Tag Archives: QZ8501

AirplaneGeeks 380 SkyWest Airlines

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SkyWest CRJ200
Conversation with the Vice President of Flight Operations at SkyWest Airlines, including pilot applicant qualifications, training, and pay. Also, Ryanair takes aim at Google and online travel agent eDreams, an AirAsia Flight 8501 crash report, and new planes for the Blue Angels.

Guest

Guest Tracy Gallo is Vice President of Flight Operations with SkyWest Airlines, a regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah and flying as United Express, Delta Connection, Alaska Airlines, and American. SkyWest serves 205 cities in 44 states, 6 Canadian provinces, Mexico, and the Bahamas with 656 aircraft and over 3, 000 pilots.

We talk about employment opportunities for pilots at SkyWest, requirements for applicants, the training provided, and pay and job progression.

Tracy was named to his current position in 2014, and he’s responsible for all areas of SkyWest’s flight operations, including the airline’s Flight Training and Crew Scheduling, and he oversees the development and implementation of operations policies related to safety and efficiency.

Tracy joined SkyWest in 1993 as a pilot and he gained experience with the Flight Operations Department through a progression of roles, including flight instructor, simulator instructor, and check airman. As the director of Flight Training, he oversaw SkyWest Airlines’ industry-leading flight training program, and the implementation of Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) training.

News

Ryanair launches legal action against Google and eDreams

If you perform a Web search for Ryanair, you’ll likely see a paid placement at the top of the results for Ryanair tickets sold by online travel company eDreams. Michael O’Leary thinks eDreams and Google are “deceiving consumers” and has started a legal challenge in the Irish High Court to stop the “false advertising practices.”

Malfunctions, Pilot Response Blamed in AirAsia Flight 8501 Crash

Investigators from Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee say the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 on December 28, 2014 while en route from Indonesia to Singapore was the result of system malfunctions, cascading electrical and rudder-system problems, and the failure of pilots to respond properly. A cracked solder joint, an electrical interruption, warnings of a rudder malfunction, and confusion in the cockpit conspired to bring the plane down.

Regional Airlines Seek Reduced Minimum Pilot-Experience Mandate

The Regional Airline Association is unhappy with the 1500-hour experience rule for First Officers and wants to reduce the requirement while improving training and supervision.

Compass Airlines gives first-year pilots 40 percent raise

Compass Airlines has agreed to a 40 percent pay raise for first-year first officers, and to provide commuting pilots with four paid hotel stays per month. The Compass fleet includes Embraer 170 and 175 regional jets flying as Delta Connection and American Eagle.

America’s Most Secret Airline Now Accepting Pilot Applications

Janet (Just Another Non Existent Terminal) is the secret airline that transports military and contractor employees to sensitive locations, like Area 51. It’s operated by defense contractor AECOM for the USAF, and they need a First Officer. As explained in the job posting (First Officer (Pilot) in Las Vegas Nevada United States), you’ll need a top secret government security clearance and a Boeing 737 type rating.

Lawyer Is Refused Boarding on La Guardia Flight After Revolving-Door Mix-Up

A Texas lawyer was viewed dimly by a Virgin America employee as the two passed through a revolving door. The lawyer was later refused boarding on his flight home.

USN moves to modify Super Hornet for Blue Angels role

The US Navy Blue Angels demonstration team looks to move on to a squadron of Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornets.

The Australia News Desk

Steve is back in the studio so the sound quality is up and so is the number of stories:

and something about Stanwell Park.

Across the Pond

English Electric Lightning F1A by Mike Freer

English Electric Lightning F1A by Mike Freer (Touchdown-aviation) at RNAS Yeovilton (8 September 1973)

Pieter lights the touch paper with David on the English Electric Lightning

Test Pilot TV Series 1986 – The English Electric Lightning

Mentioned

Shawn's Piper Twin Comanche flight sim

Shawn’s Piper Twin Comanche flight sim

Van’s RV-4 VH-NOJ by Ryan Hothersall

Van’s RV-4 VH-NOJ by Ryan Hothersall

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 334 The NACA Centennial

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

NACA hangar

A symposium celebrating the formation of NACA 100 years ago, an AirAsia Flight 8501 update, slimline seats and passenger comfort, how to deboard quickly, and a Mars rover equipped with a drone.

Guest

Dr. Bill Barry is NASA’s sixth Chief Historian. Prior to his appointment in September 2010, Bill served as the NASA European Representative at the United States Embassy in Paris and at NASA Headquarters as a Senior International Programs Specialist and leader of the Russia Team in the Office of External Relations.

Bill is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, he also holds a Masters Degree from Stanford University and a Doctorate from Oxford University. He’s a pilot who holds a commercial, instrument ticket for multi-engine land and glider and is (oddly enough) currently working on his single engine rating.

