Tag Archives: GEnx

Episode 215 – Tom Haines, AOPA Pilot

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (50.1MB)

Flagship Detroit DC-3

Guest Tom Haines is Editor-in-Chief and Sr. Vice President, Media for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He’s a pilot who has covered General Aviation for many years.

We talk about Tom’s fantastic Self-Fly Safari in Africa through Hanks Aero Adventures in Cessna 182’s. Tom wrote about this trip in the August 2012 issue of AOPA Pilot magazine. [PDF]

The AOPA Aviation Summit is in Palm Springs, California this year October 11-13 and we talk about that, including the parade of planes which you can see at AOPA Live This Week. The Summit features 100 hours of seminars and 400 exhibitors.

Tom also describes AOPA activity in response to the dwindling number of pilots. They’ve hired Adam Smith to run a new center at AOPA, and they are creating resources to help make GA more attractive and the flight training experience more successful. To help reduce the drop out rate, AOPA is introducing field guides: one for student pilots, one for flight schools, one for flight instructors.

Follow Tom on Twitter as @tomhaines29.

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

This week on Across The Pond, we have a really exciting opportunity to talk to one of the main players in public relations in the aerospace industry. Stephanie Schierholz is Social Media Manager at @Raytheon and President at Women in Aerospace. Prior to this she was Social Media Manager at NASA, Public Affairs Specialist at NASA, and Director of Communications at Space Foundation. Stephanie tells us what its like to be the public face of these amazing aerospace organisations and what those Astronauts are really like to work with.

Stephanie can be found on Twitter as @Schierholz. Find Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mentions:

Post photos by listener Neil: The Flagship Detroit, a 1937 fully restored DC-3 flown all over the U.S. raising money so people can share the history of this magnificent aircraft.

Neil not holding heading on the DC-3 as well as he would like.

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 210 – Flight Planning

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (44.2MB)

GEnx

John Burnside and Andy Matthews, two of the four co-founders from iFlightPlanner, join us to talk about flight planning and the software they supply.

John is the Director of Technology and brings computer engineering and custom web application development experience. Andy is a pilot, Director of Business Development at iFlightPlanner, and also happens to be a professional golfer.

iFlightPlanner was formed in 2009 by Andy, John, and their fathers after Andy earned his private pilot’s license. In the process of planning for a flight to do some sight-seeing with his dad Jerry, Andy found it necessary to visit multiple aviation-related websites to gather weather information, plan their route, retrieve a certified weather brief, compute weight and balance, and file their flight plan with the FAA. Jerry noticed the amount of time Andy spent to plan for their flight and suggested there needed to be a simpler and more intuitive way for pilots to complete these critical pre-flight tasks. Andy contacted his college roommate John, founder of Huron One Solutions, and together they laid the foundation for what is now iFlightPlanner.com, mobile.iFlightPlanner.com, and iFlightPlanner for iPad. Find them on Twitter as @iFlightPlanner.

Gavin Werbeloff, the Travel­_Buddha is guest co-host.

If you haven’t yet, consider taking our straw poll on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme at http://strawpoll.me/2169.

Gavin Werbeloff and the GE90

Gavin Werbeloff and the GE90

The week’s aviation news:

In this week’s Australia Desk report:

Air New Zealand subsidiary TAE opens engine maintenance shops in Adelaide & Brisbane, Qantas reports a statutory financial loss but Allan Joyce says the reduction in staff numbers by 2,800 will help return the airline to profit, Qantas also going head to head with the Australian Taxation Office over goods & services tax issues, University of Sydney research shows that big is not always better for airline operations, Qantas A380 flight delayed at LAX after two first class passengers are offloaded over a dispute involving pyjamas….yes, you heard right!….RAAF KC30A tankers operational in Exercise Pitch Black, billionaire businessman Clive Palmer wants A380 services operating to the Gold Coast in Queensland so he can bring more tourists to his resorts and other attractions there.

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.

Hawker Hurricane

From the recent Test Pilot Reunion at Popham Airfield where they had a Hawker Hurrican visit. Photo Courtesy Peter Holman.

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

We return to Popham Airfield in the beautiful Hampshire Countryside to talk to Dick Richardson two years on. We wanted to find out how this GA airfield had done in the past few years and what effect the dreadful UK summer has had on business as well as the nearby Olympics exclusion zone. Dick tells us his thoughts about general aviation and gives an insight into where the airfield might go next. With his retirement due next year, when he will be 76 years old, who will take on the challenge of keeping this great little airfield operating and available all year round. Please support the airfield (or your local airfield) by visiting if you can, preferably by air.

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

Mentions:

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 170 – GE Aviation Looks to the Future

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (44.8MB)

GEnx-1B engine for B787 Dreamliner

Dale Carlson, Executive for Advanced Engine Systems at GE Aviation is our guest. Dale is responsible for all government funded technology initiatives, and also for aligning technology as it matures with future propulsion system offerings for GE Aviation.

We talk about why this is an exciting time to be in the commercial engine and airframe business. What’s left in Brayton cycle engines (not much) and what we can do about that. Why pulse detonation is not a good solution. Dale talks about adaptive (or variable) cycle engines, the fuel burn improvements needed for new engine offerings, and why we’ll see integrated airframe and propulsion systems in the future, the blended wing aircraft being an example.

Distributed propulsion with large numbers of engines on the aircraft is a future possibility, as is all-electric propulsion. Of course, we can’t talk about fan diameter without covering thermal efficiency and propulsion efficiency. We talk a little about the future of the F136. That’s the engine GE is developing as an alternative to the Pratt & Whitney F135 that powers the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Finally, Dale offers some sound advice for people considering a career in aerospace.

The week’s aviation news:

David provides another powerful history lesson in his This Week in Aviation segment.

In this week’s Australia Desk Report: Qantas politics goes on and on and on….. RAAF takes delivery of the last four Super Hornets, Omega Tanker takes three ex RAAF 707 tankers, Department of Defence looks seriously at C27J Spartan to replace Caribous, RAAF looks at a disposal date for C130H.

Find the boys down under at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

Mentions:

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/.

In memory of Anthony Kenneth Johnson RN PO TAG.