Tag Archives: flight tracking

722 Flight Tracking with Flighty

Mentioned

As a follow-up to our conversation in episode 721 about Rotax engines in Iranian drones, listener Mark Newton posted in our Slack team the link to an article from The Drive. It’s titled Same Type Of Rotax Engines Used In Iranian Drones Targeted In Bizarre Theft Wave, published October 25, 2022. Many of these engines have been stolen and that might be how Iran obtained them.

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, Brian Coleman, and our Main(e) Man Micah.

676 Boeing 787

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:03:42 — 56.6MB)

A Boeing 787 Captain explains getting type-certified and his career journey. In the news, an MD-87 is destroyed but all aboard survive, Piedmont Airlines flight attendants authorize a strike, flight statistics comparing 2019 with 2020 and 2121, buying an airline flight from a vending machine, a protest by Alitalia flight attendants, and a proposed hypersonic passenger plane. Also, plane spotting at LAX and the new parking structure.

Guest

Arnie Quast is a new Boeing 787 Captain for United Airlines based at Chicago-O’Hare International Airport. He has been a pilot at United for 31 years, and has flown as a crewmember in just about every aircraft type United has in their fleet.

Arnie describes the process of becoming a Boeing 787 captain after flying Airbus equipment, including the vacancy bid openings and how seniority determines where a pilot fits on the bid. We look into the United training process in some detail, including computer-based training (CBT) modules, the training center, transitioning to the aircraft, and the role of the line check airman (LCA). Arnie tells us about systems training, classroom ground school, using the simulator, the systems knowledge validation (SKV) test followed by procedures training and procedures validation, as well as maneuvers training in the full flight sim, maneuvers validation, practice flights through line-oriented flight training (LOFT), and the type-rating check-ride supervised by a standards captain.

Arnie touches on flight security issues, engaging with passengers, and United’s Aviate pilot career development program that offers aspiring and established pilots pathways to a United flight deck.

Arnie began learning to fly when he was 15 years old at a central New Jersey airport and earned his private pilot license at age 17. After high school, he attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he earned the rest of his pilot ratings as well as a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Science. During his senior year at Embry-Riddle, Arnie worked for United Airlines as a Flight Operations Intern. That internship helped him get hired as a United pilot at age 23 and launched his career as an airline pilot.

Aviation News

NTSB: Plane that ran off runway in Brookshire had not flown in 10 months

An MD-87 attempted to take off from Houston Executive Airport but ran off the end of the runway, struck a fence and power poles, and burned. The eighteen passengers and three crew members were able to exit the aircraft after a flight mechanic opened the main cabin door and activated the evacuation slide. Video shows a puff of smoke at the tail of the aircraft and tire marks were found on the runway.

Hundreds of American Airlines Regional Flight Attendants Vote to Strike, but Walkout Still Distant

Piedmont Airlines flight attendants at PHL unanimously vote to authorize a strike

Flight attendants at American Airlines’ Piedmont Airlines regional carrier voted unanimously to strike. The Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America claims that flight attendants just starting have a base pay of $16,500 a year and 10-year veterans make only $28,000 a year. According to the union, the airline offered a small pay increase that was more than offset by higher health insurance premiums.

Flight tracking statistics

The Flightradar24 global flight tracking service tracks over 180,000 flights from more than 1,200 airlines, flying to or from some 4,000 airports around the world – in real-time. Their aggregate flight tracking statistics compare 2019 (pre-pandemic), 2020, and 2021 to date.

This Japanese Airline is Selling Flights to Surprise Destinations Out of Vending Machines

The LCC Peach Aviation marketing campaign has been a big hit. Last August, Peach launched a vending machine in Osaka that sells capsules with the name of a surprise destination and Peach points that can be used towards the cost of the flight. Peach has sold more than 3,000 capsules so far.

Watch: Ex-Alitalia Flight Attendants Strip Off Uniforms in Flash Mob Protest

Alitalia is gone and was replaced by Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA). Alitalia had huge debts which were written off in a deal between the Italian government and the European Commission. But an agreement with the unions wasn’t reached for ITA. Only 30% of the Alitalia workers were brought into ITA and the union says their wages dropped by 30%.

Why a Mach 5 passenger plane is a crazy idea that might just work

Atlanta-based startup Hermeus is thinking about hypersonic Mach 5 air travel. The company is testing an engine for small, unmanned hypersonic aircraft for the US Air Force. Hermeus believes the engine design could be scaled to a size that could power a passenger plane. Engine tests of a “Turbine-Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) engine started in February 2020 based on the existing GE J85-21 turbojet engine used on the F-5.

