Tag Archives: Israel

705 Air Force One

Air Force One paint scheme and production problems, F-35s as Aggressors, Israeli extended range F-35s, Delta’s “juniority benefit,” Piedmont wage increases, and a U.S. Navy safety stand-down.

Air Force One
Air Force One

Aviation News

Hot mess: There’s a problem with Trump’s Air Force One paint job

Former President Donald Trump decided to replace the traditional Air Force One paint scheme with a different design that includes dark blue paint on the underbelly and engines. Reports say the dark color may cause cooling problems for some components. An Air Force spokesperson said the “…darker colors, among other factors, on the underside of the VC-25B aircraft might contribute to temperatures exceeding the current qualification limits of a small number of components.” 

Two days later…

Biden scraps Trump’s Air Force One paint scheme over cost

The Biden administration announced the new Air Force One planes will not change to the darker paint scheme. An administration official said, “The Trump paint scheme is not being considered because it could drive additional engineering, time, and cost.” Under the $3.9 billion fixed-price contract to modify two 747-8s, Boeing would have had to pay for any design changes.

Boeing Can’t Find Enough Workers to Build the New Air Force One

The Government Accountability Office says that Boeing is having difficulty finding enough skilled mechanics to work on the aircraft who can also pass strict security requirements. Supply chain delays and Boeing’s dispute with former subcontractor GDC Technics are contributing to the project headwind.

First F-35 Aggressor Dedicated To Replicating Chinese Threats Unveiled

The U.S. Air Force 65th Aggressor Squadron (AGRS) has been reactivated at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada using the F-35A Lightning II. The AGRS mission is “to know, teach and replicate fifth-generation air adversaries,” particularly the airpower capabilities emerging from China. See: 65th Aggressor Squadron reactivates at Nellis AFB with aggressor force of F-35s.

Israel Has Extended The Range Of Its F-35s

Israeli media reports indicate that the country has developed modifications to its F-35I fighters that give them enough range to reach Iranian targets without refueling. This could possibly come from external drop tanks or conformal fuel tanks. The Israelis have also developed a smart bomb that can be carried by their F-35s.

Delta’s ‘juniority benefit’ is saving the airline loads of cash after many of its higher-paid workers took buyouts in 2020, bucking the recent trend of companies paying more

After the federal payroll support program ran out in September 2020, most airlines furloughed workers to downsize their operations, But Delta targeted their highest-paid employees with buyouts, not furloughs. That left Delta with a relatively younger and lower-cost workforce. With the travel rebound and insufficient employees, airlines are scrambling to hire. That’s driving their workforce costs up. But Delta is able to hire younger staffers that cost less. Delta CEO Ed Bastian calls this a “juniority benefit.”

Significant wage bump for Piedmont PIlots [From Reddit.com]

A memo published to pilots by Piedmont Airlines VP, Flight Operations Stephen Keefer, and MEC Chairman Captain Ryan Miller stated that a tentative agreement (TA) had been reached for a labor contract extension through July 2029. The TA provides for wage increases for pilots, increased wage premium for Line Check Pilots, and commitment to improvements in flow-through to American.

After series of crashes, U.S. Navy to pause flight operations for safety reviews

After a spate of recent crashes, the U.S. Navy said it would pause all flight operations to conduct safety reviews and training. Units that were not deployed paused on June 13. Deployed units were to pause “at the earliest possible opportunity.” In the past few weeks:

  • A Navy pilot was killed when his F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed during a training mission.
  • An MV-22B Osprey crashed and killed five U.S. Marines during a training mission.
  • A Navy helicopter went down during a training flight and one person sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Mentioned

The Journey is the Reward

Portland jetport’s main runway reopens, ending disruptions

Innovations in Flight – Outdoor Aviation Display at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum June 18, 2022, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

3 Good Reasons Why The F-35 Was Not Featured In Top Gun: Maverick

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, David Vanderhoof, Max Trescott, and our Main(e) Man Micah.

695 Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and how it is being made available, how you can save on airline tickets, an F-35 shoots down a drone, and the eighth anniversary of the loss of flight MH370.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Richard Thacker, Atlantic Aviation
Richard Thacker

Richard Thacker is the Director of Strategy and Operations at Atlantic Aviation. Rich has been with Atlantic for more than 30 years and has been a leading voice for the company, and broadly in the aviation industry on increasing sustainability through education and outreach.

