Tag Archives: oshkosh

558 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019 Preview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:20:27 — 36.9MB)

What to expect at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019. In the news, we discuss a woman trapped in an airliner, crosswind testing in Iceland, the Boeing 737 MAX grounding, and the Paris Air Show.

Guest

Dick Knapinski, EAA director of communications, and Karen Kryzaniak, EAA’s vice president of risk management and human resources, accept the inaugural Community Partnership Award from the City of Oshkosh in recognition of 50 consecutive years of EAA fly-in conventions in the city.

Dick Knapinski, EAA director of communications, and Karen Kryzaniak, EAA’s vice president of risk management and human resources, accept the inaugural Community Partnership Award from the City of Oshkosh in recognition of 50 consecutive years of EAA fly-in conventions in the city. Photo courtesy EAA.

Dick Knapinski is the director of communications for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). In this preview of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Dick explains that the July 22-28, 2019 event represents the 50th consecutive year in Oshkosh, and describes how EAA AirVenture has changed over time as well as what to expect in 2019.

This year is also the 50th anniversary of the landing on the moon and Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins will be a featured guest. Burt Rutan and many of his aircraft designs will also be at Osh, along with air force demo teams and other performers.

The drone cage returns with demonstrations and hands-on opportunities. Urban air mobility (UAM) is getting increased attention from prominent aviation companies and startups and AirVenture will offer opportunities to discuss and explore that topic.

Dick explains that people come to Oshkosh (and come back year after year) for their own personal reasons, but the week-long event offers it all. He also has some tips for first-timers, both those flying in and those arriving by other means of transportation.

Aviation News

A Travel Nightmare: Waking Up Cold And Alone In A Darkened Plane

What do you do if you wake up after a flight to find yourself in a dark airplane parked away from the terminal? And how did this come to happen?

Did Collapse Of WOW Air Lead To Reinstatement Of Iceland Cross Wind Tests?

Crosswind testing at Keflavik International Airport was banned following the 2013 Sukhoi SSJ100 crash. Boeing and Airbus have wanted to resume certification testing in Iceland and may once again have the opportunity.

Boeing may see layoffs if another production rate cut happens, aviation consultant says

Scott Hamilton from Leeham Company believes Boeing executives have finally gotten serious about the 737 MAX and the company will bounce back. But could lower production rates lead to layoffs?

Here’s who bought what at this year’s Paris Air Show

Airbus Vows to Challenge the Secret Boeing 737 Deal that Stunned the Paris Air Show

At the Paris Air Show, Airbus launched the A321XLR and Boeing announced a large 737 MAX order.

Mentioned

Eat at the Airport

#PaxEx Podcast 67: Deciphering the messaging from Airbus and Boeing in Paris

Credit

Outtro by Bruno Misonne.

464 Osh 2017, ATC, Airline Communication, and Airport Food

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:10 — 46.8MB)

Steve Visscher joins us to bring us up to date on his activities and contribute to our conversation about Airventure Oshkosh 2017. In the news, we look at ATC privatization, saving money on new Air Force One airplanes, a 15-year-old girl takes flight, and a symposium for disabled airline passengers. Also, a song about SFO, airplane-themed eateries, some positive airline stories, viewing the August solar eclipse, and student pilot Niki’s continuing adventure.

Smokey Joe’s food stand outside Munich terminal 2, by Mark Newton.

Smokey Joe’s food stand outside Munich terminal 2, by Mark Newton.

Guest

Steve Visscher is co-producer of the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, an air show announcer, and now a business development manager for Bright Events – Wings Over Illawarra, “the Sydney Airshow.”

Aviation News

ATC Privatization: Inside the Fight for Air Traffic Control’s Future

Most airlines want to privatize ATC. GA is opposed to it. Our elected officials give different signals. What are the real issues here?

Trump Wanted a Cheaper Air Force One. So the USAF Is Buying a Bankrupt Russian Firm’s Undelivered 747s

President Trump Tweeted in December: “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” Now the Air Force is considering the purchase of two 747-8s that were never delivered. See Gallery: Where 747s go to die (Victorville, CA) and Southern California Logistics Airport near Victorville, CA.

Meet the 15-year-old girl who is too young to drive a car but can easily fly a plane on her own

This young woman is an inspiration.

