Tag Archives: Gogo

544 NBAA Regional Forum

Reports from NBAA’s Regional Forum in Houston, attacking the pilot and mechanic shortage, and NBAA’s top safety focus areas. Wo look at the Boeing 737 Max, AOA indicators, MCAS, and the certification process. Also, a Southwest Airlines labor agreement, more coin tosses for good luck, B-52 re-engining, famous aviation siblings, Red Bull air races, and the Boeing 747.

Aviation News

Flawed analysis, failed oversight: How Boeing and FAA certified the suspect 737 MAX flight control system

The original safety analysis that Boeing delivered to the FAA for MCAS understated the amount of horizontal stabilizer movement that the system ultimately provided.

Pilots offer insights on Boeing 737 crashes

A good explanation on how the system was meant to make the control forces feel the same as older 737s, and how either pilot can easily just turn the system off.

Airlines with buyers’ remorse may use Boeing 737 MAX ban to revise orders

Comments from analysts suggest that “airlines that over-ordered the latest version of Boeing’s 737 workhorse, the grounding could be a good excuse to delay or cancel purchases, saving cash on the balance sheet.”

See also, Letter from Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to Airlines, Passengers and the Aviation Community.

Southwest Airlines’ new mechanics contract gives immediate 20 percent pay hike

After six years of negotiations, Southwest Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association have an agreement in principle for a new five-year contract.

Air Force resumes KC-46 deliveries after Boeing changes inspections

After passing a foreign object debris inspection, Boeing has been giving the go-ahead to resume KC-46 tanker deliveries.

Lucky Air flight #8L9616 delayed because two passengers tossed coins to aircraft engine for good luck

It’s happened again. This time two women were observed tossing coins at the engine as they boarded the aircraft.

NBAA Regional Forum

Airplane Geeks Reporter-at-Large Launchpad Marzari attended the 2019 NBAA Regional Forum March 14, 2019, in Houston Texas. He recorded these interviews:

Blain Stanley, Aircare International Emergency Procedures Instructor on fire training classes for aircraft crew.

NBAA Senior Manager of Flight Operations and Regulations Brain Koester on ADS-B in corporate aircraft.

Dave Brown, Sales Manager at Garmin, on jets and ADS-B.

Russell Otowchits, Regional Sales Manager with Gogo Business Aviation on inflight connectivity.

Raymond Goyco from Baker Aviation, the maker of fireproof bags for lithium-ion fires. Aircraft Specialties, Inc. is the sole U.S. stocking dealer for the HOT-STOP® ‘L’ Fire Containment Kit.

Also….

NBAA’s Bolen Asks Industry To Be Bizav Ambassadors

NBAA chief executive Ed Bolen says business aviation industry’s next big test is the pilot and maintenance technician shortage. Interest in business aviation careers needs to be generated among young people. Ed has some suggestions on how to accomplish that.

Prior to the Forum, the NBAA Safety Committee identified the 2019 NBAA Top Safety Focus Areas and provided many good supporting resources.

Mentioned

PaxEx Podcast: Max Flight and Mary Kirby on why no-MAX flight.

January/February 2019 Air Force Magazine: Re-Engining the B-52 and The Air Force Wants to Install New Engines on the B-52 Bomber.

Ross Macpherson Smith and Keith Macpherson Smith, the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, in 1919.

Video: Auckland from the Skies (1918) – Charles F. Newham – Auckland Museum Collection.

Qantas introduces twin sister pilots.

Credit

Outtro by Bruno Misonne.

Episode 214 – Mary Kirby on the Passenger Experience

Beechcraft B17R Staggerwing by Stephen Tornblom

Beechcraft B17R Staggerwing by Stephen Tornblom

Guest Mary Kirby is from the Airline Passenger Experience Association where she is Editor-in-Chief of the Airline Passenger Experience magazine and the APEX Media Platform.

Mary considers the passenger experience to start when the decision is made to take a flight and continue through to boarding, where the airline then has the passenger captive in terms of the experience.

We talk Inflight Entertainment (IFE) tech and how wireless is taking off with video streaming to personal devices. Also, how Southwest Airlines with their Row 44 satellite system is absorbing the AirTran fleet with their GoGo air-to-ground system. Mary maintains that the US carriers are ahead of others with inflight connectivity and long term revenue sharing agreements with vendors. Now that the pipe to the aircraft is in place, we’re seeing all manner of inflight connectivity business models: some free, some pay per use, and some supported by advertising and promotions.

Visit the APEX blog and follow Mary on Twitter as @APEXmary. Coming up 17 – 20 September 2012 is the APEX EXPO in Long Beach California. (Twitter hash tag #APEX12.)

We also talk about airport security, should it be privatized, the cost/benefit analysis, and the impact of airport security on the travel experience. American Airlines is in the news with the pilot contract, a Downs Syndrome flyer, and a 9/11 negligance law suit. Also, more bizarre behaviour in Philadelphia.

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Qantas announces an alliance with Emirates, along with major route structure and schedule changes, Tiger Airways resuming Melbourne – Adelaide operations from November, and outcry in New Zealand over massive aviation user fee hikes by their government.

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 our adopted student pilot Neil Bradon to monitor his progress flying in the USA. He gives us the great news that he has passed his check ride and is amassing flying hours at a rapid pace but not simply in the circuit, Neil is taking on some challenging cross country flights as well. We are absolutely delighted Neil is now a qualified pilot. Well done Neil.

Neil can be found on Twitter @Pilot_NGB and at his blog pilot_ngb’s aviation blog.

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

Mentions:

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 180 – Mary Kirby from APEX

The Aerobatic Project

Guest Mary Kirby is is Editor-in-Chief of the Airline Passenger Experience magazine and the APEX media platform. We talk about the current state of inflight internet connectivity, what passengers expect aboard the flight, the GoGo IPO, and why we’re going to see more announcements. Also, pressure on interior suppliers as a result of the huge numbers of narrow body orders going on the books, and how that’s delaying aircraft deliveries. We touch on airline alliance interior commonality, and the outlook for embedded IFE.

Find Mary at the APEX Editor’s Blog and on Twitter as @APEXmary. The Airline Passenger Experience Association is at apex.aero.

The week’s aviation news:

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, also known as the Super Tweet.

In this week’s Australia Desk report: 12th A380 arrives for Qantas, more A380s coming to Melbourne as Emirates signals their intentions, cracks appearing in some A380s including one QF aircraft, 150 Qantas pilots now working for Gulf based airlines during their down time, tragic balloon crash in New Zealand kills 11 people.

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.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter talks to new aerobatic pilot and author of The Aerobatic Project, Lauren Richardson. Lauren explains what’s its like to transition from a 152 to a Pitts Special and what it was like in her first aerobatic competition. Lauren can be found on Twitter @Groovy_Nut, while Pieter can be found on Twitter as @Nascothornet or XTP Media’s Facebook Page.oba

Mentioned in the episode:

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/.