Tag Archives: passenger rights

490 The Airbus A350

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:26 — 46.0MB)

We talk with an Airbus A350 captain who has a long history flying commercial aircraft. In the news, we consider one-person flight crews, U.S. airlines looking to scale back consumer protection regulations, ADS-B vulnerabilities for military aircraft, and largest ever Piper order for training planes, plans for the Air Force bomber fleet, and Southwest runs out of glycol. We also have a conversation about ATIS with the Chief of the Air Traffic Control Division at Robert Gray Army Airfield.

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A350.

Malaysia Airlines A350. Photo by H Gousse, courtesy Airbus.

Guest

Airbus A350 Captain Bill Palmer.

Airbus A350 Captain Bill Palmer.

Bill Palmer is an A350 captain and an instructor pilot/check airman. He has been heavily involved in Airbus training since the early 1990’s, and Bill is the author of Understanding Air France 447 and other publications on Airbus flight control laws. Bill also holds a commercial glider rating and flies his Rolladen-Schneider LS-3 for fun in southern California.

Bill describes the transition to the A350 as like going from DOS to Windows. The aircraft shares some commonality with A380, and Bill describes fly-by-wire and the flight control laws. We also hear about other features of the A350, such as the paperless cockpit implementation and the availability airport runway, taxiway, and gate information to pilot. The plane will calculate landing distance and brake to the correct speed for the selected taxiway. Bill also describes the A350 runway overrun protection and the auto-flight system’s automatic TCAS and wind shear recovery.

Bill started flying at the age of 15, soloed on his 16th birthday and completed his private certificate at 17. He attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and holds a BS in Aeronautical Science. He earned his flight instructor certificate in 1978 and has been instructing almost non-stop since then while holding airplane, instrument, multi-engine, and ground instructor certificates. Besides light aircraft he has also taught on the 727, 757, A320, DC-10, and A330, and written manuals for the DC-10, A330, and B-787 fleets. He has also produced numerous training publications and videos for the various fleets as well.

Visit Bill’s webpage Understanding Air France 447 and his Trend Vector blog. His books Understanding Air France 447, Airbus A330 Normal Law: Putting fly-by-wire into perspective, and Airbus Flight Control Laws: The Reconfiguration Laws are available on Amazon.com and at other retailers.

Aviation News

Boeing raises prospect of only one pilot in the cockpit of planes

At the Singapore Airshow, Boeing research and technology vice-president Charles Toups said, “We are studying [one pilot operations], and where you will first see that is probably in cargo transport, so the passenger question is off the table.” Also at the Singapore Air Show, ST Aerospace showed the concept for an unmanned freighter piloted by an artificially intelligent computer. ST Aero was optimistic about an unmanned freighter within the next five years.

Airlines seeking to snuff traveler rights?

In the Wall Street Journal, Scott McCartney reports that last October the U.S. Department of Transportation asked airlines to suggest changes or cuts to regulations. Airlines for America filed 222 pages of comments. United Airlines added 50 pages.

Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks, ADS-B May Expose F-22s To Web Based Tracking GAO Warns

A 45-page Government Accountability Office report titled Urgent Need for DOD and FAA to Address Risks and Improve Planning for Technology That Tracks Military Aircraft [PDF] says that neither the Department of Defense nor the FAA has taken significant steps to mitigate security risks associated with openly transmitting flight data from military aircraft.

Piper Receives Largest Trainer Order in Company History

Chinese Fanmei Aviation Technologies has ordered 152 training aircraft from Piper Aircraft. Fanmei is Piper’s dealer in China, and a subsidiary of Sichuan Fan-Mei Education Group Co., which provides aviation education in China. This is reported to be the largest single order for training airplanes in Piper’s history. The seven-year purchase agreement is valued at $74 million and includes 100 Archer TX single-engine trainers, 50 twin-engine Seminoles, one Seneca twin, and one Piper M350.

Air Force outlines future of bomber force

In its Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request, the Air Force outlined plans for its bomber fleet, which include a plan to update the B-52 Stratofortress fleet, continue modifications to the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit fleets, while continuing to acquire B-21 Raiders.

‘How does one airline run out of de-icer?’: Some gripes at Midway after Southwest’s cancellations

Southwest Airlines had to cancel more than 250 flights from Midway Airport after running out of de-icing fluid. One of the glycol tank pumps wasn’t working properly and some of the de-icing fluid could not be accessed.

