Tag Archives: supersonic

403 Bits & Pieces XVI

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This is a Bits & Pieces episode, where we ask the co-hosts and other contributors to provide pre-recorded segments, then we stitch them together and it’s Bits & Pieces.

NASA Interviews

Dr. Richard Wahls and David Vanderhoof

Dr. Richard Wahls and David Vanderhoof

David Vanderhoof spent a day at NASA Langley Research Center (LRC) which is adjacent to Joint Base Langley Eustis, and he recorded several interviews. NASA LRC is leading the charge the revitalize focus on the first “A” in NASA: Aeronautics.

The first interview is with Dr. Richard Wahls, the Advanced Air Vehicles Program Strategic Technical Advisor. David and Dr. Wahls talk about the new X- Plane Program and how it is focusing on environmental issues to make commerical, GA, and military aviation “greener.”

Peter Coen

Peter Coen

The second interview is with Peter Coen, the Commercial Supersonic Technology Project Manager. They talk about “shaping the boom” by changing the shape of the aircraft. While not eliminating the boom, it does reduce its impact on the ground.

David also recorded two other interviews at NASA Langley. He spoke with Dr. Allen about the Autonomy Incubator, and that interview can be found at The UAV Digest.com #145. David also talked with Frank Jones about sense and avoid technology and sUAS package delivery. Find that conversation at The UAV Digest.com #149 which will be released a few days after this episode. You can follow NASA Langley on Twitter at @NASA_Langley. Thanks to Kathy Barnstoff and Bill Baley for arranging the interviews.

Airport Security Lines

Brian Coleman talks about long TSA lines.

On the Mark

Rob Mark has another On the Mark segment titled Don’t Let Congress Cut the NTSB’s TV Time.

Listener Recording

Gary tells us his story of buying his own Piper PA-38 Tomahawk.

Our Maine(e) Man Micah

By popular request, Micah brings us a timely update to his piece, News Reporting and the Sport of Speculation or The Surge in Sensational Surrealism. Plus a little bonus piece from Micah called Lighter Than Nomenclature.

Credit

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

AirplaneGeeks 400 That’s a Lot of Episodes

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John Croft

John Croft in the NASA Langley simulator

John Croft, Senior Editor at Aviation Week & Space Technology joins us for our 400th episode. We discuss Safety Management Systems (SMS), the IATA 2015 Safety Report, challenges for a safety culture that embraces self-reporting, and flight simulator changes that include models for high-altitude, high-angle of attack regimes.

In the news, we discuss airline profits and complaints (both up), an aircraft leasing company IPO, thoughts on a B-52 engine upgrade, a female aviation pioneer, sonic booms, and PSA Airlines’ pilot hiring strategy.

John CroftGuest

John Croft is Senior Editor Avionics & Safety, Aviation Week & Space Technology. He’s a part-owner of a 1978 Piper Archer II, a certified flight instructor, instrument instructor, multi-engine rated commercial pilot, and former NASA engineer. He specialized in avionics and control systems for Earth-orbiting satellites, including the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer and Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer.

After leaving NASA in 2000, John earned a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland and went on to work for several aerospace publications, including Flight International as Americas Editor before joining Aviation Week in 2012.

News

Airlines report record profits even as customer complaints soar

In 2015, fuel prices came down 35%, baggage fees amounted to $3.8 billion, and reservation change fees were $3 billion. At the same time, average fares were down 3.8%, yet U.S. passenger airlines enjoyed $25.6 billion in profits in 2015 vs. $7.5 billion in 2014. But formal complaints grew 30%.

Top aircraft leasing firm’s IPO to raise $1.5b

Many airlines lease the airplanes they operate, from companies like ILFC, AerCap, GCAS, and BOC Aviation. Singapore-based BOC Aviation Ltd, is owned by the Bank of China, and they are looking at a possible IPO which could raise as much as $1.5 billion.

P&W still pushing upgrade of B-52’s original TF33 engine

Boeing B-52 bombers are powered by Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines, 1950’s engine technology. They are loud, smoky, and burn a lot of fuel. There has been talk in the past of replacing each pair of TF33’s with a single new-technology engine, but such a re-engining would be very expensive. Instead, P&W military engines president Bennett Croswell is proposing a TF33 upgrade package that would lower the cost of maintenance.

