Airplane Geeks - Episode 185 - Richard Aboulafia Returns [ 1:30:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5615)

Richard Aboulafia, Vice President, Analysis from Teal Group joins the Geeks to talk aviation. Benet Wilson, Director of Media Relations for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, is back as guest co-host.

We talk about the A380 and B787, program breakeven vs. recurrent breakeven, lessons the airframers can apply to the 737MAX and A320neo, and why the A380 doesn’t have swimming pools, bowling alleys, and fast food restraunts. Richard opines on the poor state of the business jet market and the impact on Wichita. We talk about the Chinese aviation market and why Richard isn’t worried about the Comac 919. Shades of the IPTN N-250! Richard also talks about what Bombardier needs to do to gouge out CSeries market share. We touch on the EU Carbon Trading Scheme, the American Airlines bankruptcy, the Boeing 747-8, the Heli Expo in Dallas and the Singapore Airshow.

The week’s aviation news:

• European Agency Orders Global Check On A380 Wings
• Richard Aboulafia’s January 2012 Letter
• Hawker Beechcraft Chief Vows Turnaround
• China’s Role In JSF’s Spiraling Costs

In this week’s Australia Desk report: Qantas inspects another A380 for wing cracks, Etihad very happy with pax numbers after aligning with Virgin Australia, Virgin Aus pilot sues company over use of a heavy flight bag, Taser found on board a Virgin 737, full body scanners to be rolled out in Australian airports, Qantas CEO Allan Joyce claims in a Senate hearing that changes to the Qantas Sale Act would potentially force the sale of Jetstar.

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.

On Across The Pond this week, Pieter talks to David Bickerton, Director at Airclaims. He tells us about his aviation career and what services Airclaims delivers to the aviation sector., which includes insurance claims, aviation risk management and aviation consulting among other activities. Its a part of the aviation industry rarely seen by the public.

You can find Airclaims on Twitter at @Airclaims and at www.airclaims.com. Pieter can be found on Twitter as @Nascothornet or XTP Media’s Facebook Page.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Heli Expo in Dallas
• Singapore Airshow
• Vancouver Harbour Control Tower

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 http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 170 - GE Aviation Looks to the Future [ 1:37:41 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (16649)

Dale Carlson, Executive for Advanced Engine Systems at GE Aviation is our guest. Dale is responsible for all government funded technology initiatives, and also for aligning technology as it matures with future propulsion system offerings for GE Aviation.

We talk about why this is an exciting time to be in the commercial engine and airframe business. What’s left in Brayton cycle engines (not much) and what we can do about that. Why pulse detonation is not a good solution. Dale talks about adaptive (or variable) cycle engines, the fuel burn improvements needed for new engine offerings, and why we’ll see integrated airframe and propulsion systems in the future, the blended wing aircraft being an example.

Distributed propulsion with large numbers of engines on the aircraft is a future possibility, as is all-electric propulsion. Of course, we can’t talk about fan diameter without covering thermal efficiency and propulsion efficiency. We talk a little about the future of the F136. That’s the engine GE is developing as an alternative to the Pratt & Whitney F135 that powers the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Finally, Dale offers some sound advice for people considering a career in aerospace.

The week’s aviation news:

• 2015: A (Potentially) Interesting Year for US Airways and the Regionals
• Bombardier faces turbulence and potential nine-month CSeries delay, says analyst
• Next-Gen Winglet for KC-46A Tanker?
• ANA knocks first 787 into boarding bridge

David provides another powerful history lesson in his This Week in Aviation segment.

In this week’s Australia Desk Report: Qantas politics goes on and on and on….. RAAF takes delivery of the last four Super Hornets, Omega Tanker takes three ex RAAF 707 tankers, Department of Defence looks seriously at C27J Spartan to replace Caribous, RAAF looks at a disposal date for C130H.

Find the boys down under at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

Mentions:

• Careers in Aerospace – For young people looking toward a career in aviation. From a partnership of The Royal Aeronautical Society and A|D|S Group (Advancing UK AeroSpace, Defence and Security industries).
• British Airways Pilot Recruitment

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 http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

In memory of Anthony Kenneth Johnson RN PO TAG.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 161 - When You Fly [ 1:30:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6658)

Our guest this episode is Ansel Brown, the award winning country music recording artist who co-wrote (with wife Lisa) and sang the song When You Fly at the final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, when it returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and at AirVenture 2011 in Oshkosh at the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators banquet, and the Women in Aviation breakfast. This moving song was written to honor Lisa’s grandfather Richard Wixom who was inducted into the Wisconson Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010.

