Tag Archives: C-130

588 Aircraft Insurance

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:25:20 — 39.1MB)

The recent rise in aircraft insurance premiums and how the increases can be mitigated, with AOPA’s Tom Haines. Also, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s NPRM for service animals on flights, Delta’s solution for transporting your pet in a luxury carrier, the Boeing 777X first flight, and vision-based flight control for General Aviation. Plus more on fuel dumping and some good airline stories from listeners.

Guest

Tom Haines

Tom Haines is Editor in Chief and Senior Vice President of Media, Communications, and Outreach for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). He manages a staff of 35 writers, editors, graphic artists, photographers, videographers, event planners, communications experts, and support personnel.

Tom has been reporting on increases in aircraft insurance premiums and how that’s impacting aircraft owners. These hull liability insurance premiums are growing despite a downward trend in the GA accident rate. The reasons are related to the global insurance industry which has been beset with wildfires, natural disasters, and accidents. We look at other factors contributing to the “hardening of the market,” including the severity of some accidents and the percentage of the fleet that is now composed of high-cost aircraft. Finally, Tom explains some ways GA pilots can mitigate the increased premiums.

Why insurance rates are increasing 10 to 100 percent

Tom also tells us about the AOPA regional fly-ins, which in 2020 will take place in Texas in May in conjunction with Go Wheels Up! Texas, Casper, Wyoming in June, and Rochester, New York in September.

As an update on some of the AOPA programs, Tom talks about the You Can Fly program that seeks to increase the pilot population, the STEM-based curriculum for high school students, efforts to increase the number of flying clubs, support for flight schools, and the Rusty Pilot program.

Tom earned his pilot certificate in his late teens and has logged more than 4,000 hours. He has a commercial pilot certificate with multiengine, instrument, and seaplane ratings, and holds type ratings in the Eclipse 500 and Cessna CJ business jets and has a second-in-command type rating in the North American B-25 Mitchell. He owns a Beech A36 Bonanza.

Tom oversees the publication of AOPA Pilot magazine, the world’s largest aviation magazine; Flight Training magazine, a magazine specifically for student pilots and flight instructors; the weekly AOPA ePilot electronic newsletter; the Flight Training edition of ePilot, AOPA Online; and the association’s video-on-demand channel, AOPA Live.

Tom is often sought out for his publishing and aviation expertise. He often speaks at regional and national publishing conferences and has appeared on news shows at NBC, CNN, and MSNBC. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Businessweek, and many other national publications.

Catch AOPA on their website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and AOPA Live on YouTube.

Aviation News

U.S. Department of Transportation Seeks Comment on Proposed Amendments to Regulation of Service Animals on Flights

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it is seeking public comment on proposed amendments to its Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation on the transportation of service animals by air. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Traveling by Air with Service Animals provides the public with 60 days to comment on the proposed changes.

See Traveling by Air with Service Animals Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and U.S. Department of Transportation Issues Final Statement of Enforcement Priorities Regarding Service Animals on Flights.

Delta will fly your pet in a GPS-tracked luxury carrier — for $850 per flight

Delta has entered into an exclusive partnership with CarePod and launched “a new standard of travel with a state-of-the-art pet travel carrier that provides real-time updates for customers.” The CarePod pet travel carrier features industrial strength insulated walls, multi-layered windows and doors with specially angled blinds, a hydration system, GPS tracking and monitoring, and an app to view your pet’s travel updates,

See the press release: An industry first: Delta launches innovative solution for pet travel.

Boeing 777X Completes First Flight

The Boeing 777X has finally started its flight test program, hopefully with certification in 2021. WH001 is the first of four flight test aircraft and the Boeing 777-9 completed a three-hour, 52-minute first flight over Washington state. The plane is powered by a pair of General Electric GE9X turbofans and features composite wings and folding wingtips.

Video: Boeing 777X – What’s the Difference?

Daedalean, Honeywell Develop Vision-based Flight Control for General Aviation and eVTOL

Zürich-based startup Daedalean and Honeywell have entered into a technological and financial partnership looking to develop a fully autonomous AI pilot for General Aviation and Urban Air Mobility (UAM). Press release: Daedalean and Honeywell collaborate on vision-based flight control for General Aviation and eVTOL [PDF].

Dumping Fuel

Reporter-at-large Launchpad Marzari talks about his personal experience on a jet that was forced to dump fuel.

