Tag Archives: X-47B UCAS

Episode 261 – Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium Communications

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (47.5MB)

Air Tractor 502

Guest Matt Desch is the CEO of Iridium Communications, the world’s largest satellite system with almost 650,000 customers around the globe. Matt is a commercial/instrument/multi rated pilot and owns a Cessna T210. He also volunteers as a member of the Board of Trustees for AOPA, and flies for Angel Flight as well.

The $3 Billion Iridium NEXT program is set to launch 81 new satellites in a low-earth orbit constellation that will include ADS-B receivers to support the NextGen navigation system. These satellites will relay aircraft signals into the air traffic controllers in real-time to enable world-wide navigation. This will allow, for example, vastly reduced aircraft separation over the Atlantic, yielding and more efficient flights.  The service will be provided through Aireon, a joint venture between Iridium and Nav Canada.

Find Iridium on Twitter as @IridiumComm and on Facebook. Matt tweets as @IridiumBoss.

The week’s aviation news:

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week: the Air Tractor AT-502.

Grant and Steve

Grant and Steve

In this week’s Australia Desk:

It’s Edition 200 of the Australia Desk!

First Boeing 787 in Jetstar livery rolls out of the Everett paint shop.

Worldwide Saber Reservation System crash takes Virgin Australia down with it.

A Virgin B737 collides with a Jetstar A320 during pushback at Melbourne Airport – up to $2million damage.

The New Zealand Government has issued a travel warning concerning flights taken in Tonga on board the Chinese produced MA60 turboprop aircraft, citing safety concerns.

Ryan Campbell continues his Teen World Flight, leaving the USA & Canada and touching down in Reykjavic, Iceland.  He’s heading to the UK and Europe from there.  Track his aircraft – VH-OLS.

AOPA Australia are holding a Safety Seminar in Perth on August 31st & September 1st at the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia, at Jandakot Airport.  Highly recommended for local pilots.

Here’s to the next 200 Aus Desks!

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:

This week we continue our discussion with Oussama Salah on the Middle East and North Africa. We conclude the discussion on cargo and how a new airport should be built to fully integrate into the whole road, rail and sea transportation system. We also discuss the ‘evolutionary’ low cost versus full fair process with the news that FlyDubai is bringing Business Class into its existing low cost fleet.

www.linkedin.com/in/oussamasalah

www.oussamastake.blogspot.com

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

DC-10 Water Tanker drop by Stephen Tornblom

DC-10 Water Tanker drop by Stephen Tornblom

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 257 – The Flight Safety Foundation

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (55.4MB)

Turkish F-16

Guest Kevin Hiatt is the CEO and President of the Flight Safety Foundation, an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, auditing, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation’s mission is to pursue the continuous improvement of global aviation safety and the prevention of accidents.

Before joining the Foundation, Kevin was the Vice President for Corporate Safety and Security at World Airways, and before that Kevin was with Delta Air Lines for 26 years in a variety of positions, including Chief Pilot at the Atlanta International Pilot Crew Base.

We talk about the Asiana Flight 214 accident, how airliners have become more safe and how they might be made even safer. We touch on the dependency on automation, video capture in the cockpit, recording radio transmissions at small airports, upcoming Foundation events, drones in the airspace, and more.

Also, Kevin tells us about the new Legal Advisory Committee and the Safety Protection Task Force, seeking to protect the data from an accident so it is used only to improve aviation safety, and not as evidence in criminal court.

See the Flight Safety Foundation on the Web, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

The week’s aviation news:

Royal Australian Navy - Image courtesy of Australian Aviation Magazine

In this week’s Australia Desk:

Several times each year, in cities all around the country, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) conducts open briefings for pilots and other interested parties which cover all the latest updates on rule changes, legislative changes, policies and so on. On the night of recording, Grant had just returned from one such briefing and brings us a report on what was covered. Of particular interest was the proposed changes to pilots licenses which, among many other things, will allow CASA to directly license “recreational” pilots with a license similar to the US sport pilot license. We discuss how this change might affect the current issuer of these licenses, the Recreational Aviation Association of Australia, which is in a poor state at present.