Bill is one of the organizers of The NACA Centenary: A Symposium on 100 Years of Aerospace Research and Development to be held at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  on March 3-4, 2015.

Congress established the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) on March 3, 1915. In 1958, NACA was transitioned and become NASA.

Find the NASA History Program Office at history.nasa.gov, and lots of great photos on Flickr.

News

AirAsia Flight 8501 update:

Divers have retrieved some bodies from a section of fuselage that sits about 100 feet down in the Java Sea. Efforts to raise the fuselage have failed. Reports attribute the difficulty to deflating lifting balloons, snapped ropes around the fuselage, and even breakup of the fuselage.

United just built 14 new planes using your extra legroom

United Airlines plans to grow capacity by 1.5% to 2.5% across its entire fleet, through a combination of new planes and new seats on old planes. The new seats are slimline seats. Installation on 300 aircraft gives United the equivalent capacity of 14 additional aircraft. Thinner seats mean you can fit more in with the same seat pitch. Or even more rows with slightly less seat pitch.

The way we get off airplanes makes absolutely no sense

Airlines try different boarding strategies. Sometimes to minimize total boarding time. Sometimes to support a passenger differentiation strategy. But what about at the other end of the trip? The 2014 study “Structured deplaning via simulation and optimization” showed that deboarding by aisle rather than row could cut time by up to 35%.

NASA planning Mars Helicopter to assist future rovers

These days two things are red hot: Mars rovers and drones. The rovers are accomplishing great science and sending us amazing photographs. Drones seem to be showing up everywhere, and are also creating fantastic images. So what if you had a Mars rover that came with its own drone?

The Australia News Desk

Steve and Grant

It’s Australia Day and the boys are taking a few minutes out from a BBQ to record a quick OzDesk with mentions of special Australia Day items, including:

  • The Royal Australian Navy had their new Landing Helicopter Dock HMAS Canberra on Sydney Harbour while Qantas flew an A380 over the harbour.
  • Meanwhile, in the USA, SQNLDR .Andrew “Jacko” Jackson starts his F35 training on Australia Day.
  • Finally, Steve gives some information about Positive Train Control after Max asked for his input last week.

Airplane Geeks on Ice

Report 5 by Juan Fernandez from McMurdo Bay in Antarctica. More at AirplaneGeeks.com.ice.

Listener Recording

Tony Morley on the 1993 Royal International Air Tattoo.

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 331 The Good, The Bad, and The TSA

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:36 — )

TSA Pre Check

How the TSA treats a man marked as a terrorist, an inside job smuggling guns on an airline, airport security concerns, a former Korean Air executive arrested, United and Orbitz sue over the “hidden city” ticketing strategy, and an AirAsia QZ8501 update.

Guest

After being convicted of releasing animals from fur farms in 2005, Peter Young was labeled a “terrorist” by the TSA. Since then, flying has been quite interesting for Peter. 

You see, Peter was placed on the TSA’s Selectee List. This is not the same as the No Fly List. If you are on the Selectee List, you can fly on an airline, but you are subjected to “enhanced screening.”

Peter has since experienced all manner of “special treatment” from the TSA. He’s been refused entry onto planes, been tailed through airports, and told his Starbucks coffee might be a bomb.

In October 2014, Young launched The Jetsetting Terrorist blog, to document his often hilarious but never boring experiences with the TSA as he travels around the U.S. marked as a “terrorist.” Follow Peter on Twitter as @flyingterrorist.

News

4 large objects found in AirAsia wreckage and victims search

Sonar has picked up large objects, the flight was not certified to fly on that day, why ATC didn’t authorize an increase in altitude, and why pilots don’t turn back.

Arrest warrant for ex-Korean Air exec in nut rage

Heather Cho, the former VP of Korean Air’s in-flight service and the daughter of the Korean Air Chairman, has been arrested. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation investigation determined that Cho’s behavior violated the Aviation Safety and Security Act, which bans any behavior that disturbs airplane operation.

Gun Smuggling on Plane Reveals Security Oversight

In December, a former Delta employee was arrested in New York after allegedly carrying 16 firearms and ammunition in a backpack on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta. This was after a month long investigation.

A Delta baggage handler with access to secure airport areas brought the firearms into the terminal and transferred them to the man, who had already gone through the regular airport security checks.

A Gift to the Jihadis: The Unseen Airport Security Threat

Airport security focuses on passengers, but baggage handlers and other airline employees with access to restricted areas could be bigger threats.

Millennials Worry Most That Airport Security Is Becoming Too Lax

More than 740,000 travelers are now enrolled in the TSA’s “Precheck” program, A survey by Harris Interactive shows that younger people are more worried about lax security than older travelers.