Atlantic operates one of the largest FBO networks in the U.S. and they provide a full suite of services to the private aviation sector. We asked Rich to come on the show and talk about sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) because Atlantic is making it available at some airports.

SAF is jet fuel and no change is required to the aircraft or ground support infrastructure. It can be freely co-mingled with JET-A. Rich explains why now is the time for sustainable aviation fuel. We look at sources, availability, and the cost of SAF.

There are two main producers of SAF at this time: Neste and World Energy. Most SAF comes from Neste, a supplier of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, through Avfuel. (See Neste’s role in sustainable aviation and Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Now Offering Neste MY SAF). World Fuel Services gets SAF through an agreement with World Energy.

Atlantic is providing SAF at its Aspen and Los Angeles locations but has plans for wider distribution. Rich notes that since SAF availability is primarily on the coast, road transportation is required to reach inland airports. For its Aspen facility, Atlantic uses renewable diesel in the tanker trucks since burning fossil fuel to deliver sustainable aviation fuel wouldn’t make sense.

Rich explains the “Book and Claim” process for purchasing fuel where SAF isn’t available. “Green credits” are purchased equal to the SAF premium and the SAF is consumed where it is available.

Atlantic is taking other measures to reduce carbon footprint, including switching to LED lighting and electrifying ground support equipment. For more on the classification of emissions, see the article What are scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?

Scott’s Cheap Flights

Scott Keyes, Scott's Cheap Flights.
Scott Keyes

Brian Coleman interviewed Scott Keyes, the founder and chief flight expert from Scott’s Cheap Flights, a service that notifies subscribers about great airline deals from their home airport. We learn how a hobby turned into a business and Scott provides some good context for the current state of airline fares. Free and paid membership options are available.

Scott’s Cheap Flights serves nearly 2 million members and has a distributed team of more than fifty travel aficionados. Scott authored a bestselling book divulging some of the secrets used to find amazing deals for members, Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Better Cheaper, and Travel the World.

Through April 30, 2022, Scott is offering Airplane Geeks listeners a 25% discount on a Premium membership. Use the discount code GEEKS.

Israeli News Desk

Eyal relates that an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman released an announcement on March 1, 2022, about a shootdown of two Iranian UAVs in June 2021 carrying weapons destined for HAMAS. The interception and shootdown had been made by an Israeli F-35A, the first operational and actual kill for the F-35 family worldwide.

MH370

Rob Coates marks the eighth anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH 370. As of this date, the plane has still not been located.

American Helicopter Museum

Airplane Geeks listeners can enjoy a one-year individual membership at a 50% discount. For $25.00 (normally $50.00) you get:

  • Unlimited admission to the Museum for one year.
  • Two One-Day Guest Passes.
  • Admission to FamilyFest and SantaFest.
  • Invitations to Member Receptions.
  • 10% discount on gift shop purchases.

The offer is good through May 31, 2022, at this link.

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, Rob Mark, Max Trescott, and Brian Coleman, with contributions from Eyal Shay and Rob Coates.

626 Aviation Safety Culture

The Director of Flight Operations for Quantum Spatial talks about International Standards for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) certification and building a safety culture. Also, Boeing 737 MAX order deferrals, best practices for small flight department maintenance, masks and Covid-19, fighter jets in the Middle East, the next-generation U.S. fighter, and high tech plane floats.

Guest

Josey Billington

Josey Billington, Director of Flight Operations for Quantum Spatial

Josey Billington is the Director of Flight Operations for Quantum Spatial, an NV5 company. Quantum Spatial became the first full-service geospatial company to achieve International Standards for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) certification. This designation was developed by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and verifies that the company’s flight operations division has adopted the best practices necessary to reach the highest levels of safety, security, and professionalism in its airborne data acquisition activities.

Josey explains the motivations behind the IS-BAO certification and how it is an ongoing piece of an organization’s safety culture. He also shares some thoughts on flying as a survey pilot.

Josey is a former U.S. Marine and airline pilot and holds an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, as well as a certified flight instructor (CFI, CFI, MEI) certificates from the FAA. In December of 2019, Josey obtained the coveted Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) certificate from the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).

Aviation News

Boeing’s 737 Max Gets Double Dose of Bad News

Not unexpectedly, airlines are deferring 737 MAX orders as the demand has dropped off a cliff. American has deferred delivery of 18 MAX jets from 2021 and 2022 to 2023 and 2024. Southwest is talking to Boeing about deferrals.

