Tag Archives: 737

737 Flight Sim Controller

We speak with Jon Ostrower, Editor-in-chief of The Air Current. He’s currently working with a team developing a new flight sim controller. In the news, how a Chinese balloon impacts Boeing, a United 777 departing Maui experiences a steep dive, American Airlines pilots refuse to be interviewed on tape, and more on unidentified objects that have been shot down.

Guest

Photo of Jon Ostrower

Jon Ostrower is Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, a high-quality subscription news source for current aviation topics. His journalism career includes positions at CNN, WSJ, and Flightglobal. Jon has joined a start-up team developing an entirely new type of flight sim controller, the Yawman Arrow.

Jon, Thomas Nield, and Dwight S. Nield studied aircraft cockpits of all types in detail and came away with an appreciation for the challenge of rethinking the ergonomics of virtual flying for a handheld. They wanted a flight sim controller that you could take anywhere with the tactile feedback of everything from throttle to trim. The team integrated a mechanically-linked trigger system for intuitive yaw control.

Recently, Jon took a production candidate unit on a flight test, running a Laminar Research X-Plane at 38,000 feet on a MacBook Air, and practicing cross-wind landings. Yawman has been working with Infinite Flight and the Arrow will be fully compatible with flying on Android tablets, too.

Yawman Arrow flight sim controller.
Yawman Arrow flight sim controller.

The Arrow flight sim controller is ideal for simming on the road but also great at home. Jon successfully wirelessly mirrored a MacBook Air with the Arrow to a TV and went full couch mode.

The Yawman Arrow is arriving in Spring 2023. Sign up to receive updates and get notified when pre-orders are launched at: https://yawmanflight.com. The Arrow is designed, manufactured, and packaged in the USA.

Aviation News

China’s surveillance balloon deflates Boeing’s hopes for 737 delivery resumption

After the shootdown, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken canceled his trip to China. David Calhoun, Boeing’s CEO, hoped the visit would lead to resumed deliveries of 737 Max 8’s into China. Now that seems unlikely.

United dive after Maui departure adds to list of industry close calls

A United Boeing 777-200 departing Maui in stormy weather climbed as expected to 2,200 feet, then experienced a steep dive to below 775 feet. The plane recovered and continued its flight to San Francisco. At SFO, an internal safety report was filed, and the aircraft was inspected before the next flight. United coordinated with FAA and ALPA on an investigation and the pilots received additional training.

American Airlines Pilots Refuse Recorded Interview With Safety Board

On January 13, 2023, an American Airlines 777 at JFK taxied across the same runway that a Delta plane was using for departure. At about 115 mph, air traffic controllers instructed the Delta flight to abort their takeoff. The American 777 had not been cleared to cross the runway. Three times the American flight crew refused to be interviewed if the session was to be recorded.

In a statement, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) said, “We join in the goal of creating an accurate record of all interviews conducted in the course of an investigation. However, we firmly believe the introduction of electronic recording devices into witness interviews is more likely to hinder the investigation process than it is to improve it.”

The NTSB has issued subpoenas for their testimony. The flight crews have seven days to respond.

U.S. downs object over Lake Huron after airspace shutdown

The U.S. military had downed another high-altitude object, this time by a U.S. Air Force F-16. The object was flying at about 20,000 feet over Lake Huron in Michigan.

Mentioned

Video: Intercept audio: Listen to the jet that shot down the Chinese Spy Balloon

Composite clip including interception audio from the shoot-down of the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Also includes a video of the shoot-down and a time-lapse of ADS-B flight tracking data from the region.

FlightSimExpo 2023

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, Rob Mark, David Vanderhoof, and Brian Coleman.

Episode 87 – A Most Unusual Family

Pratt & Whitney fan drive gear system for the GTF engines

Jill Rutan Hoffman is a pilot, author of two aviation books (First Flights and Oshkosh Memories), and she comes from a family of aviation dreamers. Her father, Dick Rutan, piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop, and her uncle, Burt Rutan, designed the Voyager, SpaceShipOne which won the Ansari X-Prize, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, and many others. Jill joins us to talk the week’s aviation news and her aviation experiences.

Also making an appearance is Kim Welch, an Airplane Geeks listener and frequent commenter on our content. We’d heard so much from Kim that we decided to get him on the show.

David Vanderhoof has his This Week in Aviation segment, and Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast have their Australia Desk report.

Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

This episode’s opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. Visit his site at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Episode 29 – Branding with Shashank Nigam

Alaska Airlines

Max and Court are joined this week by Shashank Nigam of Simpliflying.com.  Shashank is an airline branding guru, and stops by to lend his thoughts to the various personalities of the airlines.

Tell TSA what Large Aircraft Security Program means to you

As distressed Detroit drops its jets, bizav ponders the fallout

WORLD EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: WhiteKnightTwo flies!

Honda to sell 100 jets a year from 2010

Investigators Focus on Likely Wind Gust in Denver Crash

NZ airline flies jetliner partly run on biofuel

Boeing considers 737 enhancements

GLOBAL AVIATION FORECAST – IATA issues forecast for 2009

16-Year-Old Sitka High School Student Wins ‘Paint the Plane’ Contest

Max’s pick of the week is How to Become A Private Pilot.

The Airplane Geeks are now on Twitter!  You can follow us @AirplaneGeeks.

Make sure to sign up for our new newsletter, “Airplane Geeks Week in Aviation.”
We’ll be bringing you these show notes, as well as some of the week’s news we didn’t have time to cover.
You can sign up at AirplaneGeeks.com.

Brother Love is responsible for this episode’s opening and closing
music, and you can visit his site at brotherloverocks.com.

If you have a question or a comment for the Airplane Geeks, you
can send it to thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com.

You can also leave us voice mail at (812) 757-4252. If you have
a question you’d like mentioned on the podcast, this is the best
way to go about it.

Episode 28 – Good Riddance 2008

737 Crash in Denver

Max and Court welcome Will Hawkins, Rico Sharqawi, and David Allen from APilotsStory.com and Pilots Flight Pod Log Podcast.  We wrap up 2008, and discuss the breaking news out of Denver:

Data recorders found after Denver plane accident

ExcelAire Pilots Face Criminal Trial

British Airways, Qantas Talks Fail on Ownership Split

AOPA: TSA Plans To Step Up GA Scrutiny At Commercial Airports

TSA to listen to pilot concerns on proposed security program

Ten Worst Air Travel Stories of ’08

Max’s pick of the week is the Plane Spotter Radius Search.  Drag the little plane spotter guy to some location on the map (typically someplace near you) and it shows the planes within a 10 mile radius.

The Airplane Geeks are now on Twitter!  You can follow us @AirplaneGeeks.

Make sure to sign up for our new newsletter, “Airplane Geeks Week in Aviation.”
We’ll be bringing you these show notes, as well as some of the week’s news we didn’t have time to cover.
You can sign up at AirplaneGeeks.com.

Brother Love is responsible for this episode’s opening and closing
music, and you can visit his site at brotherloverocks.com.

If you have a question or a comment for the Airplane Geeks, you
can send it to thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com.

You can also leave us voice mail at (812) 757-4252. If you have
a question you’d like mentioned on the podcast, this is the best
way to go about it.