22-year-old raises $33,000 in fight with United Airlines

Aktarer Zaman, founder of the airfare advice site Skiplagged.com, is being sued by United and Orbitz for providing “unfair competition” and promoting “strictly prohibited” travel. Zaman’s website helps air travelers find “hidden city” tickets. Zaman is raising funds to pay for his legal fees at GoFundMe.

David Vanderhoof’s Airplane of the Week

Short Belfast

The Shorts Belfast, a four-engine turboprop freighter produced by Short Brothers.

Aviation Movie of the Month

Always, a 1989 film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman. The film introduced Brad Johnson and featured a cameo by Audrey Hepburn.

The Australia News Desk

The boys are back for 2015 and wondering what happened to last week? Something about holidays and memos, it would appear!

In this Desk, Steve and Grant cover the WA Police Air Wing being grounded due to pilots quitting, the last flights of Qantas 767s (well, sort of) and regional airline SkyTrans closing the doors but in the most controlled and well managed method we’ve ever seen!

Airplane Geeks on Ice

Juan Fernandez provides his second report from Antarctica, this time on the Pegasus crash. Visit AirplaneGeeks.com/ice for more information and some great photos.

Mentioned

Marin's Bushcaddy

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 330 The Rogue Aviator

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Ace Abbott

Memoirs of a pilot, AirAsia Flight QZ8501, flying drones safely, falling oil prices and the cost of airline tickets, the Gulfstream G650ER, a look back at 2014 and a look ahead to 2015.

Guest

Ace Abbott was an F-4 Phantom pilot in the USAF, based in the Far East, and he flew the Learjet as a corporate and charter pilot. During the last 22 years of his career, Ace flew the Boeing 727 for several airlines, accumulating 11,000 hours in the captain’s chair.

Ace is retired now, he blogs, and he authored his memoir, The Rogue Aviator In the Back Alleys of Aviation. and Dead Tired: Aviation’s Insidious Killer which looks at pilot fatigue.

Ace was featured by two young aviation bloggers: Share Your Story: Ace Abbott, Author, F-4 Phantom and 727 Pilot by Swayne Martin and Ace Abbott – His Story by Jake Lewis.

Find Ace’s books, blog and more at The Rogue Aviator. Follow Ace on Twitter: @aceabbott.

News

Update on AirAsia 8501 Accident

AirAsia Flight 8501 was flying from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore with 162 souls onboard: 155 passengers, 2 pilots, and 5 crew. State-owned AirNav Indonesia provides air-navigation services and said the AirAsia plane took off at 5:32 a.m. local time. While cruising at 32,000 feet at 6:12 a.m., it contacted traffic control at Jakarta’s airport to say it was moving left from the flight path and rising to 38,000 feet to avoid a cloud. At 6:18 a.m. QZ8501 disappeared from radar.

UK Body Warns Drone Owners: Fly Safely, or You’ll Be Fined

The UK civil aviation authority reminds people that if you fly recklessly you can be fined as much as 5,000 pounds.

Know Before You Fly

An education campaign founded by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), and the Small UAV Coalition in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to educate prospective users about the safe and responsible operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Why Only Some Airline Tickets Are Falling With Lower Oil Prices

Oil prices have plummeted, and fuel is the big cost element for airlines. So does that mean that ticket prices will fall as well? Not necessarily. Different airline fuel hedging strategies play a role.

See also: Major US Airlines That Took Risky Bets On Oil Are Hurting From Falling Prices and Airfare Should Get Cheaper In 2015 Due To Plummeting Oil Prices, Experts Say.

Airlines We Lost in 2014

The Cranky Flier looks at the airlines that in 2014 went out of business, were bought, or retired.

The Newest Version Of The $66.5 Million G650 Can Fly Nonstop From New York To Hong Kong

The Gulfstream G650ER can carry an extra 4,000 pounds of fuel which increases range to 8,600 miles, enough to fly nonstop from New York to Hong Kong or Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia.

David Vanderhoof’s History Segment

This week Jamie Dodson tells us about the Convair B-36 “Peacemaker.”

B-36J AF Serial Number 52-2217 on display at the Strategic Air and Space Museum.

B-36J AF Serial Number 52-2217 on display at the Strategic Air and Space Museum.

B-36J AF Serial Number 52-2220 on display in the Cold War Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

B-36J AF Serial Number 52-2220 on display in the Cold War Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

B-36J AF Serial Number 52-2827 on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum.

B-36J AF Serial Number 52-2827 on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum.

Airplane Geeks on Ice

LC-130s and a Turbine DC-3 on skis at Williams Field (NZWD) McMurdo Antarctica

LC-130s and a Turbine DC-3 on skis at Williams Field (NZWD) McMurdo Antarctica

Juan Carlos Fernandez Diaz is part of a scientific crew flying in Antarctica. He created the website Listener Reports from an Airplane Geek from McMurdo Station Antarctica and sends us his first report on aviation from that continent.

Mentioned

Credit

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