Launchpad Marzari’s plane dumps fuel before returning to the airport.

Did The Delta Airlines Fuel Dump Possibly Prevent A Larger Disaster?

Video: Fuel DUMP over Los Angeles, WHY?!

Mentioned

The C-130 Large Air Tanker that crashed while fighting NSW fires — what we know about the plane

Coulson Aviation names three aerial firefighters who died in NSW tanker crash

565 Airshare COO Harry Mitchel

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:25:33 — 39.2MB)

Airshare chief operating officer Harry Mitchel talks about fractional jet ownership and aircraft management. Also, ADS-B equipage on the business jet fleet, C-130 groundings due to cracks, an airplane hacking security alert from the DHS, airport noise, and a Southwest Airlines program to create career paths for pilots.

Guest

Airshare chief operating officer Harry Mitchel.

Harry Mitchel is chief operating officer of Airshare, a large provider of fractional and aircraft management services. Airshare operates Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 aircraft in the fractional space, and also provides managed aircraft services where they maintain, crew, and schedule the owner’s aircraft.

As COO, Harry oversees all aircraft operations for the company, including flight operations, maintenance, scheduling, and managed aircraft. He has more than 35 years of experience in commercial and corporate aviation, including serving as vice president of operations for Colgan Air in Memphis, Tennessee.

Harry was also general manager of Funair Corporation, director of aviation for Magic Carpet Aviation (the aviation department of the NBA’s Orlando Magic), director of Pinnacle Airlines’ Corporate Education Center, and vice president of Aviation Compliance Services.

Holding a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Harry has more than 7,000 hours of experience as an ATP pilot in global operations.

Aviation News

U.S. Business Aircraft Fleet Equipped With ADS-B Rises To 77%

FAA regulation requires that starting Jan. 1 2020, aircraft must have ADS-B Out while flying in most controlled airspace. FlightAware reports that as of June 2019, 77% of the turbine-powered U.S. business aircraft are equipped with ADS-B

AMC Commander directs temporary removal of 123 C-130s from service

After atypical cracks were discovered during scheduled depot maintenance, the Air Mobility Command has grounded 123 of the 450 C-130 Hercules aircraft. Aircraft inspections have been ordered.

US issues hacking security alert for small planes

Associated Press reports that the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a security alert for small planes which warned that “modern flight systems are vulnerable to hacking if someone manages to gain physical access to the aircraft.” According to AP, cybersecurity firm Rapid7 looked at small aircraft and “found that an attacker could potentially disrupt electronic messages transmitted across a small plane’s network, for example by attaching a small device to its wiring, that would affect aircraft systems.”

Letter: Misleading readers about aviation security

But NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen writes that the AP story, “missed or mischaracterized some key points about small-airplane security.” He says the DHS notice applies to all aircraft, it’s not a GA notice. Also the story “misrepresented the nature of the potential security breach involved.”

See ICS-ALERT-19-211-01, CAN Bus Network Implementation in Avionics and CANaerospace from Stock Flight Systems.

Maine Voices: Issues with jetport noise are both exaggerated and avoidable

Some residents of Portland Maine have been complaining about the noise from the Portland International Jetport. United States Senator Susan Collins has even gotten herself involved. Our Main(e) man Micah stepped up and penned a letter that was published by the Portland Press Herald. In it he makes a number of points about airport noise, including the approach taken in the Salt Lake City area as related by listener Patrick.

Southwest Airlines Launches New Pilot Pathways Program

Southwest Airlines launched the Destination 225° career program to build career pathways for qualified pilots to become first officers. Program participants receive a Southwest mentor, attend training activities and events at Southwest, and ultimately have an opportunity to apply for a position as a Southwest First Officer.

Mentioned

Video: Sea Harrier SKI JUMP Explained

Royal Air Force Red Arrows North America Tour

Blue Angels photo by Stuart Galt.

548 Champaign Aviation Museum

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:47 — 42.5MB)

A look at the Champaign Aviation Museum including their restoration work, the volunteers working on the aircraft, and the role of aviation museums. Also, 737 safety cards, the Scaled Composites Model 401, flight attendant trip brokering, Wow Air, and the 2018 Collier Trophy winner. First-hand impressions of the 2019 SUN ‘n FUN Fly-in and Expo as well.

B-17 restoration at the Champagne Aviation Museum.

B-17 restoration at the Champaign Aviation Museum.