LAX, Mayor Garcetti Announce Opening Of $294 Million Economy Parking Structure

Brian Coleman attended the event and speaks with:

Heath Montgomery, director of public relations at LAX.
Kelsy, a plane spotter and gift basket winner.
Justin Erbacci, CEO for Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA)
Jeff Serpa, photographer and plane spotter.
Kevin from Airline Videos Live.
Plane spotters Romy, Armaan, and Dawson

Mentioned

Honoring the legacy of the WASP, November 11, 2021, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, in Dayton, Ohio.

96-year-old World War II Veteran granted dream flight in 1920s airplane

Veteran’s Last Patrol

Twin Cities Man Accused Of Operating Private Airport In Field Behind His Home

This Is The Most Incredible Tour Of A B-52 Stratofortress We Have Ever Seen

Erik Johnston’s Youtube channel

479 Flight Tracking with FlightAware

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:33:34 — 42.9MB)

FlightAware founder and CEO Daniel Baker talks about flight tracking technology. In the news, we look at the Dubai Airshow, aviation cybersecurity, the proposed Women in Aerospace Education Act, the GE Additive 3D metal printer, and a report from the Senate Republican Policy Committee on ATC privatization.

Guest

Daniel Baker is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of FlightAware, the flight tracking data company that provides over 10,000 aircraft operators and service companies as well as over 12,000,000 passengers with global flight tracking solutions.

Flightaware founder and CEO Daniel Baker.

Daniel was one of the principal developers of the FlightAware technology, and he now works directly with partners and customers in both industry (e.g., airline, cargo, business aviation) and government (e.g., air traffic management).

FlightAware uses data from air traffic control systems in over 55 countries, from FlightAware’s network of ADS-B ground stations in over 150 countries, from Aireon space-based global ADS-B, and from the major providers such as ARINC, SITA, Satcom Direct, Garmin, Honeywell GDC, and UVdatalink.

Daniel explains how FlightAware’s proprietary machine learning and rules engine called Hyperfeed takes data from multiple sources and fuses it together to create the best possible flight tracking information. About 10,000 messages per second are analyzed with over a thousand rules. Hyperfeed employs predictive analysis that looks at patterns in the flight tracking data.

Some 13-14,000 ADS-B ground stations send data over the Internet to FlightAware. Complete FlightFeeder stations can be purchased, or you can build your own PiAware flight tracking station.

We talk about satellite-based ADS-B through Aireon low-earth orbit satellites equipped with ADS-B receivers. These will provide flight tracking data for areas not covered by other means. Daniel also describes FlightAware TV, a custom, real-time FlightAware HDTV map for the office, hangar, or FBO.

Daniel knows tech and has been in the Internet services business for over two decades. He is a regular speaker at aviation and technology conferences and serves as a member of the Board of Directors at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum. He also holds an FAA Commercial Pilot certificate.

Find the company at FlightAware.com, on Twitter and Facebook.

Aviation News

Dubai Air Show

Boeing vs Airbus: $77 billion in deals in under 2 hours
Airbus Seals $50 Billion Jet Deal to Outdo Boeing in Dubai
Boeing signs off on a $1.3 billion deal at Dubai Airshow
Day 1 At The Dubai Airshow: Boeing Steals The Show
Dubai Airshow: Building a new supersonic airliner
EgyptAir Orders Bombardier C Series Aircraft in Dubai

FlyDubai ordered 175 Boeing 737 Max planes with options for another 50. Boeing said it was the biggest order ever from the Middle East for single-aisle passenger planes. Altogether, the 225 firm and option aircraft have a total value of $27 billion at list prices, and include more than 50 Max 10s, with the rest Max 8s and 9s.

Airbus sold 430 A320neo family jetliners to Indigo Partners. The planes will go to four Indigo companies: Frontier Airlines, Volaris, Wizz Air Holdings Plc, and JetSmart. That deal was valued at roughly $50 billion at list prices.

Boeing also booked an order for forty 787 planes, worth $15 billion at list prices, with Dubai’s Emirates airline on Sunday. In a deal valued at $1.9 billion, Azerbaijan Airlines ordered five Boeing 787-8 aircraft and committed to two freighters. In addition, Azerbaijan Airlines became the launch customer for Boeing’s 787 Landing Gear Exchange Program.

Bombardier signed a letter of intent with EgyptAir for 12 firm CSeries CS300 aircraft with options for 12.

Cybersecurity Report Fears ‘Dismissive’ Approach

The Washington think-tank Atlantic Council released the report Aviation Cybersecurity: Finding Lift, Minimizing Drag which describes an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assessment on cybersecurity threats to ADS-B is “dismissive.” The study indicates that the aviation industry will likely experience cybersecurity challenges similar to other industries that have embraced the “digital revolution.” Previously, aviation systems were relatively secure due to the bespoke nature of their design, isolation from other systems, and little in the way of communication protocols. But air traffic management is no longer isolated, and ground services and supply chains are becoming fully integrated into an interconnected digital world.