Colorado Native Honored For Flying Through Glass Ceiling

Emily Hanrahan Warner became the first female airline pilot in the United States, and she’s now been inducted in the Irish American Hall of Fame. On April 10, 1973, Warner became the first woman hired by an American carrier and in 1976, she became America’s first female airline captain.

Honeywell, NASA Test Sonic Boom Technology

Under NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology (CST) project, Honeywell was awarded a contract in 2015 to overcome supersonic boom issues. Honeywell has developed a predictive display that tell pilots when a sonic boom is developing.

Seeking 500 pilots a year, PSA Airlines sweetens the pot

PSA AIrlines Inc. needs to hire 500 new pilots per year. To attract more pilots they will offer a $20,000 retention bonus to active first officers and a $250 monthly allowance for pilots to offset the cost of commuting hotel expenses.

Mentioned

IATA 2015 Safety Report [PDF]

Pilot Error Movie Trailer – A fictional drama film is inspired by the true story of Air France 447.

Credit

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

AirplaneGeeks 299 – The Airport Lounge

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Viking Twin Otter UV-18C

We talk Loungebuddy CEO Tyler Dikman about access to airport lounges, airline baggage and other ancillary fees,  and therapy and service animals on the airplane.

Tyler tells us about the benefits of airport lounges, which are used by only about 6% of the traveling public. Airports are often not relaxing or conducive to work, and lounges are an alternative that is more available than some people think. Many are available to anyone for a one time fee, which might be an inexpensive upgrade for road warriors.

The lounges range from basic to luxurious, and each has their own access requirements, rules, and amenities. Loungebuddy provides a global directory of airport lounges (currently 425 airports), how to get into them, how many guests you can bring, if they are free or charge for entry, and what you’ll find in those lounges.

We also talk about social interaction in airport lounges and the business case for airport lounges. Most are carrier-operated, but sometimes third parties manage the lounge, like Plaza Premium Lounge and Serviceair (now Swissport).

Tyler gives us his thoughts on the airport lounge with the best food, best WiFi, and most unusual amenity.

The week’s aviation news:

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week:

The deHavilland, now Viking, DHC-6 Twin Otter. David got talking about Twin Otters with Ken Breeden, one of the US Army Golden Knights C-31 pilots for his flight.  Ken is also the Contract Project Officer for the team and that led to the discussion of the newest aircraft the UV-18C Twin Otters.

Videos:

In this week’s Australia Desk:

The boys are back and recovered from working at Wings Over Illawarra airshow last week and they’re reporting on the Australian Federal Government’s recent approval to purchase an additional 58 F35s, taking our total confirmed purchase to 72 aircraft.

Meanwhile, a brand new Cirrus SR22 had an engine failure over the Blue Mountains and the pilot deployed the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) to land in the front yard of a house. The landing caused a bit of a media sensation and also led to Grant being quoted in a newspaper article and interviewed on radio 2UE.

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.

Mentioned:

Listen to the NBAA Flight Plan podcast from the National Business Aviation Association.

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

Seaborne Airlines : Coming Off the trailer…

Episode 247 – Arthur Rosen’s Aviation Opinions

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ICON Aircraft

Arthur Rosen blogs at My Opinion: Thoughts and Comments on General Aviation and he doesn’t hold back on his opinions. He’s a pilot, the AOPA-ASN (Airport Support Network) volunteer for Scottsdale Airport (SDL), past Chairman of the Scottsdale Airport Advisory Commission, he served on the Super Bowl Committee for Aviation, is past President of Arizona Soaring Association, an Aviation Expert for ABC TV-Phoenix, and a retired Judge!

We talk with Arthur about flight training and how it has become more about passing the test than learning to fly. Also, local airports and local politics – how residential development is an airport killer. Arthur has strong feelings about user fees, and how they, like land development, destroy aviation.

Arthur maintains that people do have an interest in learning to fly, but for many the cost is prohibitive. He has a pretty interesting prediction for small airplanes over the next five or ten years (it isn’t pretty), and he doesn’t buy the airline pilot shortage we hear about.