Guest

Aimée Brower works public affairs, donor relations, and education at the Champaign Aviation Museum in Urbana, Ohio.

The mission of the museum is “Touching lives by restoring history.” Their guiding principles include honoring our veterans and their families, educating the public about the experiences of past generations that flew in combat, and educating the public about aircraft construction and maintenance techniques. They focus on education and resources of the WWII era, and the museum seeks to restore and maintain aircraft in flying condition for public appreciation.

In fact, the Champaign Aviation Museum strives to build a reputation as a center of excellence for the restoration and maintenance of WWII era aircraft. The museum is located next to Grimes Field Airport (I74) in Urbana, Ohio, just west of Columbus.

In our conversation with Aimée, we look at the history of the museum’s B-17G project, the many volunteers engaged in the restoration, salvaging parts from five different B-17s, fabricating other parts, and adding to the workshop space.

Champaign Aviation Museum

Aviation News

Passengers on Southwest Airlines thought they were flying on a Boeing 737 Max after confusion about their onboard safety cards

Emergency procedures for the 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8 are the same, and both aircraft have the same safety card, and some passengers are confused.

‘Secret’ Airplane Stops At FBO

A Scaled Composites model 401 was spotted at a Bowling Green, Kentucky FBO. It stopped for fuel on its way to NAS Paxutent River from Mojave. See Scaled Composites reveals mysterious new ‘Model 401’ prototype.

Video: The “Son of Ares” – Scaled Composites’ Mysterious Model 401

UAL Warns Flight Attendants Against Illicit Trip Brokering

United Airlines has warned its flight attendants to stop brokering flights that they will work for compensation.

Budget airline Wow Air collapses and cancels all flights, stranding passengers

Wow Air has ceased operations and advises scheduled passengers to seek “rescue fares” from other airlines.

Auto GCAS Team Wins 2018 Collier Trophy

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has announced the recipient of the 2018 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS) team “successfully complet[ed] a rapid design, integration, and flight test of critical, lifesaving technology for the worldwide F-35 fleet.” Auto GCAS was developed by Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Air Force, the F-35 Joint Program Office, NASA, and the Defense Safety Oversight Council.

Video: Auto-GCAS Saves Unconscious F-16 Pilot—Declassified USAF Footage

David’s List

David’s list of U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps non-transport variants of the C-130:

ABCCC
Combat King
Combat King II
COMBAT SENT
Combat Shadow
Combat Solo
Combat Spear
Combat Talon I
Combat Talon II
Commando II
Commando Solo
Compass Call
Credible Sport
Dragon Spear
GHOSTRIDER
GUNSHIP ii
HARVEST HAWK
HC-130H CROWN Fulton
PAVE PRONTO
PAVE SPECTRE
SKIBIRD
SPECTRE
SPOOKY
STINGER II
SURPRISE PACKAGE
FAT ALBERT

Mentioned

Final Cut: The Post War B-17 Flying Fortress the Survivors

Three Stooges-Head Noises

Credit

Outtro by Bruno Misonne.

502 Electric and Solar Aircraft from Bye Aerospace

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:58:41 — 54.4MB)

Bye Aerospace founder George Bye tells us about his electric and solar aircraft projects, including the electric Sun Flyer training aircraft, the StratoAirNet, the Silent Falcon UAV, the TriFan 600, the Mars SOLESA, and the Starlight UAV. In the news, we look at the WC-130H crash in Georgia, breaking airplane windows, and companies developing supersonic transports. Also, an installment from student pilot Nicki, the history of Soviet airliners from Will, Tom Larkin’s mini-jet, the Mercury 13 documentary, the centennial of U.S. airmail service, and lip syncing while flying.

Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer Electric Aircraft

The Sun Flyer electric aircraft prototype. Courtesy Bye Aerospace.

Guest

George Bye is the founder and CEO of Bye Aerospace, which focuses on electric and solar aircraft projects, such as:

Sun Flyer electric training aircraft.
StratoAirNet family of solar-electric UAVs for medium and high altitude missions.
Silent Falcon UAV using stored electric power and thin film solar photovoltaics.
TriFan 600 hybrid-electric VTOL business aircraft in partnership with XTI Aircraft Company.
Mars SOLESA, a solar electric survey aircraft for Mars.
Starlight lighter than air solar electric UAV under a U.S. Navy contract.