Updated 6/10/2019: Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has updated its informational guide webpage. See Chicago Midway International Airport (Guide).

Interview

Reporter-at-Large Launchpad Marzari talks about ATIS (automatic terminal information service) with Mark N. Vick, Chief, Air Traffic Control Division, Directorate of Aviation Operations at Robert Gray Army Airfield, Fort Hood Texas, a military joint-use airport that operates alongside Killeen–Fort Hood Regional Airport.

Mentioned

Rolls-Royce UltraFan® – The Ultimate Jet Engine and Lego Ultrafan in the flesh! @RollsRoyce, a video on Twitter by Andrew Smyth‏.

Nine Aviation and Space Achievements Compete for the 2017 Collier Trophy [PDF] and GA Companies Among Those Vying for Collier Trophy.

Heavens Above

The 101-year-old woman who flew Spitfires in WW2

MH370: Malaysian military sidelines crash investigators as power play emerges on search team and MH370 conspiracy theory involves Seabed Constructor and chest from shipwreck.

Credit

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

Episode 164 – Henry Harteveldt

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (39.1MB)

N7406 c/n 104 Built for Capita Airlines and seen here in June 1962 operating for United. Credit Brian Burridge.

Our guest this episode is industry researcher and analyst Henry Harteveldt. He’s a Co-founder of Atmosphere Research Group where he will head up the airline and travel practice of this research and advisory firm that will look at ecommerce, distribution, marketing and operations planning for airlines, hotel companies, travel agencies, GDS companies, and marketing agencies. Henry can be found on Twitter at @hharteveldt.

The week’s aviation news:

Plane Crazy Down Under

Steve and Grant recorded the Australia Desk Report on location at Coldstream Aerodrome (YCEM) where they had their mobile studio set up for the Australia Centre for Mission Aviation Discovery Day. Find them on the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter Johnson talks to Brian Burrage, co-founder of the Vickers Viscount Network and an ex Rolls Royce Dart Engineer. Brian tells us about the success of the Viscount as Britain’s best post war selling turboprop airliner, being sold world-wide with over 400 being produced. None are left flying but the Viscount Network aims to keep the aircraft awareness high through a fabulous website, talks and visits to the remaining airframes. You can find Pieter Johnson on Twitter at @Nascothornet.

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.

Post photo: N7406 c/n 104 built for Capita Airlines and seen here in June 1962 operating for United. Credit Brian Burridge.

Post photo: The Plane Crazy crew live on location. Can you name them?

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/.

Voices From The DC-3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (42.3MB)

DC-3 by Paul Filmer

Guest Julie Filucci manages the Cessna Pilot Centers program for Cessna, but she’s also written the book, Together We Fly: Voices From The DC-3. Published by Aviation Supplies & Academics, the book tells the story of the Douglas DC-3 through the voices of the people involved with it, from its design and production to the present day. Julie had completed her type rating in the airplane several years ago, and did an article for AOPA Pilot on the airplane for its 70th anniversary in 2005. “The feedback from that article was the most I’d ever received for a piece during my time at AOPA. And not just pilots wrote to tell their stories, but also engineers, mechanics, stewardesses, soldiers, and regular folks who had taken their first airline trip in the airplane. Capturing their voices became a quest for me, as so many of the people from the airplane’s early days have passed on.”

Learn more at the book’s Facebook Fan Page, and at Julie’s blog. Follow her on Twitter as @julieinthesky.

The week’s aviation news:

Steve and Grant discuss a variety of aviation topics in the Australia Desk Report. Find them on the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter Johnson talks to Phil Wallis, Chief Engineer for the Anglo American Lightning Organisation who has the task of getting English Electric Lightning XS422 back into the air. Its a rivetting insight into how to get a 1300 mph interceptor aircraft capable of 20,000 fpm climb airworthy after sitting around in a container for many years. The AALO Team can be found at www.XS422.com, on Twitter Twitter as @EELightning, and on Facebook. You can find Pieter Johnson on Twitter at
@Nascothornet.

 

XS442 in flight during her RAF service with the ETPS in the 1980's. Photo credit: AALO / Crown

XS442 in flight during her RAF service with the ETPS in the 1980’s. Photo credit: AALO / Crown.

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/.