New Resource Outlines Best Practices for Small Flight Department Maintenance

The NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) has a new resource available for its members called, “Best Practices for Small Flight Department Maintenance.” The members-only resource is titled Best Practices for Small Flight Department Maintenance and it offers practical guidance on maximizing personnel resources while ensuring airworthiness.

In continuing Covid-19 news:

After UAE Deal, Israel Asks U.S. for F-22 Stealth Jets to Preserve Military Edge

The story of who wants what fighter jet in the Middle East.

Clues Reveal Who’s Likely Building the Air Force’s Secret New Fighter Jet

The next generation of U.S. fighter jet may be flying already.

Maine company goes high tech to make sleek plane floats

Maine-based Clamar Floats uses molded composites to create custom floats.

Listener Poll

Results from listener poll 623: “What is your favorite aircraft and why?”

  • mine, because it’s mine, Others maybe bigger, faster, more economical, practical, sexyer but this one is mine.
  • Hawker tempest 
  • CH-53 Sea Stallion because of its heavy lift capabilities. 
  • 747-8i, specifically with Lufthansa’s livery. it just looks right…
  • E-2 Hawkeye! All the brains of an E-6 but operates off of a carrier. Plus it’s got one of the most interesting tail configurations of any aircraft. Normally I’d say the CV-22, but we all know that’s really a confused helo. 
  • Boeing 747 – because it’s the queen of the skies. So beautiful. Only ever flew once, NRT-SEA back in 2013.
  • X-Wing – Took down Death Star
  • Turbine powered Grumman Albatross with VIP interior (it’s like a luxury yacht that can fly around the world using paved runways or approved waterways. Heaven! 🙂 ) 
  • DHC-2 Beaver. It’s without a doubt one of the most versatile aircraft ever made. Floats, amphib, wheels, skis. It’s got it all.
  • F-15E. – It’s the best. 
  • sr-71 Blackbird. Why? Just look at it. It has to be one of the coolest looking aircraft ever.
  • Cirrus SR22, because it is so much fun to fly on long distances as well as short trips for breakfast.
  • Any aircraft I get to fly.
  • “Boeing 747-400
  • As a teenager I did my first longhaul flight from FRA to BKK on a Thai Airways 744. I was with a group of students and teachers going for a high school exchange to Melbourne, Australia. Obviously I was super excited and I still vividly remember the moment that the 744 taxied to our gate while I was standing right at the window. It was very impressive and I’ve always loved the Jumbo’s quirky design with the big “head”. Over all those years my favorite aircraft never changed to any other model and I doubt that will ever change.
  • B-17 Flying Fortress, the plane that made Boeing what it once was but it is no longer.
  • DC-3
  • PBY
  • ATR72, flew like an old farm truck, but always would get you there. Great memories, short landings, Caribbean flying. It was the best.
  • The one I’m either flying or riding in at that moment, but my fantasy plane is, of course, the F4U Corsair
  • Boeing 757. Such a well balanced machine. Strikes the perfect balance between performance and looks. And a ton of fun to fly on.
  • F-4 sleek fast and cool n two engines . 
  • Hey airplane geeks my favorite airplane is the A10 warthog because I would like to fly it. I am only 14 and hope to get my glider  license . Keep up the good work
  • TBM-900 for its versatility.
  • Which ever one I’m looking at.
  • Curtiss P-40 Warhawk or Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
  • B1 Lancer “Bone”; it has everything.  Looks, speed, and phenomenal capability.  Take a listen to the Fighter Pilot Podcast episode on it and you’ll be sold. (066 B-1 Lancer)
  • Boeing 707 – it was my first flight in an airplane and started my lifelong passion for aviation
  • The DH Mosquito. The first multi role aircraft ever, no other aircraft did more roles than the Mosquito until the Tornado jet entered service. Also what is cooler than 2 Merlin engines?
  • SIAI Marchetti SF-260. Designed by the legendary Italian designer, Stelio Frati, the SF-260 is quite simply one of the sexiest lightplanes ever designed. Painted red, it looks like it is doing 200 mph just sitting on the ramp.
  • Cessna 177RG.   Love the extra room, better view and extra speed over the rest of the small Cessna’s…   V-Tail a close second
  • SR71. Amazing in every way
  • F-14 – it was huge, fast, agile, powerful, launched off a carrier, sexy, and carried some of the greatest hi-vis paint schemes of all time. 
  • My 11 year old “designed” an aircraft when he was 9, and has been coming up with different Lego constructs, concept drawings, and other models of it over the last 2 years.  Clearly has to be at the top of my list for obvious reasons!
  • Cirrus Vision SF50 because Max Trescott told me to say so or else…
  • Fighter: ME-262, Non-fighter: Connie
  • C130, worked on it
  • 748
  • P51 Mustang. It represents everything I like. History, speed, awesome looks. It’s on the bucket list to fly someday!
  • DC3 or de havilland vampire
  • DC3 – because as a child, there was one at the local McDonalds. I never got to have my birthday in it, but I was hooked!
  • Dehavilland Vampire. Because who doesn’t love the twin boom??
  • Supermarine Spitfire. Its contribution to WW2,  its beautiful look with those elliptical wings, and that oh so sweet sound of that Merlin engine.
  • L-188 Electra because it’s beautiful 