George is an ATP rated pilot with over 4,000 flying hours. He was a USAF instructor pilot in the Northrop T-38 Talon at Sheppard AFB (ENJJPT), a C-141B Aircraft Commander, and he is a Desert Storm veteran.

Find Bye Aerospace on the web at ByeAerospace.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter at @ByeAerospaceInc. George has a personal webpage at GeorgeBye.com and he’s also on Facebook.

Sun Flyer’s First Flight Test Highlights- April 10, 2018

Test pilot, John Penney took the Bye Aerospace all-electric Sun Flyer proof of concept aircraft on its first test flight April 10, 2018, at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colorado.

Aviation News

Fallen Air Guardsmen honored in Puerto Rico following deadly crash in Savannah

The Puerto Rico Air National Guard unit lost nine airmen in the crash of a WC-130H Hercules cargo plane in Georgia, just after takeoff. The plane was on its final flight, to an air base in Arizona. A short video from the private memorial ceremony honoring the fallen crew was released.

Third flight in three weeks diverted because of damaged window

A JetBlue flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Tampa, Florida, was diverted to Fort Lauderdale after damage to the plane’s windscreen. A Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Newark, New Jersey, made an unplanned landing after a window cracked. A Southwest B737 experienced an uncontained engine failure which threw debris into a passenger window.

Aviation companies are plotting the return of supersonic flight — and they think their jets will be better than the Concorde

Several companies are working on supersonic aircraft:

Boom Supersonic is developing the 55-seat, XB-1 with delivery planned for 2023.
Spike Aerospace is developing the 18-seat S-512 jet, delivery in 2023.
Aerion Supersonic is working on the 12-seat AS2 jet for 2025 delivery.
Lockheed-Martin under NASA contract is planning a low boom experimental aircraft for late 2021.

Listener Recordings

Student pilot Nicki brings us installment #8 on learning to become a pilot.

Young listener Will presents his project on the history of Soviet airliners.

Interview

Airplane Geeks Reporter-at-Large Launchpad Marzari speaks with Tom Larkin from Mini-Jet Airshows.

Mini-Jet Airshows

Mentioned

#PaxEx Podcast 57, Airline content trends and new lav concepts revealed

Mercury 13 documentary on Netflix.

Emirates Is Parking an Airplane a Day Because It Doesn’t Have Enough Pilots

Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum and the College Park Aviation Museum.

The May 1, 2018 issue of the FlyerTalk email newsletter.

What Happens When You Mix Flying and Lip Sync? (Temper Traps – Sweet Disposition)

Credit

Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

AirplaneGeeks 385 Even More Intellectually Stimulating Than Useful

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:31 — 49.7MB)

James Fallows talks with us about aviation in China. Also, the NTSB Most Wanted List, A-10 retirement put on hold, the C-130 keeps on flying, a flight attendant meltdown, a new study about lasers pointed at pilots, and more on-demand flying.

James Fallows and his Cirrus SR22

Guest

James Fallows is an American writer and journalist. He has been a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly for many years, and his work has appeared in Slate, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker and The American Prospect, among others. He is a former editor of U.S. News & World Report, and as President Jimmy Carter’s chief speechwriter for two years, he was the youngest person ever to hold that job.

Jim has been a visiting professor at a number of universities in the U.S. and China. He is the author of ten books, including National Defense, for which he received the 1983 National Book Award, and China Airborne, which examines China’s plan to rival America as the world’s leading aerospace power. Jim is an instrument-rated pilot and owner of a Cirrus SR22.

In our conversation, Jim describes how China Airborne tells the larger story of China through the aviation lens. We talk about building the airport infrastructure and how that’s being funded, and issues for General Aviation in China, such as the shortage of airports, military control of the airspace, and training for controllers. Jim gives us his thoughts on the Comac C919 program and the state of business aviation in China.

Learn more about Jim’s work at JamesFallows.com and AmericanFutures.org. Mentioned were China: Fragile Superpower by Susan L. Shirk and How to Not Fly an Airplane by Shirley Phillips.

An “original Chinese design” at the Zhuhai airport. By James Fallows.

Refueling at Changsha airport.

