Precision Turbines Receives JT15D-4B STC
Boca Raton, Florida-based Precision Turbines has achieved its first supplemental type certificate for Citation II operators, which allows the company to replace Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 engines with JT15D-4B engines without time limits...Read More
United Is "Very Pleased" With 787
United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek said the carrier is "very pleased" with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. United spokeswoman Mary Ryan added: "The 787 is going through a fine-tuning process." She likened the Dreamliner to the 777, which she noted has turned out to be a highly reliable airplane. "We see the 787 evolving into one as well," she said...Read More
US Airways: Merger With AA Expected To Close In Third Quarter
US Airways spokesman Ed Stewart said the carrier expects the merger with American Airlines to close, as planned, in the third quarter despite a lawsuit seeking to block the proposed merger. "As is often the case with high-profile mergers, lawsuits containing baseless allegations such as these are filed and they are successfully defended," said Stewart...Read More
More F-35 Delays Predicted
Less than two years after a new Pentagon leadership team adopted a new integrated master schedule (IMS) for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program-which in 2010 plans was to have been declared operational by now-the latest plan is at risk, according to the Defense Department's chief weapons-tester...Read More
B-52 Communications Upgrade Set To Begin
Installation of the Combat Network Communications Technology upgrade for the B-52H bomber fleet is scheduled to commence this month at the B-52 depot at Tinker AFB, Okla., according to a base release. The first B-52 to receive the new communications gear will enter programmed depot maintenance at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex in July for installation of the equipment, a process expected to take nine months to complete, states the June 25 release...Read More
Avantair Shuts Down, Seeks New Financing Avantair, the Clearwater, Florida, fractional ownership operation, shut down on Wednesday and furloughed all of its pilots and workers. The company, which operated a fleet of Piaggio Avanti twin turboprops, said it needs additional financing to start flying again and is in danger of having....Read More Pilatus Unveils The PC-24 Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. has finally unveiled the PC-24, a clean-sheet light-twin turbofan aircraft that will enter an already crowded market segment when it enters service in 2017. By then, there may be well over 7,500 light jets in service, including plenty of new models from Cessna, Embraer and Bombardier Learjet...Read More First CV-22 For Mildenhall Air Force Special Operations Command sent a CV-22B tiltrotor aircraft from the United States to Mildenhall AB, Britain, for beddown there as part of the 7th Special Operations Squadron. This CV-22 is the first of 10 that the squadron will operate, according to a June 26 command release...Read More Cessna Delivers First TTx Cessna has delivered the first TTx, an airplane that holds the distinction as the world's fastest in-production fixed-gear single. Powered by a turbocharged Continental TSIO 550-C engine, the TTx has a top speed of 235 ktas and an operating ceiling of 25,000 feet. An optional TKS flight into known...Read More Honda To Deliver HondaJets As Early As Next Year Honda said it will begin deliveries of its HondaJet as early as 2014. The aircraft manufacturer also predicts the HondaJet program will be profitable by 2020. Michimasa Fujino, president of Honda Aircraft, said he expects the $4.5 million jet to exceed annual sales of 80 jets within a few years...Read More U.S. Airlines' Q1 Financial Performance Improves Over Q1 of 2012 The 10 largest U.S. airlines reported improved financial performance for the first quarter of 2013 when compared to the same period in 2012. The carriers reported a combined net loss of $433 million, a significant improvement over the $1.72 billion net loss for Q1 in 2012, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation...Read More Pilots Can Fly More Safely With Head-Up Displays, Expert Says Commercial airline pilots are increasingly able to use head-up displays, a technology originally developed for the military that allows pilots to see important information while looking out the windshield. "Eyes up and out is a much safer and more efficient way to fly," said Kent Statler, executive vice president at Rockwell Collins...Read More Boeing Delivers British Airways' First 787 Dreamliner The first Dreamliner to be delivered to British Airways landed at London's Heathrow Airport Thursday at 1210 local time after a flight from Paine Field in Everett, WA. The airplane was welcomed to its Heathrow home by Willie Walsh, chief executive officer of International Airlines Group (IAG), the company that owns British Airways...Read More Navy Closes In On Making Landing On Aircraft Carrier Safer Landing on an aircraft carrier is now safer thanks to the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) team from the Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office (PMA-213). JPALS is an all-weather landing system that uses a Global Positioning System and navigation systems to safely land both land- and sea-based aircraft...Read More NTSB Unlikely To Reopen TWA 800 Investigation A former member of the NTSB says that it is unlikely that the board will reopen its investigation of TWA Flight 800 despite a call from documentary producers for it to do so...Read More
American Airlines Predicts Profitable Q2
AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, expects to report a profit in the second quarter for the first time in six years. American Airlines and US Airways have proposed a merger, which will likely close by the third quarter. "We expect to report a strong, profitable second quarter -- our first since 2007," said CEO Tom Horton...Read More Review: Dreamliner 787 is "Industry-Leading Craft" Future Travel Experience founder Daniel Coleman reviews the Dreamliner 787 from a Thomson Airways flight. "The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is undoubtedly an industry-leading craft; it is lighter and markedly faster than most commercial super-jets, and has wider aisles and higher ceilings," he writes...Read More Engine Orders Rack Up At Paris Air-Show About $24 billion worth of engines and services have been ordered by leasing companies and others at the Paris Air Show. CFM International, GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney are among those receiving multimillion-dollar orders...Read More
Chicago Miracle As King Air Crash-Lands On Street A King Air miraculously crash-landed on a busy city street on Tuesday night on approach to Chicago Executive Airport with surprisingly little damage and only minor injuries to the pilot. Incredibly, there were no injuries to people on the ground and far less damage than might be...Read More
Boeing KC-46A Aerial Refueling Tanker Assembly Begins The KC-46A, a military variant of the Boeing 767-200ER, is a replacement for the U.S. Air Force's aging fleet of KC-135 aerial refueling tankers. Assembly began Wednesday with the loading of the first wing spar, the 82-foot main structural component of the wing that provides support for flight loads and the weight of the wing when the aircraft is not flying...Read More DOT Fines Delta $750,000 For Bumping Passengers Delta Airlines received a $750,000 fine from the Department of Transportation (DOT) for violating its regulations prohibiting carriers from "bumping" passengers against their will on oversold flights...Read More American Airlines Makes Progress On Painting Planes American Airlines plans to repaint up to 357 aircraft with its new livery by the second half of 2016, the carrier said. American Eagle is also repainting regional jets with the striped design at a rate of around four jets per month. Meanwhile, Boeing and Airbus will deliver new aircraft already painted with the livery...Read More JetBlue Airways Announces Shift To Ipads JetBlue Airways plans to replace its flight bags with lightweight Apple iPads, following in the footsteps of American Airlines. JetBlue will hand out iPads to 2,500 pilots after testing the program with a smaller crew. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines is also performing a test of iPads in the cockpit...Read More |