Connecticut’s Esty sponsors women in aerospace bill

H.R. 4254: Women in Aerospace Education Act has been introduced in Congress “to amend the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to strengthen the aerospace workforce pipeline by the promotion of Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and National Aeronautics and Space Administration internship and fellowship opportunities to women.”

GE’s huge 3D metal printer makes aircraft parts

The GE Additive business unit of GE has a 3D metal printer capable of making aircraft parts as large as one meter in diameter. A metal powder is fused with a 1-kilowatt laser in thin layers to “print” the part. Since the machine is scalable, it should be capable of even larger parts.

Senate Republican Policy Committee Confirms ATC Privatization is Still Alive

A report from the Senate Republican Policy Committee titled NextGen Delayed, Just Like Your Plane says:

Air traffic control currently relies on outdated ground radar systems that cause delays throughout the aviation system.
The FAA is transitioning to NextGen technology, which has several components designed to allow safer and more efficient airspace management, including a switch to GPS.
Deployment of many NextGen components has been delayed and is expected to cost $2.6 billion more than planned.

The report says that “an ATC spinoff would very likely trigger constitutional challenges. A Congressional Research Service report [PDF] questioned whether courts might determine that a non-governmental ATC corporation would be unconstitutional under the non-delegation doctrine, Due Process Clause, or Appointments Clause. Although memoranda commissioned by proponents of a spinoff discount these concerns, the move to corporatize the ATC functions would almost definitely be challenged in court.”

Airline Story of the Week

Man who suffered brain aneurysm leaving him unable to walk takes to the skies as he makes a recovery

British Airways helps a man recovering from a brain injury to rejoin the world of commercial flight.

Mentioned

Retired Korean War Medal of Honor recipient passes away

More than 800 family, friends, and active duty and retired service members gathered in Concord, Mass., Nov. 16, 2017, to pay their final respects to retired Capt. Thomas J. Hudner Jr., who earned the Medal of Honor during the Korean War.Hudner passed away Nov. 13, at his home in Concord. He was 93.

Video: Thomas Hudner, Medal of Honor, Korean War

Credit

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

AirplaneGeeks 394 Plane & Pilot Magazine

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:25:59 — 39.4MB)

We talk with the Editor-in-Chief of Plane & Pilot about changes to the magazine, drones interfering with airliners, the impact of lower airline fees on customers, an Airbus assembled in the USA, and blocking flight tracking.

Guest

Robert Goyer

Robert Goyer is VP, Editor-in-Chief, at Plane & Pilot magazine. He’s an award winning aviation editor, journalist and photographer. For more than two decades he’s been documenting the world of personal aviation in words and photography.

We talk with Robert about changes to the magazine and website since its purchase by Madavor Media in 2015. That includes expanding the target audience to include serious transportation pilots, bringing in new writers and rotating columnists, a focus on photography, and a weekly email newsletter.

Robert tells us, “I started flying before I remember flying, heading up with my dad in a little red-and-white Aeronca Champ from a cozy little grass strip in New England, and after a few years we graduated to a beautiful Cessna 195 that our family rebuilt together in the big barn out back.

Today, Robert does most of his flying in the system, filing IFR and flying on business and personal travel in high-performance piston singles up through light jets. He’s type rated in the Cessna 525 CitationJet and has plans to add a couple of new type ratings in the coming year, though he admits he has his eye on an old Super Cub he says has his “name written all over it.”

Find Plane & Pilot online at their website, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

News

Lufthansa jet and drone nearly collide near LAX

The pilot of a Lufthansa A380 at 5,000 feet and 14 miles from Los Angeles International Airport says a drone passed close to the plane. The FAA is reported to say the drone flew 200 over the Airbus.

Surprise! Lower Airline Fees Would Be Bad for Customers

If enacted, the FAIR Fees Act introduced by two U.S. Senators would require that airline fees be set commensurate with the cost of the services provided. The Motley Fool says, “regulating airline fees would not be good for most travelers in the long run.”

Airbus plants seeds of a new aerospace cluster in the U.S.

An A321 destined for JetBlue should be making its maiden flight this week. The significant aspect is that the airplane is American-made at the new $600 million Airbus final-assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama. Most are describing this as Airbus’ beachhead in the U.S.Five other A321s are in final assembly for American Airlines.

