Airplane Geeks Podcast

An Air Traffic Control Tower Operator Certification program, actions from the FAA including a safety call to action, a request for increased hand-flying during normal operations, a new rule requiring airport safety management systems, and IT system fixes. Also, flying over Russian airspace. Guest Brooke Manley is an Air Traffic Controller and Adjunct Professor at SUNY Schenectady in New York. She has worked at Albany Tower, an FAA control tower in Latham, New York, for three and a half years. Brooke graduated from SUNY Schenectady in 2017 with a degree in Aviation Science, Air Traffic Control, and a commercial pilot’s license. SUNY Schenectady is one of only two colleges in the country that offers an Air Traffic Control Tower Operator (CTO) certification program. At SUNY Schenectady, students gain hands-on training in the Schenectady County Airport Control Tower. The College developed this program to help fill a need locally and nationally for qualified air traffic controllers. The two-year program includes four semesters: Air Traffic Basics, Ground Control, Local Control [or Tower Control], and ATC Internship. Ground and local control each include 8-10 weeks in the lab. Using a tabletop exercise with model airplanes, Brooke presents student controllers with realistic scenarios that controllers encounter in the tower. Students take the role of controllers while Brooke coaches them while speaking as the pilots. After certification at Schenectady Tower, a 6-month internship provides the work experience necessary to apply to private, nonfederal contract towers. This internship is performed under the supervision of a certified controller who is plugged in with the student and can step in at any time if needed.  Later, many students want to work for the FAA at larger facilities. After getting one year of experience at a contract tower, they can apply to work for the FAA. The other option to get into the FAA is to apply directly as an “off the street” applicant – essentially anyone that doesn’t have a one-year experience regardless of previous experience or education. This is the route Brooke took. She went through the SUNY Schenectady program and got hired by the FAA right after she graduated. She encourages students to apply to any off-the-street openings from the FAA. The hiring process can vary from a few months to more than a year wait. Find SUNY Schenectady County Community College on Facebook and Twitter. Aviation News FAA issues “safety call to action” after several near-disasters FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen issued a memorandum to the FAA Management Board announcing the formation of a safety review team to examine the U.S. aerospace system’s structure, culture, processes, systems, and integration of safety efforts. The initial focus will be a Safety Summit in March, then the Commercial Aviation Safety Team will take a fresh look at Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing data. Finally, the review team will focus on the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) and assess ATO’s internal processes, systems, and operational integration. FAA Shifts Focus to Pilot Manual Flying Skills The FAA has now recommended that airlines should allow pilots to hand-fly during normal operations whenever possible. The FAA recently published Aviation Circular Flight Path Management (AC 120/123) which states the importance of pilots having the skills to fly the plane when the automation fails. It notes that manual flying skills are paramount for flight safety, that automation requires more training (not less), and that it is not a binary choice between manual and automated flight. Both are essential components with different but complementary skill sets needed. FAA Completes Rule to Increase Safety at Airports The final rule requires certain airports to develop and implement a safety management system (SMS). The Part 139 Airport Certification Status List shows the 258 Part 139 airports required to implement SMS. These capture over 90 percent of air carrier passenger traffic in the United States. The final rule for SMS for Certificated Airports goes into effect 60 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. External SMS (SMS for Part 139 Airports) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Safety Management Systems (SMS) Implementation FAA says it’s implemented fixes to avoid repeat of IT failure that halted air traffic Acting FAA administrator Billy Nolen testified before the Senate Commerce Committee, addressing NOTAM system failures that caused an aviation ground stop. He said, “We