James Fallows and wife Deb on their current see-America trip

News

The Next Big Aviation Safety Issues

Each year, the National Transportation Safety Board publishes its Most Wanted List. The NTSB covers all modes of transportation, but several aviation-related items made the list:

Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation
Reduce Fatigue-Related Accidents
Disconnect from Deadly Distractions
Require Medical Fitness for Duty
Expand Use of Recorders to Enhance Transportation Safety

US Air Force shelves Warthog plane retirement amid ISIS fight

For years, the U.S. Air Force has wanted to retire the A-10 Warthog ground attack airplane. That’s been met with congressional criticism, as well as cries from many A-10 enthusiasts. According to sources, the USAF will postpone mothballing the plane in its 2017 budget request to Congress in February.

A-10 by Paul Filmer

New Pentagon Contract Signals Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Airlifter Is Headed For 100 Years of Service

The C-130 might become the first military aircraft to see continuous service for 100 years. The first Hercules was delivered to the U.S. Air Force 60 years ago in 1956.

Did American Airlines handle erratic flight attendant correctly?

A 67-year old flight attendant who has been employed by American Airlines for more than 45 years, faces federal charges for some reportedly serious behaviour on a November flight between Charlotte and Frankfurt. These include “claims that she slapped co-workers, punched air marshals, even attempted to open the door of her jetliner as it taxied for takeoff in Germany.”

‘No Lasting Damage’ From Laser Attacks

A new study by researchers at the University of Calgary suggests that pilots struck by lasers do not suffer permanent eye damage. Momentary blindness or blurry vision, yes. Permanent damage, no. Dr. Michael Fielden, assistant clinical professor for the Cumming School of Medicine said, “Once their eyes settle down, they’re worried if there’s any permanent damage that could affect their ability to fly in the future. Fortunately we haven’t found any permanent damage.”

Airbus to Join Forces With Uber for On-Demand Helicopter Service, CEO Says

Personal transportation company Uber is expanding beyond vehicles to other modes of transportation. You can now order up on-demand rickshaws in India and boats in Turkey. Now Uber and Airbus Group are planning to launch a pilot program at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah using Airbus H125 and H130 helicopters.

The Airplane of the Week

You would never guess David’s favorite aircraft…

1911 Coolbaugh Curtiss Pusher replica. Photo by David Vanderhoof.

Listener Recording

Christopher Sims tells the story of how he commenced as an Avgeek.

Mentioned

Bradford Camps, the Igor Sikorsky Weekend Seminar.

Fulton surface-to-air recovery system

Porter Ranch stench could endanger aircraft: Federal Aviation Administration bans low-level flights over gas leak area

Provincial Aerospace

Pratt & Whitney B747SP by Paul Filmer.

Credit

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at brotherloverocks.com.

AirplaneGeeks 312 – Managing a Privately Owned Airport

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:28:59 — 40.8MB)

Running a privately owned/public use general aviation airport, flight instruction, FAA position on GA ride sharing, biometric technology at the airport, an airline passenger survey, the C-130, Exercise Black Pitch, and a HondaJet interview.

Guests

Shelly DeZevallos from West Houston Airport tells about running a general aviation airport. She grew up around the small, gravel strip airport where her father worked as a flight instructor. He bought the airport in the 1970’s, and now West Houston Airport is the family’s privately owned/public use airport with a dual taxiway, a 4000 foot runway. About 375 airplanes are based there.

Mike Camelin from SunState Aviation also joins in with Shelly to talk about flight training. The demand for pilots makes this a good time to get your license and we discuss paying for training, pacing the instruction, and what to look for in a flight school, such as maintenance of the aircraft, dedication of the flight instructors to your learning, and the professionalism of the entire staff, not just the CFIs.

The News

FAA Bans GA Ride Sharing Companies

Airpooler is a web-based system where private pilots with passenger space available on a planned flight, offer to take on passengers who only pay their pro-rata share of flight costs. The FAA has issued a legal interpretation against “peer-to-peer general aviation flight sharing.”

Biometric technology – the key enabler of a single passenger token and improved passenger tracking?

In early 2015 a biometric-based trial called “Happy Flow” could launch at Aruba Airport. A biometric scan at check-in would create a “passenger token” that would then be used at other checkpoints. No more boarding passes. This is a collaboration between Air France-KLM, the governments of Aruba and the Netherlands, and Aruba and Schiphol airports.

Survey: Nearly Two-thirds of Americans Do Not Have A Preferred Airline

The Street conducted a telephone survey with about 1,000 interviews, and 63% don’t have a preferred airline, while only 5% consider frequent flier miles important. What annoys Americans when traveling by airplane? 73% say high ticket prices.

