircraft, with another 42 units kept as spares. The service will seek 20 engines initially to modify the first two bombers for testing.
To avoid the expense of completely recertifying the aircraft and all of its weapons, aerodynamic changes must be minimized at all costs. The aircraft’s center of gravity also must remain unchanged.
The program plan remains in flux, but seed funding to get started has been provided in the Air Force’s budget for fiscal 2018. There likely will be multiple contracts for preliminary designs and studies, followed by single awards to prime contractors for integration and engine manufacturers for engineering and manufacturing development, and production and deployment.
The service has for the first time released a draft or “notional” acquisition schedule. Depending on which course of action the government decides to take, it will likely select one contractor for the engine and one for aircraft integration, with downselects for both anticipated by mid-2020.
Following an extensive development and testing period with the first two modified aircraft, engine upgrades for the first 10 operational aircraft could start in fiscal 2026, followed by full-rate production for the remaining 64 through fiscal 2028-34. If initiated, this would be the most extensive upgrade in the bomber’s storied history.
The Air Force has been studying engine upgrades for the B-52G/H-series Stratofortress since 1971, starting with “Project Seek Four,” which would have swapped eight TF33s for four larger turbofan engines.
There have been no fewer than nine studies and proposals since then, with interest picking up in the late-1990s and mid-2000s. So far, theDefense Departmenthas nothing to show for its efforts except reams of paper. But with the return to larger-power competition from Russia and China and the planned introduction of the LRSO cruise missile, the Air Force appears to be getting serious.
The leading candidates are Rolls-Royce’s 16,000 lb.-thrust BR725 andGEAviation’s 18,000-lb.-thrustCF34-10. Pratt & Whitney has previously offered upgrades.
Japan aiming to counter expected pilot shortages around
2030 The Japanese government, airlines and academia are
trying to boost the pool of future pilots to cope with expected manpower
shortages that could cut flight services.
Concern is growing as the large
number of pilots now in their late 40s, who were recruited during Japan's
asset-inflated bubble economy in the late 1980s and early 1990s and make up a
big portion of working pilots, will be retiring around 2030.
As highly
specialized pilots cannot be trained immediately, the country is trying to
secure more personnel by boosting the quota of training schools and setting up a
loan scheme for students eager to become pilots.
As part of such
measures, ANA Holdings Inc., the parent of ALL Nippon Airways Co., offered a
lesson at an elementary school in Tokyo in October with a pilot, cabin
attendants and maintenance engineers introducing their professions.
The
company plans to hold similar classes in all of Japan's 47 prefectures by
2020.
Japan Airlines Co., in collaboration with the University of Tokyo,
has also organized a seminar for junior high and high school students in which
the movements of aircraft wings are simulated by computer.
"We want
(students) to develop a wide interest" in the aviation industry, an official in
charge of the program said.
The airline industry, which has seen
increasing demand, could face serious personnel shortages in Japan when pilots
in their late 40s retire. For midsize or low-cost carriers that cannot train
pilots themselves, labor shortages are particularly serious.
Airdo Co., a
carrier based in Hokkaido, was forced to cancel flights and close some routes
from November this year due to a lack of captains following their
retirement.
About 300 people are recruited each year as potential pilots
by domestic airlines but to cope with future labor shortages the number needs to
be raised to 400 around 2030, experts say.
To cope with the situation,
Civil Aviation College, set up in southwestern Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture by
the state, plans to boost its student quota by 1.5 times to 108 in the next
academic year from April, while Kogakuin University in Tokyo will establish an
aviation major to train pilots.
As tuition fees at pilot training schools
could exceed 20 million yen ($176,000), a student loan program offering up to 5
million yen will also begin in the next academic year for students at six
private institutions. Part of the loan guarantee fees will be covered by JAL and
ANA.
The government is also tapping the older generation who have worked
as pilots. In 2015, Japan raised the age limit at which a pilot can continue to
work after official retirement at 60, the current age set by JAL and ANA, from
64 to 67.
An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism said, "It is vital to support the whole (industry) by taking
measures in various fields."
Bid to entice Air Malta pilots with tax-free option on part of their
salaries Stalemate in talks as end-of-year deadline looms over
Air Malta
The government is considering offering Air Malta pilots a
tax-free option on part of their salaries, based on flying hours, in an attempt
to break the deadlock in negotiations over a new five-year collective agreement,
informed sources have said.
Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi had set an
end-of-year deadline for concluding the talks. "Dr Mizzi's self-imposed deadline
is fast approaching, and it is by now clear that the pilots will not accept
what's on the table," a government source said.
"As a last-ditch attempt,
the minister is now trying to lure pilots with an unprecedented offer which, if
given, would most probably get Malta in trouble with the EU, because it would
amount to state aid."
The Sunday Times of Malta was informed that the
government, on Dr Mizzi's orders, is studying the possibility of waiving income
tax on part of the pilots' salaries, with the amount to be based on the number
of flying hours.
The source said Dr Mizzi was basing his argument on the
fact that most flying hours are performed in international skies and are
therefore not taxable in Malta.
However, Dr Mizzi has already been
warned, by Brussels and the Finance Ministry, that the proposal should be
dropped, according to the source.
"From the EU's point of view, this will
surely amount to State aid - something that would land Air Malta in trouble.
Secondly, the argument that pilots are working in international territory does
not make any sense, as according to international law, an Air Malta plane is
considered part of Maltese territory," the source said.
"Third, the
measure would create a precedent, as the cabin crew, who are in exactly the same
situation as cockpit staff, would be up in arms claiming discriminatory
treatment."
The pilots' union, ALPA, is the only one of the four Air
Malta unions which has not yet concluded negotiations on a new collective
agreement.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last week tried to give a helping
hand to Dr Mizzi by warning pilots that if they did not accept what was on offer
by the end of the year they would be putting the national airline in
jeopardy.
However, their union is known to be pushing for a better offer.
They have been offered a 20 per cent pay increase over the next five years but
are arguing that this is not enough, as their flying hours are set to
increase.
"The 20 per cent increase is only on paper, as we will be
working much more to earn it. Also, conditions will be changing drastically, and
this needs to be compensated fairly," a veteran pilot said. Despite earning an
average of €120,000 a year, pilots argue that compared to pilots of other
airlines they are underpaid.
"Unlike other Air Malta staff, pilots have
always managed to get whatever they wanted, as they negotiate from a strong
position," an industry source said.
"While it is easier to replace cabin
crew and other staff, it's not easy to replace pilots in a short time."
A
spokesman for Dr Mizzi declined to comment on the state of negotiations with the
pilots.
This morning, on twitter, Dr Mizzi described this report as 'a
fabrication saying the government is not considering tax free salaries for
pilots.
The airline currently employs 115 pilots.
Dr Mizzi has
told Air Malta staff that banks will not provide the much-needed credit lines to
the airline if the collective agreements are not wrapped up by the end of this
year.
Air Malta closed the last financial year, ending in March 2017,
with a loss of more than €13 million. Two years earlier, then Tourism Minister
Edward Zammit Lewis and then Air Malta chairman Maria Micallef promised that the
airline would break even during the same timeline.
Dr Mizzi is now
promising that the airline will break even by March 2018.
Helijet receives heaviest aviation fines from Transport
Canada in BC Richmond-based Helijet has received the heaviest fines
from Transport Canada so far this year for aviation violations in B.C., a review
of federal enforcement files by Postmedia News reveals.
Helijet was fined
a total of $26,250 on six counts over four separate days for failure to operate
an aircraft "in accordance with the operating limitations set out in the
aircraft flight manual."
The federal department had raised concerns about
the model of aircraft used by Helijet doing night flights onto so-called H1
category hospital helipads - those in dense urban areas - and the need for more
windows so that if one engine fails, pilots would have an unobstructed view for
an emergency landing.
Rick Hill, Helijet's vice-president of commercial
and business programs, said in response to the fines that the issue stemmed from
a Transport Canada inspection in March 2016 that resulted in Helijet voluntarily
suspending its Sikorsky 76C+ air-medical helicopters from landing at up to seven
hospital helipads in or near urban areas.
"A Transport Canada routine
inspection determined that Helijet's S76 Sikorsky helicopters used for
air-medical operations were not technically compliant with Transport Canada's
criteria for landing at H1 class heliports," Hill said.