Op-Ed: Disabled passengers deserve better accommodation

The inaugural Wheelchair in the Cabin Symposium is scheduled for September 22 at The Base at Virgin Atlantic near London Gatwick Airport. The Symposium is supported by Virgin Atlantic Airways and “aims to engage stakeholders in the aviation industry and the accessibility world to discuss the possibility of creating a wheelchair space on board commercial aircraft.” Spearheaded by activist Chris Wood and the Flying Disabled organization.

AirVenture Oshkosh 2017

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 Facts and Figures

B-52 and B-1 Departures – EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017

F-15 Eagle and F-22 Raptor Departures – EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017

Oshkosh EAA AirVenture 2017 – Blue Angels, Watching Airplanes, Airshow, Plane Spotting, Etc.

Photos from Hillel Glazer: Oshkosh Adventurers 2017

And a recording from Airplane Geeks Reporter at Large Launchpad Marzari.

Airline Story of the Week

‘It was the best moment of his life’: Boy, 7, with a heart defect is granted his wish of learning to become a pilot

Listener Recordings

Our Main(e) Man Micah: “Prior to Take-Off It’s Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.”

Derek on a 1969 encounter with Frontier Airlines.

Episode 2 from student pilot Nicki.

Mentioned

SimpleFlight Radio

Belite Aircraft Chipper

Belite Aircraft Chipper

Belite Aircraft Chipper

Susan Raye – L.A. International Airport

The Proud Bird food bazaar and events center.

Flight Path Museum & Learning Center

Wings & Fins Restaurant, Bar & Bistro located at the Tooradin Airport, 60 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD down the South Gippsland Highway.

Airports in the Path of Totality, from NASA. Visit https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/ for lots of information and resources concerning the total solar eclipse that will be sweeping across the U.S. Especially the safety page! Pinhole projectors can be easily made for viewing the sun: Make a Projector to Safely See a Solar Eclipse.

The pilot shortage is real and airlines must change before it becomes a full-blown crisis, by Patrick Smith.

Thanks to Stuart Stevenson from the Pilot’s Journey Podcast for loaning Steve Visscher the studio!

Steve Visscher in Stuart Stevensons studio

Credit

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

412 AirVenture Oshkosh and Farnborough Airshow 2016

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:36:24 — 44.2MB)

We report on AirVenture Oshkosh 2016 and the Farnborough International Airshow. As a bonus, David tells us another story about his favorite little Cirrus Suzy, who goes flying with some astronauts.

Airbus A400M at Farnborough International Airshow 2016, by Carlos Stebbings.

Airbus A400M at Farnborough International Airshow 2016, by Carlos Stebbings.

AirVenture Oshkosh 2016

Rob Mark attended Oshkosh and gives us his thoughts on the event. He tells us about the Martin Mars, Camp Bacon, and the Airbus E-Fan electric airplane.  The EAA celebrated the two millionth Young Eagle and the AOPA Air Safety Institute honored Cirrus Aircraft with the first Joseph T. Nall Safety Award.

Rob took a look at the very interesting 2.5 ounce ADS-B unit from uAvonix. (See his article in Flying magazine.) He also tells us about FlyOtto, a service that makes it easy to find, book, and pay for trips on privately chartered aircraft with a mobile device or from your computer. Rob comments on the Textron Cessna Denali single engine turboprop that debuted at Oshkosh.

The EAA announced that Ihab Awad had won the inaugural Founder’s Innovation Prize presented by Airbus Group for his “Airball” flight display. This creative concept combines a variety of sensor inputs into a graphical ball that the pilot uses to help prevent loss-of-control. The paper submitted to the EAA for Airball is publically available.

See also Hillel’s Oshkosh photo album.