have instituted a one-hour synchronization delay between the primary database and the backup database that gives us time to make sure that we have no issues there.” And “Secondly, we’ve increased the level of oversight to ensure that more than one person is available when work or updates are being done on the live database, along with up leveling our level of oversight within the command center to ensure that we’ve got leadership present.” Airlines say Chinese carriers have an ‘unfair advantage’ as China reopens: They’re allowed to fly over Russia After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many air carriers were banned by Russia from flying over Russian airspace. This means long detours. Airline CEOs say that puts them at a disadvantage compared to Asian carriers who still fly over Russian airspace. Australia News Desk As Grant and Steve are getting ready for the Australian International Airshow (better known as Avalon 2023), the timing was right for a wrap of some military aviation news from the past fortnight. Australian company SEA Tech has received a $279M contract to upgrade training ranges for the RAAF’s EA-18G fleet.  The aircraft themselves will also receive upgrades including newer generation jamming packages and anti-radiation missiles. CEA Technologies to upgrade Growler training ranges Australia to upgrade Growler electronic warfare planes The latest Government Defence White Paper has also been tabled, although not yet made public, with rumours of more MQ-4C Tritons on the order books, and even an additional squadron of F-35A’s, taking the total order from 72 airframes to 100.  Time will tell on this one. The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) have retired the first of their C130H aircraft, beginning a draw-down of the type ahead of the arrival of a new C130J fleet later this year.  It comes as a similar withdrawal of their P-3K2 Orion fleet, similarly to be replaced in coming months with new P-8 aircraft, leaves a brief capability gap in the region, to be filled by RAAF and other allied aircraft for the time being. End of an era: RNZAF retires first C-130H P-3K2 retirement leaves capability gap And in civil aviation news, the government is said to be considering yet another report into the state of general aviation in Australia, with yet more re-hashed ideas on how to fix the mess.   Stand by here as Grant climbs onto his soap box for a bit of a (G)rant! Airports Association welcomes White Paper Mentioned Electric air taxi tested in the greater NYC area BETA Technologies ALIA-250. Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, David Vanderhoof, and Max Trescott. Contributions by Grant McHerron and Steve Vischer.

We speak with Jon Ostrower, Editor-in-chief of The Air Current. He’s currently working with a team developing a new flight sim controller. In the news, how a Chinese balloon impacts Boeing, a United 777 departing Maui experiences a steep dive, American Airlines pilots refuse to be interviewed on tape, and more on unidentified objects that have been shot down. Guest Jon Ostrower is Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, a high-quality subscription news source for current aviation topics. His journalism career includes positions at CNN, WSJ, and Flightglobal. Jon has joined a start-up team developing an entirely new type of flight sim controller, the Yawman Arrow. Jon, Thomas Nield, and Dwight S. Nield studied aircraft cockpits of all types in detail and came away with an appreciation for the challenge of rethinking the ergonomics of virtual flying for a handheld. They wanted a flight sim controller that you could take anywhere with the tactile feedback of everything from throttle to trim. The team integrated a mechanically-linked trigger system for intuitive yaw control. Recently, Jon took a production candidate unit on a flight test, running a Laminar Research X-Plane at 38,000 feet on a MacBook Air, and practicing cross-wind landings. Yawman has been working with Infinite Flight and the Arrow will be fully compatible with flying on Android tablets, too. Yawman Arrow flight sim controller. The Arrow flight sim controller is ideal for simming on the road but also great at home. Jon successfully wirelessly mirrored a MacBook Air with the Arrow to a TV and went full couch mode. The Yawman Arrow is arriving in Spring 2023. Sign up to receive updates and get notified when pre-orders are launched at: https://yawmanflight.com. The Arrow is designed, manufactured, and packaged in the USA. Aviation News China’s surveillance balloon deflates Boeing’s hopes for 737 delivery resumption After the