The issue related
to an "impasse over documentation compliance concerning interpretation of the
Sikorsky S-76C+ flight manual," he said. While the issue was under review,
Helijet curtailed certain air-ambulance flights, and found alternative "safe and
effective means to transport patients in need of urgent medical care," he
said.
Eventually, a new technical document referred to as a Supplemental
Type Certificate was approved by Transport Canada and added to the S76C+
helicopter flight manual, which permitted resumption of landings at all
previously restricted ground and elevated H1 designated hospital heliports in
December 2016, Hill said.
Earlier this month, a federal Transportation
Safety Board report determined that flying under night visual flight rules (VFR)
without adequate visual reference to the ground, along with a lack of crew
coordination and ineffective standard operating procedures, led to a Helijet
Sikorsky S76 helicopter nearly colliding with terrain in Tofino in November
2015. Following the incident, Helijet increased employee training and developed
a risk management plan for night VFR operations. The company will provide
night-vision goggles to flight crews, the report added. The Tofino/Long Beach
Airport installed infrastructure and was night-certified in January
2017.
Other aviation companies fined by Transport Canada in B.C. this
year through October include:
* Helipsair Inc., a Quebec-based flight
training and commercial helicopter company, fined $3,750 for a helicopter
takeoff/approach/landing within a built-up area of a city or town.
*
Canadian Institute of Aviation Technology of Kelowna, $3,750, for failing to
record, at the required time, the required particulars in the aircraft journey
log.
* A numbered company, 1590877 Alberta Inc., a total of $15,000 for
three counts: operating an aircraft not properly registered, permitting an
aircraft to takeoff when it did not meet airworthiness directives requirements,
and permitting an aircraft to takeoff when it had not been properly
maintained.
* Northern Thunderbird Air Inc., based in Prince George, a
total of $15,000, for three counts of permitting an aircraft to takeoff where
the required equipment failed to meet airworthiness standards.
* Heiltsuk
Economic Development Corporation of Bella Bella, a total of $8,750, for two
counts, failing to establish and maintain a Safety Management System and failing
to submit an airport wildlife plan.
A separate review by Postmedia News
of Transport Canada files on reportable aviation incidents for 2017 showed
several involving Helijet Sikorsky helicopters, largely typical of the range of
events that aircraft encounter every year.
* Nov. 22: During a flight
from Vancouver harbour to Victoria International Airport, the crew declared an
emergency due to concerns with the tail rotor. After a safe landing, an
inspection revealed a malfunction with the autopilot computer.
* Oct.
10: During a flight from Vancouver harbour to Victoria harbour, the crew
declared an emergency after observing a number-one engine fire-warning light.
The crew activated the fire extinguisher and the warning light went out. A
subsequent inspection revealed a false warning caused by moisture on the fire
detector amplifier cannon plug.
* Sept. 6: The GPS stopped working during
a flight from Masset to Sandspit in poor weather. Unable to ascertain the exact
geographic position, the pilot climbed to obtain a visual reference with the
terrain. A Mayday was declared and radar vectors provided and the pilot flew
towards Sandspit, regaining a visual reference near Queen Charlotte City before
landing at Sandspit. "The operator reported that the GPS antenna was not
connected properly."
* July 2: On a local flight from Sandspit, the crew
"reported a float plane 100 feet overhead," believed to be an Inland Air
Charters de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.
* April 28: The crew descended and
"altered heading toward the south in order to avoid a collision" with a Canadian
Forces Lockhead C-130 near Bowen Island flying at the same altitude.
*
Feb. 6: Shortly after takeoff from Vancouver harbour, the helicopter struck a
bird on one of the main rotor tip caps and the crew returned for landing.
* Jan. 9: A bird struck the main rotor during a medevac flight from
Vancouver harbour to Sechelt. An emergency was declared and the aircraft landed
safely at Vancouver International Airport with firefighting crews standing by.
Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation C-54
flying over Manteo NC, recreating the candy drop made famous by Colonel Gail
Halvorsen during the Berlin Airlift.
Transport Canada suspends West Wind Aviation's Air Operator Certificate
over safety issues
23 December 2017
West Wind Aviation ATR 42 following the Dec. 13, 2017 accident at
Fond-du-Lac, Canada (TSB)
Transport Canada suspended West Wind Aviation's Air Operator Certificate on
December 22, which prohibits the company from providing commercial air
services.