Find more about Ansel and his music on Facebook, YouTube and MySpace. He also has a home page at AnselBrown.com and you can follow him on twitter at @AnselBrown.

The week’s aviation news:

• Sukhoi Eyes Production Ramp Up As Superjet Orders Mount
• Bombardier inks C Series deal in Russia
• The iPad Is The Pilot’s Best Friend
• Delta begins tablet EFB test; eyes communication transformation
• Boeing, Airbus Can’t Replace the 757
• Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging – Red 4

In this week’s Australia Desk report, Steve and Grant discuss the QANTAS restructure with Will Horton from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Find Steve and Grant on the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter Johnson covers airport design considerations with information from @plansairports, and provides additional content from last week’s conversation with Steve, an A320 pilot. You can find Steve on Twitter @Thermalhound and Pieter @Nascothornet.

Mentions:

• Richard Wixom
• Air Disasters: Mixed Signals

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 http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 153 - Sun 'N Fun Radio [ 1:58:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7196)

Dave Shallbetter from Sun ‘N Fun Radio talks to the Geeks about the annual “spring celebration of flight” in Florida. They stream great aviation content year-round at LiveATC.net. You can follow Dave on Twitter as @snfRadioDave.

The week’s aviation news:

• Boeing Projects About $300 Million Overrun on Tanker Contract
• Paris Orders Recast Airliner Battlefield
• Customer’s pact for C-Series competitor hits Bombardier
• Ryanair China deal hogs spotlight at Paris Air Show
• Pilot or Panic?
• Big Labor Captures TSA Screeners

Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron don’t provide their 100th Australia Desk report, just yet. Be sure to listen to the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter Johnson has a fascinating conversation with Petter Hovland, the lead Pilot and Instructor for the Virtual Red Arrows display team, @vredarrows on Twitter.

Mentions:

• Uncontrolled Airspace podcast
• Boeing Challenges Industry to Meet Unprecedented Demand for Aviation Personnel

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 http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 150 - John and Martha King [ 1:46:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7313)

Airship Ventures photo by Randy Hobbs

Both John and Martha King from King Schools join us as guests this episode. These two have flown almost everything that flys. They also provide video and computer-based training to countless pilots.

The week’s aviation news:

• Wife takes over plane when pilot-husband can’t fly
• Millville air show to skip acts such as Blue Angels in the future
• British and French Attack Helicopters Conduct First Attacks in Libya
• Pilots Union Seeks Vote at JetBlue
• Braathens Leasing orders 10 CSeries twinjets for Sweden’s Malmo

In the Australia Desk from Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron, they propose to produce a themed report for AusDesk episode 100. Listeners can submit theme ideas to thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com. Be sure to listen to the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment, Pieter speaks with Steve and Max. Find Pieter on Twitter at @Nascothornet.

Mentions:

• Airship Ventures
• Redbird Flight Simulations, Inc.
• The NTSB’s Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improvements
• NTSB Faults Pilot, But Unclear About Final Moments Of Stevens Crash
• Richard Heene’s Flying Saucer up for Auction for
  Charity.

Be sure to see Max, Rob, Dan, and David at the Become a Pilot Family Day and Fly-In June 18, 2011, 10 a.m. – 3p.m., at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center next to Dulles International Airport. The Geeks will be joining Milford and Charlie from FlightTime Radio, along with some other aviation podcasters as they broadcast their show live.

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 http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 136 - Spotting with Jason [ 1:35:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9298)

Our guest this episode is Jason Bong, one of the writers and photographers at PHXspotters, a great site for plane spotters and aviation enthusiasts. Jason attended the annual Red Flag event and captured some amazing photographs of military aircraft. See his post, Rookie at Red Flag.

Visitors to the Phoenix area who want to photograph at airports will want to contact PHXspotters for local advice, tips, and spotting support. You can also find the group on Facebook.

In addition to the airplane spotting discussion, we have aviation news from the past week, The Australia Desk Report by Steve and Grant from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and Pieter Johnson his Across the Pond segment.