shootdown, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken canceled his trip to China. David Calhoun, Boeing’s CEO, hoped the visit would lead to resumed deliveries of 737 Max 8’s into China. Now that seems unlikely. United dive after Maui departure adds to list of industry close calls A United Boeing 777-200 departing Maui in stormy weather climbed as expected to 2,200 feet, then experienced a steep dive to below 775 feet. The plane recovered and continued its flight to San Francisco. At SFO, an internal safety report was filed, and the aircraft was inspected before the next flight. United coordinated with FAA and ALPA on an investigation and the pilots received additional training. American Airlines Pilots Refuse Recorded Interview With Safety Board On January 13, 2023, an American Airlines 777 at JFK taxied across the same runway that a Delta plane was using for departure. At about 115 mph, air traffic controllers instructed the Delta flight to abort their takeoff. The American 777 had not been cleared to cross the runway. Three times the American flight crew refused to be interviewed if the session was to be recorded. In a statement, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) said, “We join in the goal of creating an accurate record of all interviews conducted in the course of an investigation. However, we firmly believe the introduction of electronic recording devices into witness interviews is more likely to hinder the investigation process than it is to improve it.” The NTSB has issued subpoenas for their testimony. The flight crews have seven days to respond. U.S. downs object over Lake Huron after airspace shutdown The U.S. military had downed another high-altitude object, this time by a U.S. Air Force F-16. The object was flying at about 20,000 feet over Lake Huron in Michigan. Mentioned Video: Intercept audio: Listen to the jet that shot down the Chinese Spy Balloon https://youtu.be/DRvAue0TVz4 Composite clip including interception audio from the shoot-down of the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Also includes a video of the shoot-down and a time-lapse of ADS-B flight tracking data from the region. FlightSimExpo 2023 Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, David Vanderhoof, and Brian Coleman.

We talk about autonomous aircraft with an Xwing executive. In the news, Airbus and Qatar Airways settle their dispute over A350 paint problems, a personal eVTOL, the 2019 report that explains how Boeing lost its way, a close call with a B737 taking off and a B767 landing on the same runway, the F-22 Raptor gets its first kill, and a Boeing 737 has crashed fighting fires in Australia. Xwing Caravan Guest Earl Lawrence is the Chief Compliance and Quality Officer at Xwing, a Part 135 air carrier operating across the United States. The company is building an air transportation system of certified autonomous aircraft, starting with the express regional air cargo market. Xwing has demonstrated an autonomous gate-to-gate flight with a cargo aircraft. The plane was able to taxi, take off, land, and return to the gate entirely on its own. Earl Lawrence Earl explains that the Xwing vision for autonomous aircraft doesn’t mean moving the cockpit to the ground or eliminating the pilot. It means taking the pilot out of the airplane and into a control center. A single pilot could provide guidance to multiple flights from one console while handling ATC communication. Doing this offers cost savings, greater aircraft utilization, and more stable and predictable hours for pilots. Earl tells us about the positive impact on pilot lifestyle and the opportunity for some disabled people to become pilots. Earl points out that Xwing is using autonomous technologies, but for the most part following existing regulations. Autonomy is needed to bring the price of flying down and make it simpler and more accessible to people. Earl brings more than three decades of experience in the aviation industry to Xwing. Most recently, Lawrence served as the Executive Director of Aircraft Certification at the FAA, leading an organization of over 1,400 people that oversee all types of certification, production approval, airworthiness certification, and continued airworthiness of the U.S. civil aircraft fleet – including commercial and general aviation activities. Before joining the FAA, Earl spent sixteen years at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), where his efforts contributed to the creation of the Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft categories. Throughout his career, Earl has consistently led the charge in bringing cutting-edge