HondaJet Interview

Rob Mark interviewed Andrew Broom, Division Director of Corporate Communications and marketing at HondaJet. Recorded at Airventure 2014.

David Vanderhoof’s Airplane of the Week

YC-130s formation

In Honour of the 60th anniversary of the aircraft that Kelly Johnson thought would, “destroy Lockheed,” David does a “Not a History Segment” on his all-time favorite aircraft: the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

“The First Lady” resides peacefully at Eglin Air Force Base. Fulton Recovery System video.

The Australia News Desk

Grant’s back from a week in Cairns covering Exercise Pitch Black 2014 which brought together combat aircraft from Australia, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Thanks to our contacts with the RAAF media department, Grant was airside at Darwin and Tindal RAAF bases getting photos and videos plus recording plenty of content for a future PCDU episode.

In amongst the many interviews Grant recorded, he spoke with Lt Col Scott Abogast, the detachment commander for the 12 US Air National Guard F16s.

Mentioned

American Association of Airport Executives

PaxEx Podcast Episode 16: Fierce Competition and Blind Recognition with Ryan Ghee, editor and event strategy manager at Future Travel Experience.

Credit

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Find his great music at brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 258 – MAFFS: Fighting Wildfires with the C-130

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (45.5MB)

Lt Col Bryan Allen is a MAFFS-qualified pilot with the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, Channel Islands Air National Guard Station. MAFFS is the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, the equipment that can be quickly inserted into a C-130 military cargo transport to turn it into an air tanker to fight wildfires. With a shrinking commercial aerial firefighting fleet, MAFFS provides the additional capacity often needed to protect life and property when a wildfire breaks out.

We talk about how MAFFS works, the C-130 aircraft utilized, and the different units that have MAFFS capability. The selection process for MAFFS qualification is very rigorous and we learn about the extensive training required.

The 146th Airlift Wing is on Twitter at @146AirliftWing and on Facebook. Be sure to also take a look at the MAFFS – Air Expeditionary Group 2013 Facebook page, and the MAFFS 4 Papoose Incident West Fork Complex Colorado video. Awesome flying by these guys!

United 737-800 with the split scimitar winglet

The week’s aviation news:

Bonus:

Scott Spangler brings us a pre-view of AirVenture 2013, including Janet the Gannet: World’s Only Flying Fairey Gannet T5 Landing at Oshkosh.

Republic XF-84H XF-84H Thunderscreech

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week is the The XF-84H Thunderscreech, the loudest aircraft ever built! Hear it on Youtube.

RAAF C-130J over Sydney_400

RAAF C-130J, A97-460, over Sydney Harbour last week. Photo courtesy of Nigel Pittaway

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Steve is feeling a tad below par this week after coming off eight years of night shift into early morning starts, and editing of this week’s segment was interrupted when his son, Chris, ended up in the local hospital after a basketball training accident. Despite all this fun, we managed to get a few stories out.

In the news –

Plans for a new large scale private airport in southern Queensland begin to take shape with both major airlines expressing interest in the project. Some of the local residents in the area are less impressed with claims that the local government has fast tracked the project with little scrutiny.

Airfield of dreams built for gas boom

Locals ‘left out’ over Wellcamp airport

The RAAF’s 37 Squadron last week celebrated their 70th anniversary in style with a two ship C-130J formation flight over Sydney. PCDU’s Kathy Mexted was along for the ride and interviews will be in the next PCDU episode.

An Australian team from the University of Queensland is heading to Norway to test out their latest scramjet design. The test flight, although short, is expected to reach speeds of up to mach 8.

Aussie Scramjet to unlock hypsersonic travel secrets

Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net.

Neil preparing for his first overnight adventure as PIC

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

This week on Across The Pond, Pieter welcomes back Neil Bradon, our adopted British pilot flying in the USA. Since we last talked to Neil he has literally ‘lived the dream’, flying to international airports and Air Force air bases. Now through relocating from Arizona to Oregon he tells us about the change in flying style and his forthcoming visit to the worlds largest air venture. Visit Neil’s adventure at his blog Flying Tin.