Farnborough International Airshow 2016

Brian Coleman and Micah attended Farnborough this year, and they bring us the first group of interviews from the Airshow:

  • Micah and Brian talk with Raul Tenna of Airbus and discuss the capabilities of the new A400M Military Transport.
  • Carlos Stebbings and Matt Smith from the Plane Talking UK podcast tell us about their show.
  • Brian and Micah team up with Carlos Matt Smith to talk about the engine and capabilities of the F-35B.
  • Airbus Captain Al Evans specializes in fear-of-flying and Micah and Brian discuss his techniques that help fearful flyers overcome their anxiety.
  • Eoin, a long time listener from Ireland, just moved to England and recently started a new career in aviation as cabin crew.
  • Listener Nelson from Portugal talks about his favorite aircraft at Farnborough.
  • Brian and Micah speak with Mary B. Lyons, who has been attending and photographing the Farnborough Airshow since 1998. She is the author of Fabulous Farnborough Photos, documenting almost 20 years of the Airshow in pictures.

We’ll have additional interviews from Farnborough in the next episode.

The podcast crew in front of the F-35.

The podcast crew in front of the F-35. Note the lift fan behind on the right.

The whole crew having breakfast

The whole crew having breakfast on Captain Al. Front left to right, Captain Al, Calos Stebbins, Brian, back Micah, Pilot Pip, Matt Smith.

Aircraft of the Week

Suzy Goes to the Stars

David’s favorite little Cirrus Suzy goes flying with some astronauts, and Pilot Rob gets a jaunt in a T-38. Also, we have a new friend at the airport, Jenny.

Some hints about the story:

  • NASA Langley Research Center uses a SR-22 as optionally manned aircraft to test UAS integration.
  • The NT-38s are named after Christa McAuliffe and Judith Resnick, both of whom perished on the Challenger.
  • The Lockheed Vega was made famous by Wiley Post and Amelia Earhart. Post flew it around the world solo using the world’s first pressure suit. Amelia flew it solo across the Atlantic, and non-stop across the United States. Vega also became a division of Lockheed, and this is the reason the Navy used the company code “V” in the PV-1 Ventura,  P2V- 7 Neptune, and the greatest of all military transports, the GV-1.
  • Lockheed also built the Altair, designed by Jack Northrop like the Vega. There never was a Denab, (maybe the name wasn’t sexy enough).  Lockheed’s aircraft were named after stars and constellations. Think about it.  Hercules, Galaxy Constellations, Neptune, and Orion.

Mentioned

Max was a guest on episode 20 of the Podcast Engineering Show, talking podcasting tech.

Skydiver Jumps into Net from 25,000 Feet – a skilled professional, or a foolish stunt?

Credit

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

 

408 AirVenture Oshkosh 2016 Preview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:30:07 — 41.3MB)

Jack Pelton, Chairman of the Board of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), tells us about what’s been called the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration. In the news, we talk about a call for more ramp checks at airports, Airbus plans to offer real-time transmission of flight data, the Chinese ARJ regional jet makes its first commercial flight, and the U.S. State Department schedules talks about Gulf carriers and government subsidies.

Marquee Bearhawk homebuilt. Photo courtesy EAA.

Marquee Bearhawk homebuilt. Photo courtesy EAA.

Guest

Jack Pelton is Chairman of the Board of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). He tells us about some of the things you can expect at AirVenture 2016 at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 25-31, 2016. We talk about the 100 Years of Boeing, the JetBlue “BluesMobile” Airbus, Memories of WWI, Aircraft of Desert Storm, the Snowbirds, the evening airshows, and many other exciting events planned for the week-long event.

Jack also explains the new Founder’s Innovation Prize, presented by Airbus Group and leveraging the creativity of the EAA community toward solving challenges facing the general aviation community. The top finishers will receive a cash grant toward developing their product and prominent exposure at AirVenture.

We learn about the OSHALERT service for event attendees and how to sign up for those text alerts. Jack also gives us an update on some EAA advocacy activities, such as medical reform and FAA reauthorization.

Jack is the retired chairman, president, and chief executive officer for Cessna Aircraft Company.  Jack was Sr. Vice President of Engineering for Dornier Aircraft in Munich, and he started his career at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach CA. Also, he was a member of the board and past chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and served on the board of directors of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).

News

Senator Charles Schumer Calls for More Ramp Checks in New York

According to Charles Schumer, the U.S. Senator from New York, since 2006 the number of annual ramp inspections at major NY airports fell from over 2,800 to only 748. Schumer wants the FAA to increase the number of ramp inspections at airports across New York and the country, including the small airports that have been involved in the recent small plane crashes on Long Island.

Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband-Safety selected as a cockpit safety communications solution by Airbus

Airbus plans to offer the SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) service to allow transmission of flight data in real time. Offered on future A320 and A330 jets starting 2018, the Inmarsat technology is much faster than current transmission speeds.

First made-in-China jetliner makes debut commercial flight

The Chinese COMAC ARJ21-700 regional jet made its first commercial flight. Chengdu Airlines flew the jet with 70 passengers from Chengdu to Shanghai in a two hour flight. The ARJ21 program launched in March 2002, with first delivery initially scheduled for 2007. The ARJ21 has the same cabin cross-section, nose, and tail as the MD-80, and uses General Electric CF-34 turbofans and Rockwell Collins avionics.

United, Delta, JetBlue Jockey For Edge In Gulf Airline Spat

The U.S. State Department is getting involved in the claims of Gulf carrier unfair advantage as they seek to expand in the United States. They have invited Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian Holdings, and others to meet and potentially discuss the matter. Next month, the State Department meets with the UAE and Qatar for “informal, technical discussions.”

Revised Total for Mideast Airline Subsidies Is $50 Billion, Lobbying Group Says

The Partnership for Open and Fair Skies says forensic investigators have found a financial statement in Singapore for Qatar Airways that shows than the government of Qatar provided the airline with close to $7 billion in 2014.

The Partnership is the lobbying group composed of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, ALPA, the Allied Pilots Association, the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the Communications Workers of America and the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association.

Book Review

EAA OSHKOSH, The Best AirVenture PhotographyDavid reviews EAA OSHKOSH, The Best AirVenture Photography, which is available through EAA and major booksellers.

This book showcases the many types of aircraft that have appeared for AirVenture, from classic fabric-covered covered biplanes to brawny warbirds to homebuilts and jetliners.

Mentined

Sully – Official Trailer [HD]

Livermore Reads Together Survey, which includes Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West by Craig S. Harwood (guest in Episode 349) and Gary B. Foge. The survey is open through July 18, 2016.

World War II Hero Dr. Roscoe C. Brown Dies at 94

Flew West – Robert “Punchy” Powell  11/21/1920 – 6/22/2016 by John Mollison.

Without Precedent: Commando, Fighter Pilot and the true story of Australia’s first Purple Heart by Owen Zupp.

Kevin Prior’s photographs from the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s Innovations in Flight Day 2016.

Landing gear by Kevin Prior

Landing gear by Kevin Prior

Man Calls 911 Thinking He Was in Plane Crash, But ‘It Was All Just a Dream’

Spitfire exposed, by Roland

Spitfire exposed, by Roland

Credit

Intro music courtesy Brother Love from his Album Of The Year CD. Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

 

AirplaneGeeks 361 A Solar Impulse Pilot, a Cirrus Pilot, and an Oshkosh Debrief

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:15 — 43.6MB)

Solar Impulse 2 Hawaii

We interview Solar Impulse 2 pilot André Borschberg, and Rob gives us an AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 debrief. We also talk with Rick Beach, the Safety Chair of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association.

Guest André Borschberg

The Solar Impulse 2 is attempting to become the first solar powered aircraft to fly around the world. This is a privately financed effort led by Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg and Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard. They are also the pilots for the Solar Impulse, but since the plane has only one seat, they’ve been alternating legs on this around the world trip. In this episode we talk with André Borschberg, who flew the most recent leg from Japan to Hawaii over a period of five days, setting a new world record for solo flight.

Andre_Borschberg_HawaiiThe Solar Impulse 1 first flew in 2009, and was designed to fly for up to 36 hours. In July 2010, it became the first solar plane to fly for more than 24 hours, including nearly 9 hours of night flight. In 2013, it flew a multi-stop flight across the entire United States.

The Solar Impulse 2 carries over 17,000 solar cells which can generate 66 kW of power during peak sunlight. It’s 73 feet long, has a wingspan of 236 feet, and weighs just 5,100 pounds.

The aircraft carries 1400 pounds of Lithium-ion batteries that drive four 17.4 horsepower electric motors, each swinging a 13-foot long propeller. Maximum speed is 77 knots, though typically the plane flies at 33 knots at night to save power when the aircraft is running off just battery power.