aviation technology to market. Xwing YouTube Channel FAA Contracts Xwing to Conduct Autonomous Flight Trials Over Wildfires NASA Contracts Xwing To Study Safety of Autonomous Flight Operations Aviation News Airbus and Qatar Airways settle A350 dispute In 2021, Qatar Airways complained to Airbus that some A350 fuselage paint was peeling and unsightly. Qatar grounded some 30 aircraft and asked Airbus for compensation. Airbus said it was only a cosmetic issue, which they would address. But Qatar refused to take new deliveries and Airbus canceled the A350 contract with Qatar. And then Airbus canceled an order for A321neo jets. Qatar filed a lawsuit in London. Now both parties have made up and “reached an amicable and mutually agreeable settlement.” Terms were not made public. Press release: Qatar Airways and Airbus reach amicable settlement in legal dispute Startup Says It’s Personal eVTOL is the One for Supercar Customers Israeli company AIR has spent four years developing and testing a sport eVTOL “that is easy to handle and can be used daily.” Their mission is to “create personal, intuitive flying vehicles at scale, for exciting and safe experiences.” The winged multicopter seats two. You can pre-order the AIR ONE with a $1,000 deposit. The base price is $150,000. They have 300 pre-orders. Air One in flight. The Long-Forgotten Flight That Sent Boeing Off Course That flight is the headquarters move from Seattle to Chicago. “A company once driven by engineers became driven by finance.” Fedex B763 and Southwest B737 at Austin on Feb 4th 2023, loss of separation on runway resolved by go around A FedEx 767-300 was on final for a CATIII ILS approach to Austin Texas runway 18L and was cleared to land. The tower let the crew know that a Boeing 737 would depart prior to their arrival. The 767 was cleared to land. Meantime, a Southwest Airlines 737-700 was holding short on runway 18L for departure and was cleared for takeoff from that runway. The tower let the Southwest pilots know that a Boeing 767 heavy was on a 3-mile final. About 30 seconds later the Tower asked if they were on the roll, and the crew confirmed they were. Shortly thereafter (25 seconds) someone says “Southwest abort, the Fedex was on the go (around)”. F-22 Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off Carolinas With Missile (Updated) The large balloon traversed much of the country, sometimes over sensitive military locations. As the balloon moved off the coast, F-22 fighters from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force used a single AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile to bring it down. Why stratospheric balloons are used in era of space-based intelligence Balloons can hover closer to the ground and may be able to intercept communication or electronic signals that orbiting systems can’t. Balloons also offer more persistent, less predictable coverage over an area of interest. A Boeing 737-300 Has Crashed Fighting Fires In Australia Early reports indicated both pilots were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The 737 was operated by Coulson Aviation to help firefighting efforts in the Fitzgerald River National Park. After dropping the load at around 700 feet, flight tracking data shows the plane reaching about 1,800 feet and then crashing. Australia News Desk While it hasn’t exactly been your stereotypical summer weather in Australia, we haven’t (yet) seen any snow – and certainly none in Sydney.  Snow, however, was exactly what greeted a Sydney-bound passenger this week as confusion with the airport code when booking saw him arrive in a rather chilly Sidney, Montana G’day? Man Realizes Too Late He Bought a Ticket to Sidney — not Sydney Meanwhile, the Qantas and Emirates codeshare agreement noted up ten years this week.  We look at what that has meant to Australian travelers. 10 years on, has the Qantas-Emirates partnership delivered? Qantas is still in the sights of local media, however, with another turnback, this time for a QantasLink Dash 8 due to severe turbulence.  The event forced CEO Allan Joyce to go on the offensive, pointing out a few facts about turnbacks, comparing them not only to airlines overall but specifically the local QF rival, Virgin Australia Qantas passenger and flight attendant rushed to hospital suffering head and neck injuries after sudden turbulence Mentioned Video: What it’s like to fly the Opener BlackFly eVTOL https://youtu.be/aSwfmrZDeeo AOPA Podcasts The people who live inside airplanes Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, and Max Trescott. With contributions by Grant McHerron and Steve Vischer.

