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 - Politikk på alle nivåer over hele verden er i kaos. Voldsomme endringer kan finne sted på kort tid, som også kan få innvirkning på forsvarsdisposisjoner. Det må kommenteres.
Rush To ChinaChinese Airlines are Hiring More and
More Korean Pilots China was the destination for 84 out of the 90 pilots
who moved to other companies
According to The Minjoo Party lawmaker Hwang
Hee and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a total of 90 South
Korean pilots moved to other companies this year and China was the destination
for 84 out of the 90 pilots.
The ratio was 90% last year and 91% in 2015.
During the most recent five years, 330 South Korean pilots left their companies,
including 289 who headed to China.
South Korean pilots' rush to China
began in 2015. In 2013, only 24 changed their jobs, including 14 who landed in
China. In 2014, the numbers stood at 24 and 17, respectively. Then, Chinese
airlines began to attract South Korean pilots on a large scale.
"The
Chinese airline industry is showing a rapid growth these days along with the
lack of experienced pilots, which has resulted in more and more pilot
recruitment from South Korea," the lawmaker explained, adding, "The government
would be well advised to take measures with exactly the same thing occurring in
South Korea." He went on to say, "The government's plan for pilot training
focuses only on new pilots, but not only that but also measures for preventing
outflow are urgently required now."
Narrative: Air Europa
flight UX4050, operated by a Swiftair ATR 72-500, was involved in a stall
incident. During climb to FL170, the aircraft suffered a stall after
entering an icing zone. The crew recovered the stall and declared emergency. An
uneventful landing was carried out at Madrid Airport at 20:06 local
time.
Russian crew exits a Tupolev Tu-154 in the U.S. in July 2000. (Photo: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)
The U.S. and Russia have accused each other of violating terms of a longstanding Open Skies Treaty that allows participating nations to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over each other’s territories. The flare-up could lead to tightened restrictions on the flights, which were designed to ease tensions over military forces and activities. “We have long had concerns about Russia’s implementation of the Open Skies Treaty,” a U.S. State Department official said in a statement provided to AIN on September 27. “After repeated, unsuccessful attempts to engage Moscow diplomatically, we have elected to take some reasonable and comparable steps in response to Russia’s non-compliance.”
The official added: “We hope this will change Russia’s calculus and encourage Russia to engage with us about our concerns more constructively. We’re ready to reverse these measures at any time, should Russia come back into compliance with its Open Skies Treaty obligations.”
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on September 26, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. declared Russia in violation of the treaty in June. “We believe that on balance it would be best if the treaty continued to be in place,” Dunford said in response to questions from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas). “But we don’t believe the treaty should be in place if the Russians aren’t complying and so there is a decidedly aggressive diplomatic effort right now to bring the Russians back into compliance, which we think would be the best outcome.”
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement on September 26 saying the Trump administration had notified him of pending new restrictions to the treaty, which he applauded. “There is no good reason to allow the Russians to have nearly unfettered access to American airspace for intelligence collection,” Thornberry stated. “My colleagues and I repeatedly raised concerns with the Obama administration and no action was taken. I am encouraged to see President Trump take a tougher stand to defend our security.”
The U.S. signed the treaty in 1992 during the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Overseen by the Open Skies Consultative Commission in Vienna, the agreement entered into force in 2002 and now comprises 34 nations.
The U.S. Air Force uses a pair of Boeing OC-135B four-engine jets for the treaty-monitoring mission. Russia has used aircraft including the Tupolev Tu-154M-ON trijet, one of which overflew sites including the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Pentagon, Joint Base Andrews and President Donald Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey golf club in April with U.S. personnel aboard, according to media reports. Plans call for the Russian Air Force to replace the Tu-154 with the twin-engine Tu-214ON for the mission.
Responding to the anticipated U.S. action, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said his nation has “a number of counter-claims addressed to the United States,” regarding compliance with the treaty, the Russian news agency Tassreported. Russia expects the U.S. will impose restrictions on overflights beginning in January and will respond in kind, Ryabkov said, according to the report.
Army Confirms Black Hawk, Drone Collided Over New York City
The U.S. Army confirmed that one of its helicopters collided with a small drone in domestic airspace on September 21 in what the service described as the first such incident. The Army is now reviewing its procedures for missions like the security flight it provided for the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City, where the collision happened.