Flight-tracking Blocking Efforts Under Way

The FAA has a program to block certain information about aircraft flying in U.S. national airspace, but it relies on a process where those providing flight-tracking services agree to block flight information when requested by operators. In return, the flight-tracking companies get access to the FAA’s ASDI data feed. But It’s not difficult receive broadcasts from mode-S transponders and ADS-B out transmitters.

Thousands of people run PiAware on a Raspberry Pi to receive ADS-B transmissions and forward that to FlightAware. The ADS-B Exchange website bills itself as “the World’s largest co-op of unfiltered flight data.”

The Airplane of the Week

Spartan Executive at Sun ‘n Fun 2006 by Ahunt – Own work, Public Domain.

David was given the opportunity to help 8th grader Jonah from Northern California with his paper on aircraft of World War II. Jonah mentioned attending Oshkosh and noted that his favorite airplane was the Spartan Executive. In David’s opinion, Jonah has class and good taste so the Spartan Executive is the airplane of the week.

Mentioned

The Boeing 777 Thrust Asymmetry Compensation (TAC)

Boeing’s New Airplane Toilet and Bathroom Will Kill Humans’ Germs

Airlander 10: New pictures of world’s longest aircraft

Credit

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

Source

Original post: Airplane Geeks #394.

AirplaneGeeks 300 – Military Aviation with Bill Sweetman

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:41:57 — 46.7MB)

We celebrate our 300th episode with Bill Sweetman, Senior International Defense Editor at Aviation Week & Space Technology.

We talk about black programs, the Aurora, and the mysterious aircraft photographed in the skies over Texas. Also, F-35 program strategy and how adversaries respond to the long program length and a strategy that relies on one aircraft. We discuss developing programs in the black compared to in the white, and harvesting existing technology versus developing new technology.

We consider the F-22 program and if the line should have been kept open, and the cost to maintain stealth coatings. Bill describes his original recommendation on what to do with the A-10 fleet, and answers the question, “Is there a role for manned reconnaissance aircraft?”

The week’s aviation news:

ICAO makes global flight tracking a priority in MH370 aftermath
and
ICAO Delivers Agreement Between States, Industry Groups on Global Airline Flight Tracking Capability

The International Civil Aviation Organization is a UN-sponsored organization created in 1944 under the Chicago Convention. Working with industry, ICAO develops Standards and Recommended Practices which are used by the member States as they develop their own national civil aviation regulations. Recently, ICAO held a Special Meeting on Global Flight Tracking of Aircraft and the member states agreed to make the tracking of airline flights a near-term priority.

Brooksville to be hub for new saucer-shaped aircraft

Corporate Jet Solutions entered into a joint-venture agreement with Aerobat Aviation, with hopes of launching the Geobat FS-7, kind of a flying saucer. They hope to have saucers ready for the 2014 Airventure Oshkosh.

SoCal sonic boom: Calling card of the top-secret Aurora spy plane?

Southern California residents were shaken lately by what some thought was an earthquake. But the US Navy confirms it was a sonic boom by an aircraft 50 miles off the coast. But one witness says he knows sonic booms and this was no sonic boom. Is it the Aurora?

Mystery Aircraft Over Texas

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works is developing the SR-72 spy plane. Is this what has been spotted in the sky?

Become a Pilot, Family Day and Aviation Display

Join Max, Rob, David, and a whole community of Avgeeks June 14, 2014, at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, located in Chantilly, Virginia. The annual Become a Pilot day features aircraft and activities for the whole family.

In this week’s Australia Desk:

In amongst all the congratulations for episode 300, the boys take us back to Qantas as, after all, it’s been a couple of months since they last talked about them!

From lay-offs to “weekend departure charges,” there’s much to say as Qantas celebrates 60 years of flying across the Pacific.

Then, for a change of pace, it seems the Australian Government are considering buying the F35B as well as the 72 F35As they’ve already committed to?

Finally, we round out by chatting about Hobart’s runway being upgraded to handle A330’s & 777’s.

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.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

With Pieter recently crossing a major milestone in life, his reminiscing seems to be overwhelming. And with the recent passing of the VC10, L1011 and DC10 into living memory it is a little further back that he looks for solace and he finds it in the project “Ode to Concorde” which aims to be a visual celebration of the aircraft that’s imprinted in our minds for its exquisite aesthetics and iconic status in aviation history. Pieter talks to Director Chris Purcell about the project and how the aviation industry and you can step in to help create this film.

Find Ode to Concorde on Twitter and Facebook, and support them on Indiegogo. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mentioned:

Drone technology used in aircraft safety checks

AvTunes – Sky High Songs That Fly

Mighty Planes: P-3 Orion S02E04

XM607 – Falklands’ Most Daring Raid

James May at the Edge of Space

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