The department took this serious action in the interest of public safety
because the department identified deficiencies in the company's Operational
Control System. An Operational Control System ensures that a company's
day-to-day actions are compliant with safety requirements for things such as,
for example, the dispatching of personnel and aircraft.
On December 13, 2017, a West Wind Aviation aircraft, with 25 people
onboard, crashed in Fond-du-Lac, Saskatchewan. Transport Canada identified
deficiencies during a post-accident inspection of West Wind Aviation from
December 18 to 20, 2017. As a result, in the interest of public safety,
Transport Canada suspended West Wind Aviation's Air Operator Certificate and
will not allow the company to resume its commercial air service until it
demonstrates compliance with aviation safety regulations.
Buenos Aires-Jorge Newbery Airport, BA (AEP/SABE) - Argentina
Phase:
Approach
Nature:
International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:
Santiago-Arturo Merino Benitez Airport (SCL/SCEL)
Destination airport:
Buenos Aires-Jorge Newbery Airport, BA
(AEP/SABE)
Narrative: Aerolineas
Argentinas flight AR1283 reportedly suffered a drone strike while approaching
Buenos Aires-Jorge Newbery Airport, Argentina. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800
(LV-FQZ), operated on a scheduled service from Santiago, Chile. It was
approaching runway 13 at the time of the occurrence. An Argentine aviation
blog, desdeelpatioblog.com, stated that the aircraft struck a drone. Photos of
fan blades, supposedly of LV-FQZ, show damage to the tips of several
blades. The incident has not yet been confirmed by
authorities.
Weather about the time of the approach (1410Z): SABE
221400Z 36008KT 9999 FEW045TCU 29/23 Q1007
On November 11, 2017, another
Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 737-800 hit a drone according to authorities. In
that case, the drone impacted the forward side of the fuselage.
(Red.:) Ikke noe særlig å skryte av at en kopierer gamle japanske ShinMaywa og blåser den bare litt opp. Her det orginalen:
Den kan fly så sakte at den har dipping sonar.
Allikevel er det verdt å ta av seg hatten for 2. verdenskrigs Martin Mars som flyr enda i brannslukkingsrollen, mest i Canada. Riktig nok ikke amfibium, men allikevel...... Opereres av Coulson Flying Tankers. Den har lengde på 34m og et vingespenn på 61m. MTOW er 74 843kg.: Sjekk video her: https://tinyurl.com/y8z5e4rr
Her er verdens største amfibiefly
Det har egenskapene til både en båt og et fly, og kan lande langt til sjøs – i tillegg til rullebaner på land. Flere spør også om det kan bli Kinas nye våpen i kampen om makten i Sør-Kinahavet.
Til jubel og applaus fra skuelystne kinesere, lettet flyet fra rullebanen for aller første gang på julaften.
Flyet AG600 er omtrent på størrelse med passasjerflyet Boeing 737: Det kan ta av med en vekt på opp til 53,5 tonn, og har et vingespenn på nesten 40 meter.
Flyet vil bli det største amfibieflyet som bygges på flyfabrikker i dag.
FIKK SIN FØRSTE FLYTUR: Kinesernes nye amfibiefly AG600 var på vingene for første gang i dag.
Foto: CHINA STRINGER NETWORK / Reuters
Søndagens jomfrutur ble gjennomført i løpet av én time, fra flyplassen i byen Zhuhai i Guangdong-provinsen sør i Kina. Da flyet var trygt nede på bakken igjen, ble det møtt med en æreshilsen på rullebanen: to brannbiler som skjøt vann i en stor bue over flyet.
Seansen ble sendt på statlig, kinesisk TV, noe som viser hvor stor prestisje kinesiske myndigheter legger i prosjektet.
GODT DOKUMENTERT FLYTUR: Lanseringen av flyet er viktig for kinesiske myndigheter, og bilder som dette ble vist frem på kinesisk TV.
Foto: AFP PHOTO / AFP
The letter said the A-10, also known as the Warthog, remains a vital weapon against current and potential adversaries. In the fight against the Islamic State, for example, the A-10 has dropped about a fifth of all munitions, more than any other aircraft.
Oman 