We discuss light sport aircraft and why they haven’t fulfilled the promise of being affordable entry-level airplanes. Also, legacy aircraft and FAA mandated TSO (Technical Service Order) equipment (Max gets confused because TSO means something different to ex-MRO guys), how the iPad is valuable for pilots with Foreflight and WingX dominating the apps market and training through the FAA Acquisition System Toolset (FAST).

Find Arthur Rosen on Twitter as @judge613.

The week’s aviation news:

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week: Vultee Vibrator or Valiant BT-13/SNV.

2013 Defence White Paper

Defence Minister, Stephen Smith MP, releasing the 2013 Defence White Paper at Defence Establishment

In this week’s Australia Desk:

The Australian Government released its latest Defense White Paper this week, outlining updates on planned future equipment acquisitions for the Army, Navy and Air Force. On the aviation side of things, the purchase of 12 EA-18G “Growler” aircraft was announced, and Grant ponders whether this might mean the existing 12 “pre-wired” F18F+ Super Hornets already in the fleet will still be converted – as previously planned – into Growlers, while buying 12 new Super Hornets to replace them. Steve points out that this is far too logical for any government to consider. Additionally, there is speculation that the F-35 order book may be reduced from 100 airframes to 72.

Australia’s Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus, was in hot water this week after allegedly refusing to obey the instructions of a Qantas flight crew to turn off his mobile phone. The Federal Police was notified of the incident but were not required to attend the aircraft.

Former Qantas executive Rod Sharp took the reins at Tiger Airways this week, continuing the trend of ex-Qantas big wigs being poached away by John Borghetti, the CEO of Virgin Australia – who now own a controlling interest in Tiger, as reported last week.

No Speedos were harmed in the production of this segment

Links :

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.

Commander Ian Sloan at Royal Navy Historic Flight

Commander Ian Sloan at Royal Navy Historic Flight

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

On our recent visit to the Royal Navy Historic Flight, Commander Ian Sloan told us about his plans to become an exchange pilot flying jets from a friendly nation’s aircraft carriers. Listen in and find out what aircraft type and what Navy, he is being seconded to.

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

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 177 – Kurt Barnhart, Unmanned

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Kurt Barnhart is Professor and head of the Department of Aviation at Kansas State University. He’s also Executive Director of the Applied Aviation Research Center which focuses on integrating unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace system. Kurt been a National Association of Flight Instructors’ Master Flight Instructor since 2003.

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Australia Desk report: Virgin Australia re-branding completed, Polynesian Blue re-branded as Virgin Samoa, Sydney International Airport to upgrade & reconfigure its terminals, China Southern to increase its presence in Australia & is looking for a more Aussie feel to its services, Scoot looks to fly to Sydney from Singapore while it’s CEO has a possible Freudian slip when talking about the value of low cost carriers. 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 brings back Gareth Stringer and Tim Robinson for our monthly update on aviation news in Europe. Tim has visisted Dubai for the Airshow and brings back stories on Qatar Aiways and the fights with Airbus over the A350-1000 modifications. Gareth tells us about the next edition of Global Aviation Resource monthly digital aviation magazine and we discuss our favourite photo of 2011 on The Hangar. Find Gareth at www.globalaviationresource.com and Tim at www.aerosociety.com.

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/.

Post photo: ‘Miss Demeanour’ a Hawker Hunter that features in UK Airshows owned by Jonathon Whaley. Picture is Courtesy of Gareth Stringer and Global Aviation Resource.com.

Episode 106 – Walking the Elk

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Beech C90B King Air

Bruce Landsberg, President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation (http://www.asf.org/),
a nonprofit pilot education and safety organization, joins as this week’s guest. We talk about the week’s aviation news and discuss the resources offered by ASF for new pilots, experienced pilots, and prospective pilots.

The week’s aviation news:

Mentions:

  • The Bradford Camps, the North Maine Woods sporting camp owned by Igor and Karen Sikorsky III.
  • Stitcher, where you can stream the Airplane Geeks podcast (and others) right to your mobile device.

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/.