The co-founder and CEO of Reliable Robotics explains how aircraft automation sets the path to bringing certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation. In the news, the first graduating class from United Aviate Academy, the NTSB and BEA comment on the Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s final report on the 737 Max crash, pilots working to make their airport safer, the government wants to know if the Southwest meltdown was caused by unrealistic scheduling, and ADS-B Exchange purchase by Jetnet. Guest Robert Rose is the co-founder and CEO of Reliable Robotics, a company that seeks to bring certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation. Their vision is to leverage aircraft automation to transform the way we move goods and people around the planet with safer, more convenient, and more affordable air transportation. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has a distributed global workforce. Robert explains how incremental safety enhancements can lead to the long-term goal of remotely piloted aircraft. Reliable Robotics is developing a higher precision navigation system, followed by the capability for auto-land without airport infrastructure. From there, an auto-takeoff capability that includes takeoff rejection, and auto-taxi. Altogether, these significantly impact the safety of GA aircraft Admitting that fully autonomous aircraft are not a near-term possibility, Robert says that aircraft automation takes us down the path to autonomous operation. He sees certification in three phases: Certification of a continuous engagement autopilot for the Cessna Caravan. Certifying the management of contingencies outside the system’s control. Certifying detect and avoid and the communication system with the pilot in a control center. Robert’s engineering experience spans aerospace, self-driving cars, robotics, gaming, and consumer products. Prior to co-founding Reliable Robotics, he was the Director of Flight Software at SpaceX where he led the development of the onboard flight software for the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft, resulting in the first commercial mission to the International Space Station. At Tesla, Robert was the Senior Director of Autopilot, Robert brought to market the first consumer automobile with fully unassisted self-driving capability. At X (Google’s skunkworks division), Robert led a team bringing advanced machine perception and manipulation technologies to large vehicles.  Earlier in his career, he developed three Game of the Year award-winning titles as a Game Engine Programmer at Sony PlayStation. Robert holds a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.S. in Computer Engineering, and an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University. Aviation News United Airlines celebrates historic first graduating class of Flight Academy Pilots United Aviate Academy graduated the first 51 student pilots out of what United hopes will be 5,000 by 2030. United is the only major U.S. airline to own a flight school. Nearly 80% of this inaugural graduating class is made up of women or people of color. The airline hopes that at least half of the graduates will be women or people of color. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says only 5.6% of pilots are women and 6% are people of color. What’s next for the graduates? Some will work as Certified Flight Instructors at the academy and build their hours toward 1,500 required flying hours Others will build hours at participating flight schools or universities, including Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Purdue University and Hampton University. Graduates are encouraged to eventually fly for a United Express carrier, take on leadership roles at an Aviate participating Part 135 operator, or become a Fleet Technical Instructor at United to complete their training. Aviate participants can expect to become a United pilot within about six years of graduating from United Aviate Academy. NTSB Finds More Problems in Ethiopian 737 Max Final Report The Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (EAIB) final report focuses on system failures, not the actions (or inactions) of the pilots. The NTSB and BEA believe the failure of the pilots to execute proper procedures was a contributing factor. Comments made by NTSB and BEA to that effect were not included in the EAIB final report. NTSB and BEA have gone on record to express their belief that the final report is deficient in this respect. NTSB disagrees with final report on Ethiopian ET302 U.S. safety experts dispute aspects of Ethiopia 737-MAX air crash findings Ethiopian ET302 final report released, NTSB and BEA issue comments ​​NTSB Releases Comments on Ethiopia’s Investigation