While flying over Staten Island at 500 feet at 7:30 p.m., an Army UH-60M Black Hawk assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division collided with what appeared to be a “civilian quadcopter,” said Lt. Col. Joe Buccino, public affairs officer for the division, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The collision caused “minor” visible damage to a main rotor blade and a window on the upper left-hand side of the helicopter, which landed safely at Linden Airport in New Jersey. Read More
Welcome to registration for Helitech International 2017
Helitech International brings together the global rotorcraft community and delivers solutions to inspire new ways of providing civil and parapublic services. The exhibition and conference offer exclusive knowledge-sharing platforms and valuable networking opportunities to develop new and existing business partnerships across the globe.
Taking place at ExCeL London from 3-5 October, Helitech International 2017 is a must-attend event for those working in the international rotorcraft community.
Volocopter takes test flight towards flying taxi service in Dubai
The Volocopter Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) staged a test flight for the world’s first self-flying taxi service, set to be introduced by Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA). The two-seater AAT is capable of transporting people without human intervention or a pilot.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, who witnessed the test flight, said: “After the remarkable success of the first driverless metro in the region, we are glad to witness today the test flight of the Autonomous Air Taxi. This is another testament to our commitment to driving positive change. We are constantly exploring opportunities to serve the community and advance the prosperity and happiness of society.”
He added that adopting advanced innovative technologies and applications that help to enhance services for the community is key to topping global competitiveness rankings.
“Encouraging innovation and adopting the latest technologies contribute not only to the country’s development but also build bridges into the future,” he said.
His Highness stressed the importance of the transportation sector, which he said is a vital driver of the development process and an indicator of the "level of advancement of the nation".
Unique features
HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, commented: “The Autonomous Air Taxi has a variety of unique features that include top security and safety standards, and multiple redundancies in all critical components such as propellers, motors, power source, electronics and flight controls. It is also fitted with optional emergency parachutes, nine independent battery systems, and a battery quick-charge and plug-in system, which takes two hours to reach full charge in the prototype version, a time that will be significantly reduced in the production version.”
The Volocopter AAT is powered by clean electricity and features low noise levels. Its current prototype version has a maximum flight time of approximately 30 minutes at a cruise speed of 50 km/h, and a maximum airspeed of 100 km/h.
All these features will evolve in the production vehicles. The AAT measures about two metres in height, and the diameter of the rotor rim, including propellers, is just over seven metres.
Volocopter CEO, Florian Reuter, is quoted as saying: “It already is capable of flying based on GPS tracks today, and we will implement full sense capability, also dealing with unknown obstacles on the way." He added that developers aim to initiate the taxis within five years.
Public transport: Driving change
The flying taxi service will be made available to the public through a smart mobility app. The app will allow customers to book flights, receive booking reference details and track the route of the taxi.
Over the next five years, the RTA will collaborate with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority to ensure that the operational requirements for implementing AAT services are put in place. These requirements include developing laws and policies governing certification of the aircraft and AAT operations at an Emirate and Federal level, defining aerial routes and corridors, designing and locating take-off and landing points, setting standards for official operators of AAT services in Dubai, identifying the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, and specifying security and safety standards for the AAT.
Al Tayer revealed that the RTA has appointed US-based JDA Aviation Company, an autonomous air-vehicle safety specialist, to oversee preparations for AAT flights and manage safety. The trial operations and the process of developing legislation for this type of vehicles will stretch across five years, during which comprehensive operational, security and safety measures will be put in place, noted Al Tayer.
HeliOffshore is advancing key projects that would have the most potential to improve safety in offshore helicopter operations. Its priority projects include enhanced obstacle avoidance through implementing HTAWS for the offshore fleet; improving system reliability and resilience to eliminate the main causes of safety-critical system failure; expanding a safety management program for helicopter operators; and collecting operational data to support the introduction of evidence-based training for helicopter flight crews.
And as the offshore industry faces significant economic challenges, HeliOffshore has held meetings with helicopter operators in this sector to ensure that there is no loss of focus on safety. “The energy companies see that they have a vested interest in supporting this work to save lives, and their support could prove to be a force multiplier,” the group said. In fact, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers’ safety committee has already signed a letter of intent supporting implementation of HTAWS across the offshore helicopter fleet.
In addition to the HTAWS implementation program, HeliOffshore is now starting work on a second phase of eye-tracking research, which aims to help pilots make better use of automation in the cockpit. The research will compare the results of an anonymous flight crew survey with simulator trials.