In other news, Qantas has announced that it is looking very carefully at the latest fire related issues affecting the 787 fleet, with delivery of its own Dreamliner airframes not far away.

Jetstar awaits probe into 787 Dreamliner fire at Heathrow

The Royal Australian Navy has formally commissioned the new fleet of of MHR-90 “Taipan” helicopters, and reactivating 808 Squadron in the process.

Navy commissions 808SQN and MRH 90 helicopter

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:

This week we look at the UK Airshow circuit after the loss of the US attendees through sequestration. It appears that the attending displays have stepped up to the challenge. Pieter discusses with Gareth Stringer, if the UK and Europe are being spoilt by the momentous displays being put on by the display pilots, an F16 Shootout and the RAF Typhoon burning up the skies. (We also wish we could bring David over as he would surely enjoy the spectacle).

Airshow Review – Scorcher! RAF Waddington International Airshow 2013

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 249 – Jason Paur on the Solar Impulse

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (45.2MB)

Across America 2013: Golden Gate Flight © Solar Impulse, J. Revillard

Jason Paur is an instrument rated pilot and a journalist and writer covering aerospace at Wired.com. He’s been following and reporting on the Solar Impulse, a solar powered aircraft currently on a flight across the U.S., with the objective of a future around-the-world flight.

We talk with Jason about the Solar Impulse, which has a 208 foot wingspan yet weighs only 3500 pounds. Four electric motors rated about 10HP each are powered by photovoltaic cells, which cover the wings and horizontal stabilizers. The cells charge onboard batteries which allow the Solar Impulse to fly through the night. Jason describes what it’s like to fly the aircraft

Some of Jason’s articles on the Solar Impulse:

We also discuss Jason’s visit to Wichita, including a rather dramatic demo flight in a Cessna Citation X flight test aircraft. Also, will we see airliners without pilots, and if so when?

Jason is also involved in Medium, an interesting new project from Ev Williams, founder of Blogger and Twitter. This is a collaborative platform that puts collections of writing into themed collections. Jason started an aerospace collection called Lift and Drag with some thoughts about the lost magic of flight. You can read all about it at the introductory post. Anybody who is interested in contributing to Medium and help expand the aviation collection can contact Jason.

Find Jason on Twitter as @jasonpaur, and at Wired in the Autopia, Danger Room, and Wired Science sections.

An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)

An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Australia Desk:

We have spoken highly in recent years of Australian manufacturer GippsAero and their successes in creating aircraft that have sold all around the world. So it is with some concern this week that we report on the announcement of a corporate restructuring by parent company, Mahindra Aerospace, which although confusingly worded, indicated the loss of 40 jobs at the plant in Morwell, Victoria. There is widespread concern in the region that Mahindra may have a bigger plan in store, and one which may not be well received. We’ll keep a close eye on development.

GippsAero restructures, reduces workforce by 40

In airline news this week, Virgin Australia has issued a profit warning to the Australian Stock Exchange indicating that revenues have not been as strong as previously expected, well below the $83million pre tax estimate but not yet specified. The share market reacted by dropping Virgin’s stock by 7% Worse still, their new low cost carrier, Steve’s favourite airline Tiger Airways, has also indicated that it has lost a significant amount of money over the past year. Virgin will no doubt be aiming to reverse these fortunes in the coming year.

Virgin Australia braced after proft warning

Tiger Airways Australia reveals $56.5m loss for 2012-13

Grant also responds to listener feedback from the previous show, following his verbose opinions on McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.

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.