Mentioned:

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 225 – Social Marketing at American Airlines

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (45.5MB)

Guest Jon Bird is the Creative Manager for Social Media with American Airlines. We talk with Jon about how American Airlines came to establish a social presence, using it as a reputation management tool and as a “crisis management” tool, as opposed to a marketing tool. American employs an integrated model for both offense (the engagement side) and defense (customer relations issues). They use social media to talk to their customers, listen to their customers, and watch their customers talk among themselves about their American Airlines experiences. We discuss American “advocates” among their customers and how AA works to strike up relationships with them. Also, other American initiatives in the social media space for their customers.

American Airlines is active on Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. You can follow Jon on Twitter as @JonBird_video

The week’s aviation news:

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Convair R3Y Tradewind.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Steve talks about his RAAF C-130H ride over Sydney during the week and presents and interview with the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Tony Charles. Grant also got amongst the action at RAAF Base Richmond getting a tour of the control tower and a great view of the C-130H fleet practising for a big week of farewell flights. In other RAAF news, the Boeing Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft have achieved IOC, marking a major milestone in Australian Defence Force capability.

Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

On Across The Pond this week we talk to a new regional expert, this time from Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Oussama Salah has significant airline, corporate and consultancy experience and in the segment we look at the regions main airlines and airports. Like our other regional experts on ATP we will get regular updates from Oussama on key MENA aviation issues.

Find Oussama on Twitter as @obsalah, on his blog Oussama’s Take, and on Facebook.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mount Hood after departure from Portland International by David Salisbury

Mentions:

N867LA at Sportys by Ray

From the Mailbag:

Bob Iversen’s calculation of the amount by which the atmosphere would cool if the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme it was implemented:

According to Math! How much CO2 by weight in the atmosphere?, there is a total of ~ 3×10*12 (3 trillion) tonnes of CO2 in earth’s atmosphere. The EU ETS wanted to reduce aircraft emissions from a “baseline” of 2.19×10*8 (219 billion) tonnes of CO2 down to 2.08×10*8 tonnes by 2013 (Commission sets first emissions cap for aviation sector). Doubling the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases the global temperature by ~ 1.2C to 3C, depending on what model is used (The Discovery of Global Warming ). That’s a “sensitivity” of ~ 4 to 10×10*-13 C/tonne (0.4 to 1.0 pico C/tonne). The EU’s desired reduction of 1.05×10*7 tonnes would result in **Gasp** 4.2 to 10.5×10*-6 C (no more than 10 millionths of a deg. C) less warming!!!

Feel free to check the math. We didn’t!

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 175 – Bits and Pieces VIII

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This is another Bits and Pieces episode. Occasionally, we take holiday weekends off and instead of recording a new episode together, we each contribute a pre-recorded segment and put them all together into a complete episode.

Here’s what we have this time:

Benet Wilson, the new Director of Media Relations for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Benet talks about her new job and provides some information about the AOPA Air Safety Institute. Find her personal site at AviationQueen.com.

David Vanderhoof brings us three interviews from Northrop Grumman about UAVs from the PAX River show:

Walter Kreiter, Director BAMS UAS Business Development.

Tighe Parmenter, Business Development, Navy UCAS Program.

Dion Kolliopoulas on the Firescout.

The Across The Pond segment this week has Pieter looking at his aviation travels. What was his favourite aircraft to fly on, what was the best looking aeroplane that he had flown on, and where in the world is his favourite airport. He also describes the most unusual aircraft he has ever piloted. The full list of aircraft he has travelled on can be found on his blog Alpha Tango Papa.

In the Australia Desk report, Steve likes the current exchange rates, RAAF C-17 acquisition programme progresses, 4 ex-RAAF C130H aircraft gifted to Indonesia, 23 ex RAAF F111 airframes dumped in landfill in Queensland, Qantas CEO death threats investigation dropped by New South Wales police, Qantas social media blunder, Tiger Airways has best on time performance for 2011, Virgin Australia announces $68M loss, CASA announces review of UAV procedures.

Dan Webb brings us some airline news, including the slot swap between Delta and US Airways at Laguarda and Washington National airports, and some results (and speculation) on the recent FAA slot auction.

We received one listener v-mail on the recent tarmac delays at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. We’ve got that as well as a response from Rob.

Finally, for those who like the outtakes, we have quite a few: a little from this episode, a few from the AusDesk, and past outtakes from Pieter Johnson. We finish up with part of the episode 174 pre-show that gives you a little insight about what actually happens before the show starts.

Mentions:

Lynda Meeks, Girls With Wings.

Next week we’ll return to our usual format with the full complement of co-hosts and a great guest.

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

All post photos by David Vanderhoof.