of the Boeing 737-8 Max Accident US Comments on Draft Aircraft Accident Investigation Report, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, Boeing 737-8 MAX, ET-AVJ, Ejere, Ethiopia, March 10, 2019 [PDF] NTSB Publishes Additional Comments on Ethiopia’s Final Report on 737 MAX 8 Accident National Transportation Safety Board, Response to Final Aircraft Accident Investigation Report, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, Boeing 737-8 MAX, ET-AVJ, Ejere, Ethiopia, March 10, 2019. [PDF]  Ethiopia’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (EAIB) final report [PDF] Boeing pleads not guilty to fraud in criminal case over deadly 737 Max crashes Boeing pleaded not guilty to felony fraud in the recent arraignment in federal court. The families asked Judge O’Connor to impose certain conditions on Boeing as a condition of release, including appointing an independent monitor to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the terms of the previous deferred prosecution agreement, and that the company’s compliance efforts “be made public to the fullest extent possible.” Boeing and the Justice Department opposed the request and the judge did not rule on those at the time. Aspen Pilots Want to Improve Airport Safety Record The Aspen Airport (KASE) has been regarded as a dangerous airport. The Aspen Times called it “the most dangerous [airport] in the United States.” A number of jet and piston accidents have occurred there, some fatal. In December 2022, the formation of the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport FlightOps Safety Task Force was announced. The task force includes a dozen volunteer pilots Transportation Department looking into whether ‘unrealistic scheduling’ played role in Southwest holiday meltdown A Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesperson said, “DOT is in the initial phase of a rigorous and comprehensive investigation into Southwest Airlines’ holiday debacle that stranded millions … [and] probing whether Southwest executives engaged in unrealistic scheduling of flights which under federal law is considered an unfair and deceptive practice.” Southwest Airlines says travel disruptions could cost $800 million “In a …filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, [Southwest Airlines] estimated pretax losses from the disruption of $725 million to $825 million for the quarter. Of that, it expects to lose $400 million to $425 million in revenue directly from the flight cancellations.” The Flight Tracker That Powered @ElonJet Just Took a Left Turn ADS-B Exchange was purchased by Jetnet, which Silversmith Capital Partners own. Some people are expressing outrage and worry that ADS-B Exchange will lose its openness. Founder and president of ADS-B Exchange Dan Streufert was our guest in Episode 692. Australia News Desk Auckland floods: International flights resume at Auckland Airport, 600% increase in calls to Air NZ This week we take a look across the Tasman Sea as New Zealand’s capital, Auckland, was hit with historic levels of flooding, leading to the temporary closure of their International Airport, leaving passengers from all corners of the globe stranded for many hours in the terminal, and saw a number of inbound flights diverted. Steve’s a little tired after being recertified as an instructor…not for airplanes…but for trains.  We discuss the similarities in approaches to training between rail and aviation, including one of Steve’s more interesting sim sessions. Saber announces first projects to fly in Australian Astronaut Program Meanwhile, Grant’s literally over the moon following Saber Astronautics’ plans to send Australian tech to the International Space Station in coming years, including beer in a specially made zero-G bottle.   Sydney Airport chaos as control tower incident triggers evacuations and grounds flights Flights were temporarily halted in and out of Sydney Airport this weekend when the control tower had to be evacuated following the smell of gaseous fumes in the ventilation system. And finally, we pay tribute to local aviation photographer Matt Savage, of Mach One Aeromedia, who passed away recently after a long battle with illness.  Matt was a man who shared our passion for aviation and was a big supporter of our work.  Though he left us way too soon, his skill with the lens will live on as a lasting legacy for all of us to enjoy.  Image by Matt Savage – 2022 Mentioned Air Traffic Out Of Control podcast. AutoGyro USA 2014 Calidus Gyroplane New aviation museum planned at the Santa Maria Airport ready to take off Donate here: https://www.pofsantamaria.org/ Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, Max Trescott, and David Vanderhoof. With contributions by Grant McHerron and Steve Vischer.