Piper Warrior II 161 of Freedom Aviation, fresh from the paint shop with new avionics and engine

Piper Warrior II 161 of Freedom Aviation, fresh from the paint shop with new avionics and engine

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

This week Pieter visits Dave Jelly from Freedom Aviation at Cotswold Airfield in the UK, to talk about the unique style of flying training that Freedom undertakes and what sort of flight sorties they make with both students and qualified pilots. Kitted out with new and refurbished aircraft Freedom is bringing a new and refreshing style of flight training and aircraft leasing to the UK general aviation market. Pieter came away enthused that GA is still ‘alive’ and blossoming here in some parts of Europe (weather permitting).

Follow @FlyWithFreedom on Twitter and Facebook.

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 226 – Flight Instruction with Jason Blair

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (49.0MB)

Jason Blair, Executive Director, National Association of Flight Instructors

Guest Jason Blair is the Executive Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors.

Jason starting his flying experience at the age of 15, soloing at 16, and getting his private pilot’s certificate at 17. While he pursued both undergraduate and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University, he continued his flight training at local FBOs, obtaining his commercial and instructor certificates. He now serves as the Executive Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors, is an active CFI with over 2000 hours of instruction given, NAFI Master Flight Instructor, and an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner for both part 61 and part 141 training providers. He flies general aviation aircraft for much of his personal and business travel. He actively represents NAFI and the flight instruction community in a number of capacities including on the FAA’s Runway Safety Council, the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee, the TSA Aviation Safety Advisory Council, NATA’s Flight Training Committee, and others.

We talk to Jason about the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), its mission and objectives. Our conversation touches on the NAFI education foundation, how to pick a flight instructor who is a good match and how not to, if there are enough flight instructors to handle the number of pilots we expect to need, and other topics. You can follow Jason on Twitter as @skykid_jeb.

The week’s aviation news:

David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Boeing C-32B, also known as the Boeing 757.

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Qantas dominated the aviation news in Australia this week as a so called “rebel group” of investors headed by former CEO Geoff Dixon and advertising guru John Singleton were said to be plotting to make a takeover bid for the board, removing Allan Joyce. They are apparently uphappy with the current direction of the board, particularly with regard to the recent tie up with Emirates. Dixon currently works of the board of Tourism Australia, and Singleton’s company has advertising contracts with both organisations.

As a result of these rumour/moves, Joyce has pulled out of the Tourism Australia deal that Qantas has held for decades, taking $A40million in funding with him. Not long after that, Virgin Australia’s chief John Borghetti was said to have been in talks with Dixon – the man he would have replaced at Qantas had Joyce not been given the job – about Virgin filling the gap left by Qantas at Tourism Australia.

It’s a big and very complex story that will no doubt fester along for months to come.

In other news, the final RAAF AP3-C Orion has returned home from operations in the Middle East, bringing to an end a decade of service in that region. Also, November 30th saw the final day of C130H operations with at least one airframe rumoured to be housed at the Air Force Museum in Melbourne.

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.

Landing Hamburg Aeroport

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

This week we have a special guest on Across The Pond that specialises in futuristic aircraft designs that not only stretch the imagination beyond our normal aviation boundaries, but expands our vision of what is possible.

From Octuri, our guest explains his vision and drivers to design possible concept craft of the air, not just through dreamy ideas, but based upon clear design principles as well as aerospace physics.

Over a hundred years ago there were probably people looking at the equivalent drawings of the Wright Brothers, cynically suggesting they will never happen in their lifetime. Will we ever see these in ours?

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

Ditched Curtiss C-46 near Normans Cay in the Bahamas by Bjorn MoermanListener Bjorn Moerman is a Belgian Airbus A380 captain flying out of Dubai with a passion for photography. His wife also holds a flying license and they regularly rent a single engine for flying holidays. Recently they rented a G1000 C172-SP in Florida and went island hopping to the Bahamas. This image is of a ditched Curtiss C-46 near Normans Cay in the Bahamas. It won a price with National Geography earlier this year.

Mentions:

Twitter lists:

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