The week’s aviation news:

• Alliance Applauds Progress on FAA Reauthorization Bills
• FAA Forecasts Steady Growth In U.S. Airline Traffic
• Twin Cities near-miss cited among increasing air traffic mistakes
• Bizjets and LSAs To Pace Genav Rebound
• United to begin deploying 757s on Dulles transatlantic routes
• Continental to get United’s roomier seats

Mentions:

• Photorecon A site devoted to aircraft photography and aviation
• Classic Warbirds Great photogalleries
• Plane Spotter Spotting guide
• vc10.net A Little VC10derness
• Aviation Queen Aviation, journalism, and social media from Benet Wilson
• Turbojet operation- centrifugal flow.png
• Thromby Air Not your average low cost airline
• Airline Monkeynomics
• LGB Blog

More aviation reading:

• Airways and Airwaves by Dave Gwinn.
• Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos by Thomas Petzinger Jr.
• Splash of Colors: The Self-Destruction of Braniff International by John J. Nance.
• The Sporty Game: The High-Risk Competitive Business of Making and Selling Commercial Airliners by John Newhouse.
• Naked Airport: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Revolutionary Structure by Alastair Gordon.

Photo by Brodie Winkler

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 http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Airplane Geeks - Episode 87 - A Most Unusual Family [ 1:49:21 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5157)

Jill Rutan Hoffman is a pilot, author of two aviation books (First Flights and Oshkosh Memories), and she comes from a family of aviation dreamers. Her father, Dick Rutan, piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop, and her uncle, Burt Rutan, designed the Voyager, SpaceShipOne which won the Ansari X-Prize, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, and many others. Jill joins us to talk the week’s aviation news and her aviation experiences.

Also making an appearance is Kim Welch, an Airplane Geeks listener and frequent commenter on our content. We’d heard so much from Kim that we decided to get him on the show.

• The Last Four Minutes of Air France Flight 447
• Kim Kardashian outs air marshal via Twitter
• General aviation offers a reminder of vulnerability
• New air traffic control technology could mark a revolution in travel efficiency
• Will Northrop Grumman bid on tanker?
• Republic Airways Holdings Becomes First North American Customer for Bombardier CSeries Aircraft with Order for up to 80 Airliners
• Bombardier’s Win May Prod Airbus, Boeing to Upgrade Engines

David Vanderhoof has his This Week in Aviation segment, and Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast have their Australia Desk report.

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

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 80 - Chris Elliott on Security [ 1:23:35 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3682)

Travel writer Christopher Elliott joins the airplane geeks to talk aviation and airline security. Chris is one of the two blogger/journalists served with a subpoena by the Department of Homeland Security after posting the government directive for airline security procedures after the attempted Christmas 2009 terrorist bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253. Chris is the reader advocate for National Geographic Traveler magazine, he writes the syndicated Travel Troubleshooter column, produces a weekly commentary and podcast on MSNBC.com, writes the Navigator column in Sunday’s Washington Post, and authors the Elliott.org travel blog.

• Boosting flight security measures
• Child Porn Laws Impede Airport Searches
• Mesa To Drop Aircraft In Chapter 11
• Analyst Predicts 150-Seat CSeries
• Japan Airlines Closes In on Potential Bankruptcy
• Gates Returns Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop Programs to Spend Plan

David Vanderhoof has another This Week in Aviation, Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast have their Australia Desk report, and Court returns with another Whiskey Tango Foxtrot segment.

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

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Airplane Geeks Episode 53 [ 1:19:42 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3938)

Co-hosts Rob, Dan, and Max are joined by guests Jon Ostrower (Flightblogger), Benet Wilson (AviationWeek), and Mary Kirby (RunwayGirl). This episode focuses on the Paris Airshow, but we’ve also got Dan’s interview with with Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, our report from the boys down under at the Airplane Geeks Australia Desk, a This Week in Aviation segment, a bit by Courtney (remember him?), and listener mail.

Rob selected sky-lens as this week’s aviation website pick of the week. There you’ll find great aviation photographs by François Brévot, including those you see in this post, taken at the 2009 Paris Air Show.

Don’t forget to send us your ideas for Airplane Geeks T-Shirts!

Follow the Airplane Geeks on Twitter as @AirplaneGeeks, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave us voice mail at (812) 757-4252.

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love. You can visit his site at brotherloverocks.com.

Photos courtesy François Brévot sky-lens