During the daytime, when maximum power is available, the batteries are charged to 100% of capacity and the aircraft climbs to about 29,000 feet. At night, the aircraft is allowed to slowly drift down to about 6,000 feet, to minimize the drain on the batteries. Even so, the batteries typically discharge to about 15% to 20% of total capacity before the sun comes up and the cycle is repeated.

Solar Impulse 2

The real limit to how far the Solar Impulse can fly is the pilot. On multi-day flights, the pilots take 20 minute naps that only about 2 ½ hours during a 24-hour period. Yoga and other exercises are used to maintain alertness.

Guest Rick Beach

Rick is Aviation Safety Chair of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association. He wanted to understand how pilot behavior needed to change to fully take advantage of the innovative safety features on the Cirrus and other aircraft. Rick wanted to know why pilots were crashing and he found that it was because of the way pilots were making risk assessments.

Cirrus-1

Rick has a life-long interest in aviation, but didn’t start pilot training until 2001 when he bought a Cirrus SR22 based on its safety and technology features, as well as the strong pilots and owners community. Rick now has over 3500 hours in the Cirrus.

Cirrus, of course, has an airframe parachute system and Rick began studying Cirrus accidents to uncover reasons why pilots did not use the system. He even coined the phrase “Pull Early, Pull Often!” to encourage pilots to use the system before the situation turned dire.

Rick chaired the Cirrus Pilot Proficiency Program, encouraged Cirrus Aircraft to focus on telling the story of successful parachute saves, and has participated in three NTSB investigations contributing operational knowledge of Cirrus pilot procedures and especially training.

Now Rick is working on a concept for the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) University to expand their safety activities, funded in part by a charitable COPA Safety and Education Foundation.

AirVenture Oshkosh 2015

Rob attended AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 and was an instructor at the EAA Pilot Proficiency Center. He gives us his observations from the event.

Society of Aviation and Flight Educators – SAFE is a member-oriented organization of aviation educators fostering professionalism and excellence in aviation.

NASA-Pioneered Automatic Ground-Collision Avoidance System Operational

Third Class Medical Reform heated up during Oshkosh week:

Drones got a lot of attention with Jack Pelton underscoring their importance. Embry-Riddle was there to talk about their drone degree and a drone cage was set up for demonstrations. Ghost Drone and other Chinese manufacturers exhibited their products.

The Australia News Desk

The boys are back in the studio and Grant’s trying VERY hard not to explode over the news that Qantas is doing very well thanks to Alan Joyce. It’s not that they haven’t turned the corner and improved their stock price, it’s more that they’ve done it despite Joyce’s previous management disasters.

Meanwhile, Qantas’ competitor Virgin Australia got the gong for most punctual domestic carrier in June. Nice to see as they’ve been out of the running for a while.

And if you missed last week’s full Australia News Desk report….and trust us, you did…you can find it over here: Episode 360: Grant Made it to Fiji.

Mentioned

Lou Lenart

Lou Lenart

Lou Lenart is one of the men featured in “Above and Beyond,” Nancy Spielberg’s documentary film about Jewish pilots from the U.S. who established Israel’s air defenses. Lenart died from congestive heart failure at age 94. In AirplaneGeeks 348 we talked with Harold Livingston, who also appears in the Spielberg documentary.

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 359 Jack Pelton Previews AirVenture Oshkosh 2015

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:35 — 40.1MB)

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2014 by DeKevin Thornton

We talk with Jack Pelton, Chairman of the Board of the Experimental Aircraft Association about EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015.

Guest

Jack Pelton is Chairman of the Board of the Experimental Aircraft Association (the EAA). He’s the retired chairman, president, and chief executive officer for Cessna Aircraft Company. Jack was Sr. Vice President of Engineering for Dornier Aircraft in Munich, and he started his career at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach California. Jack was a member of the board and past chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and served on the board of directors of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).

We talk with Jack about EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015, taking place July 20-26, 2015. Besides the forums and educational sessions, #OSH15 visitors can expect to see daily air shows, a 45-year anniversary salute to the Apollo 13 mission, and events celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Curtis Pitts, the 75th anniversary of the Aircoupe, and major anniversaries of the beginning of World War II and the Battle of Britian. A B-52 landing at AirVenture is planned, two F-35s will be on display, and two F-22s will conduct a demonstration flight.