This episode’s listener poll: What is the longest flight you have ever been on?

Made My Day

Our Main(e) Man Micah tells the story about how an Airplane Geeks listener made his day.

Mentioned

How the Aurora Borealis Nearly Started World War III

Video: The U-2 Spy Plane That Got Lost in an Aurora and Almost Started WW3

Meet Jessica Traynor: Air Canada’s youngest female captain

Video: Cessna 441 Conquest II Takeoff

 

AirplaneGeeks 348 Flying Above and Beyond

Producer Nancy Spielberg and Harold Livingston

Flying for Israel in its War of Independence, a Rafale fighter jet sale to Qatar, female fighter pilots, the Turkish Airlines CEO opines on pilot marriage, and major sporting events bring out private jets.

Photo: Producer Nancy Spielberg and Harold Livingston

Guest

In 1948, a group of pilots smuggled surplus military airplanes out of the U.S., trained in Czechoslovakia, and flew for Israel in its War of Independence. Our guest Harold Livingston was one of those pilots. This story has been captured in the feature-length documentary film Above and Beyond, produced by Nancy Spielberg and directed by Roberta Grossman.

Harold Livingston enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force after graduating from high school in 1942. After three years with the Air Transport Command in the European theatre, he went on to work for Trans World Airlines.

In 1947, the United Nations voted to partition Palestine into two separate Arab and Jewish states. A former TWA colleague, Al Schwimmer, invited Harold to join an outfit being formed to fly munitions and aircraft to Jewish Palestine in support of the war that was to come. After returning from Israel in 1949, Harold served again in the U.S. Air Force as a civilian contractor in the Korean Air Lift.

Harold is also a writer. His first novel, “The Coasts of The Earth” (1954), received a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award. He has written nine novels and his credits include  “Star Trek, The Motion Picture,” several other major films, and some one hundred television episodes including such shows as “Mission Impossible,” and “Dynasty.”

Above and Beyond is available on iTunes and Amazon.com. You can also watch the documentary’s trailer.

Selected books by Harold Livingston

News

France and Qatar seal $7 billion Rafale fighter jet deal

Qatar is purchasing 24 Dassault Rafale fighter jets for 6.3-billion-euro ($7B US). This is the third sale this year of the fighter jets with 24 sold to Egypt and 36 to India.

Female Fighter Pilots Taking Off in the IAF

In 1995, pilot Alice Miller sought to take the Israeli Air Force pilot training exam, but was ejected on grounds of her gender. She petitioned the Israel High Court of Justice, which sided with her in 1996. Since then, 38 women completed the course and became pilots in the Israeli Air Force.

Turkish Airlines CEO to Pilots: Get Married to Avoid Crashes

Reportedly, the CEO of Turkish Airlines said that pilots should marry so that situations like what happened with the Germanwings crash in March can be avoided.

A crazy photo of private jets flooding the Las Vegas airport before the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight

Kentucky Derby Boosts Local FBOs

Recent sporting events bring out the private jets and other general aviation aircraft. Is the business slump over?

Listener Recording

Pilot Bill from Victoria provides his own “Aviation Minute” and talks about a recent event with the local airport authority, NavaCanada, and about a hundred aviators.

Mentioned

Innovations in Flight Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display, Saturday, June 20, 2015 at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.

Airplane Geeks on Instagram

Are we seeing the end of the era for the ‘super-jumbo’?

Should flight attendants eat First Class food onboard their flight? by Jamie Larounis in The Forward Cabin

The Aviators

1960 Air Show Edwards AFB

Credit

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