A row of Howard DGAs at Airventure Oshkosh 2014

A row of Howard DGAs at Airventure Oshkosh 2014

The New Goodyear Airship “Wingfoot One” will make an appearance, and Burt Rutan is scheduled to appear, arriving in a Beech Starship. A number of Viet Nam-era aircraft will be at Oshkosh, and so will an Airbus A350. WomenVenture takes place again, and Embry-Riddle hosts a sUAS challenge in the Aviation Gateway Park.

Ford Motor Company is once again supporting the Experimental Aircraft Association’s youth aviation programs by unveiling and donating for auction a one-of-a-kind Mustang.

Find the Experimental Aircraft Association and AirVenture Oshkosh information at eaa.org, follow them on Twitter at @EAA, and on Facebook and Instagram.

Also, be sure to catch the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Webcams and LiveATC.

News

Historic Spitfire soars in record-breaking London sales

Supermarine Spitfire P9347 sold for £3,106,500 ($4,784,010) at auction. American philanthropist and art collector Thomas Kaplan sold the Spitfire to benefit the RAF Benevolent Fund and several other charitable organizations. Kaplan also gifted a second Spitfire N3200 to the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

Boeing just patented a jet engine powered by lasers and nuclear explosions

The US Patent and Trademark Office has approved Boeing patent application 9,068,562, Laser-powered propulsion system. In one embodiment, an airplane engine uses lasers fired at radioactive material like deuterium or tritium to create a nuclear fusion reaction. The hydrogen or helium exhaust byproducts exit the rear of the engine and provide thrust. Coolant heated from the reaction drives a turbine and generator to produce electricity that powers the lasers.

Boeing Beats Airbus in June

The Motley Fool used the Boeing Orders & Deliveries Tool to examine June orders and found 161 planes ordered by customers. These were 131 single-aisle 737 commercial airliners, 24 Boeing 777s, five 787 Dreamliners, and one 747. Airbus reported 135 orders in the month.

Year to date, Boeing new plane orders are 221 single-aisle 737s, fifty 787s, forty-nine 777s, four 747s, and one 767. The total net after cancellations is 281 Boeing orders received through the first half of 2015. Airbus says they have booked 324 A320-family airplanes, 57 A330s, and one A350, for a total of 382 planes total.

Airbus’ all-electric E-Fan aircraft crosses the English Channel

First electric plane to cross the English Channel was Not Airbus!

On July 10, the electric Airbus E-Fan crossed the English Channel in a 36-minute flight. The E-Fan is a light twin-engine aircraft powered by lithium-ion batteries and electric motors. The night before the E-Fan crossing, an electrically powered Cri-Cri piloted by Hugues Duval made it’s own Channel crossing to become the first.

Originally, Pipistrel intended be first across the Channel in its Alpha Electro two-seat trainer. However, at the last minute electric motor maker Siemens banned Pipistrel from using the motor.

Calgary Lawn Chair Aviator Charged with “Mischief”

Twenty-six year-old Daniel Boria, attached 110 helium-filled balloons to a “$20 lawn chair” with the idea of skydiving from the chair into the middle of the Calgary Stampede. When he started drifting into the clouds, he bailed out, and ended up in jail. CBC News interviews the lawn chair pilot in Calgary balloon man calls adventure ‘sureal’.

United Airlines Pilot Flushes Live Bullets Down The Toilet: Here’s Why

Aerolineas Argentinas and the stripper who pulled the take off throttle

The Australia News Desk

Grant’s at home when he should be in Bali thanks to the ash cloud from Mt Raung. The boys talk briefly about flights resuming to Bali:

They also talk about the fun they had doing commentary at the Hunter Valley Airshow last weekend despite Grant losing his voice.

Mentioned

Listener Photos

Chinook by Jodi Bromer

Chinook by Jodi Bromer

Hon. Arthur Rosen (Ret.) flying mentally and physically challenged children and their parents for Challenge Air and Sky Kids Arizona:

Hon. Arthur Rosen (Ret.)

Hon. Arthur Rosen (Ret.)

Credit

Post photo by DeKevin Thornton.

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

 

AirplaneGeeks 309 – Airways News

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:37:17 — 44.8MB)

B25 Mitchell of the Royal Netherlands Dutch Historic Flight lining up at RNAS Yeovilton

Airchive.com and Airways Magazine working together, airline citations over passenger rights, airline safety, and announcements from AirVenture Oshkosh.

Guest

Guest Chris Sloan is the founder of Airchive.com and president and founder of 2C Media, a television production and promotion company. Previously, Chris held senior level executive positions with NBC, TLC, and USA Networks.

Chris produced “International Airport 24/7: Miami” on the Travel Channel, and oversaw the TLC documentary on the building of the Airbus A-380 featuring John Travolta.

We talk about changes at Airchive.com and their cross-promotion with Airways magazine, which is becoming more feature driven.  Airchive.com will become AirwaysNews.com and deliver the digital product.

Also, Chris tells us about the challenges producing Airport 24/7 and other aviation programs he has in the works. We talk about  aviation shows on TV, thoughts on an all-aviation television channel, and how different markets demand different aviation programming.

News

Passenger rights rules lead to jump in U.S. airline citations

The LA Times looked at U.S. Department of Transportation records for citations issued against airlines and travel agencies from 2010 to 2013. 521 citations were issued in that time period, almost twice the annual rate for the previous four years. Airlines were cited airlines 181 times for violating rules of unfair and deceptive practices, like advertising fares that were not available. Mistreating disabled passengers resulted in the largest fines.

Elsewhere:

Netherlands and Germany fine foreign airlines over ETS

Swiss Regulator Fines Airlines $11M For Price-Fixing

Despite All the Recent Accidents, Flying is Still Very Safe

It’s been a bad time recently for commercial aviation: MH70 still missing, MH17 shot down by a missile over Ukraine, TransAsia ATR-72 crashed a Taiwanese in heavy rains killing 40, aAn Air Algerie MD-83 with 116 on board crashed in Mali.

Flight Bans Show Skittishness Over Trouble Spots

Airlines are acting ahead of their regulatory agencies.

How Israel persuaded the Airlines that Ben Gurion is Safe

Israel’s Civil Aviation authorities sent a memo to international airline regulators and airlines, describing that Ben-Gurion is safe. In part, the memo says, “The Iron dome launch batteries covering Ben-Gurion Airport operate under a specific set of procedures which I cannot go into in detail due to security reasons. I would like to note, however, that out of over 2,250 rockets fired from Gaza into Israeli territory… not a single one has landed in Ben-Gurion Airport.”

News from AirVenture Oshkosh 2014

AeroVue Cockpit Retrofit Launched By BendixKing

There’s A New Light Sport Amphib Coming To The Block

Cessna Introduces Turbo Skyhawk JT-A

Brown Aviation Lease and Redhawk Aero Partner to Address High Cost Flight Training Combining Hardware, Software and Services

Premier Launches Diesel Cessna 172 Upgrade Program

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week

Lockheed M21and D21

The Tagboard Senior Trend 30, and the M/D-21 – the MACH 3.5 drone that had a serious disaster in July 1966. See a video of the accident: SR71 Sistership, The MD21 Blackbird Accident and JC-130 Recovery.

The Australia News Desk

The first two RAAF F-35s are unveiled in Texas, and Qantas are once again considering splitting their International and Domestic arms, as the proposed changes to the Qantas Sale Act just aren’t enough in their eyes.

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.

Across the Pond

This week Pieter is at the home of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset in the UK, for their annual Air Show. There are no flying Swordfish this year but the Royal Navy Historic Flight Sea Fury certainly starts off the display with a growl in the hands of Lt Commander Chris Gotke. Visitors from the Army and RAF, as well as Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Jordan and Belgium made it a truly international show. This years theme follows the naming of HMS Queen Elizabeth and is all about operating at sea.

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mentioned

Carl Valeri’s Aviation Careers Podcast.

Credit

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 260 – AirVenture 2013 Debrief

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James Redmon under the wing of his gorgeous Berkut homebuilt

Guests Martt Clupper from the AirPigz blog and Martin Rottler, a faculty lecturer at The Ohio State University’s Center for Aviation Studies join Rob to tell us about the just completed EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh. We talk about the planes, the people, the airshows, and some of the innovations. We hear about the essence of what AirVenture is all about.

Also in this episode is Rob’s interview with Michimasa Fujino, President & CEO, Honda Aircraft Company.

Skip Stewart looking down the runway on his knife edge takeoff!

Skip Stewart looking down the runway on his knife edge takeoff!

The week’s aviation news:

NASA WB-57

NASA WB-57

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week: the WB-57F Canberra.

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Bas Scheffers represented the PCDU team at Oshkosh. He caught up with Ryan Cambell, the 19 year old flying solo around the world.

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.

Emirates

Courtesy Emirates

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

We return to look at the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) this week with Oussama Salah our expert from the region. We discuss how the gulf carriers continue to grow and how air cargo fits into the plan. This is the first of a two part segment which will conclude next episode. See Oussama’s Take and circle Oussama on Google+

Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Sorrell SNS-7 Hiperbipe by Mike Butorac at the Boundary Bay Airshow

Sorrell SNS-7 Hiperbipe by Mike Butorac at the Boundary Bay Airshow

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 209.5 – EAA Airventure 2012 Interviews

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (28.6MB)

Sikorsky RAIDER compound helicopter

In this Special Edition of the Airplane Geeks Podcast, David takes us back to EAA AirVenture 2012 with interviews recorded July 25-28, 2012. Over 500,000 people attended the event over the course of seven days. This year was the year of the Piper Cub, celebrating 75 years of Cubs.

Interviews:

Piaggio

C-46A Commando Tinker Belle

 

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 208 – Geeks at Oshkosh 2012

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (44.4MB)

Rimowa Luggage Ju-52

Yohai West is Product Marketing Manager at NICE Systems and is an expert in airport security and safety technologies like video management systems, incident management, and physical security information management (PSIM). He consults with airports around the world on best practices and strategies to mitigate security risks by anticipating, managing, and mitigating the risks. NICE customers include Los Angeles Airport, Miami International Airport and Denver Regional Transportation District.

We talk about the security functions at airports and their roles, what security threats actually exist, and how most airports now handle all the security inputs they receive. NICE Systems offers a technology that brings the video and other inputs together in a way that enables the airport to make the best possible decisions. We talk the tech, including the application of video analytics to airport security and operations.

Learn more about this at the NICE YouTube Channel and also the NICE Situator Video Case Study New Orleans International Airport MSY

Team Oracle

AirVenture 2012:

After attending AirVenture 2012 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Rob and David have a lot of observations and insight into this annual event. They talk about the places at the show they visited, the planes they saw, and most of all, the people they met, including:

Karlene Pettit, Flight for Control, karlenepetitt.blogspot.com

Amy Laboda, Women in Aviation, International, www.wai.org

Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association www.aopa.org

HondaJet: hondajet.honda.com

Linda Meeks, Girls With Wings, www.girlswithwings.com

Jamie Dodson, Nick Grant Adventures: www.nickgrantadventures.com

David Allen, Other People’s Airplanes: otherpeoplesairplanes.com

Benet Wilson: www.aviationqueen.com

Rod Rakic: www.facebook.com/rodrakic

Adam Fast: www.adamfast.com

@ATCBen

Uncontrolled Airspace: www.uncontrolledairspace.com

Eden Grace Zeek, GE Aviation, US

@NZAircraftFan

@BrandiLAX

Rimowa Luggage Ju-52: www.rimowa.de

Sennheiser: www.sennheiserusa.com

Orbis: www.orbis.org

Teresa Stokes, wingwalker and artist: www.genesoucy.com/about_teresa_stokes.htm

Oshkosh 2012

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Statistics are all the rage this week as all major Australian carriers claim to have the best “on time departure” ratings, more Qantas maintenance to move overseas as subsidiary company LTQ Engineering announces the closure of its Melbourne engine shop, Qantas rumoured to be back in talks with Emirates about code sharing to Europe while at Virgin, CEO John Borghetti says “bring on the competition,” RAAF Hawk 127 fleet achieves 75,000 hours or service, Indonesian Air Force Su27 and Su30 fighters arrive in Darwin to join in the multi national training Exercise Pitch Black.

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.

Rob, Benet & Eden

Rob Mark beats out Benet Wilson for the GE Aviation “Oshy” Trophy, presented by Eden Zeek. Benet promises revenge next time.

Mentions:

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.