We speak with the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Grand Dames of Aviation. In the news, Boeing and NASA team up to develop a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing airliner, a US judge orders Boeing to appear for an arraignment on a 737 Max fraud charge, SWAPA authorizes a strike vote, and a procedure change and the JFK runway incursion. We also have an Australia News Desk report and interviews from the 2023 Seattle Aerospace BBQ. Guest Carol Dean, founder of Grand Dames of Aviation Carol Dean is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of the non-profit Grand Dames of Aviation. Formed in 2017, the Grand Dames of Aviation is an exclusive group of accomplished women in professional aviation. What started as a private Facebook group has grown into a large organization that celebrates, educates, and inspires women to believe, achieve, and lead in aviation. Carol explains the requirements to become a Grand Dame of Aviation and mentions some of the notable members. We learn about scholarships, mentoring, and leadership networking. Cultivating the talent, innovation, and leadership of women is critical for the future of aviation and aerospace. Carol is currently a B757 pilot for a major carrier and has over 30 years of experience in aviation. As a test pilot and pilot instructor on the Design-Build Team, she helped certify the Gulfstream V in 1997 and was the first woman to fly the aircraft. Carol is an FAA-Designated GV Pilot Examiner and a JAA-certified GV Type Check Airman. She flew Gulfstreams Part 91 and 135 for various Fortune 500 companies for 20 years before going to the airline in 2016. Grand Dames of Aviation Watch – The “Grand Dame” is offered by Abingdon Company. This timepiece was designed to honor trailblazing women in aviation. Fierce. Accomplished. Confident. Skilled. All proceeds go to the Grand Dames of Aviation scholarship fund. For a limited time, Grand Dames receive a special 15% discount. Grand Dames of Aviation private Facebook group. Sisters of the Skies   AVIATE with Shaesta Aviation News New aircraft design from NASA and Boeing could benefit passengers in the 2030s The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Project brings NASA and Boeing together to create a plane with a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (or TTBW) configuration. This features long thin high wings supported by diagonal struts to the fuselage belly. Boeing is to produce and test a full-scale single-aisle demonstrator aircraft with the first test flight planned for 2028. Artist’s concept. Courtesy Boeing US Judge Orders Boeing Arraigned on 737Max Fraud Charge In January 2021 the U.S. Department of Justice granted Boeing immunity under a $2.5 billion deferred prosecution agreement. A Texas federal judge has now ruled that Boeing must appear in court on Jan. 26, 2023, to be arraigned on federal criminal charges over the 346 deaths in two Boeing MAX 737 crashes in 2018 and 2019. The judge believes the victim’s families were not part of the process under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. SWAPA President Casey Murray Calls for Strike Authorization Vote The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association has authorized a strike vote beginning May 1, 2023. “This historic action on the part of the pilot union comes in the wake of Southwest’s largest meltdown and the utter lack of meaningful progress on a contract negotiation, with scheduling work rules and information technology asks in particular, that has been ongoing for more than three years.” First Officer On American JFK Runway Incursion Flight Had Added Task At Departure, Source Says New cockpit procedures Introduced on January 2 were being executed for the first time by the first officer. These procedures required the first officer to make a takeoff announcement for the passengers and flight attendants. The announcement must be made with precise timing, and other tasks are to be interrupted. An unnamed source said, “She has all this data to analyze and input, plus she has a new task on top of all that. She was overwhelmed.” Australia News Desk The guys recap a little of their history with the show, for the benefit of newer listeners, digging into the archives to find their first report as a team from episode 52 in 2009. On the news front, Bonza Airline announces its inaugural flight ‘Overdelivering on expectations’: excitement builds for a Bonza first flight The Defence Department announces a confirmed order for 40 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters for the Australian Army, with deliveries to commence at the end of this year Black Hawk helicopters for Defence And QANTAS has sure had better weeks, with multiple in-flight mechanical issues making the news and causing a media frenzy!   Oh dear…. Fixation on Qantas won’t end, even if string of incidents were unconnected Qantas calls for calm after engine failure and three flight turnbacks Seattle Aerospace BBQ 2023 Brian Coleman attended the 2023 Seattle Aerospace BBQ and recorded four interviews: Isaac Alexander from Hype Aviation and the organizer of the Seattle Aerospace BBQ. Robin Koenig, the founder of Hype Aviation, the news aggregator and media intelligence service for aerospace industry professionals and enthusiasts. Nick Benson of JetTip.net, the smart flight alert service for aviation enthusiasts. Flight alerts are sent by app notification or email, and filterable arrival/departure boards make aircraft spotting a breeze. JetTip tracks flights of interesting and unusual aircraft at major US and Canadian airports. Dave Honan, a photographer and plane and train spotter living in the Seattle area. See his Instagram. 2023 Seattle Aerospace BBQ. Photo by Isaac Alexander. Mentioned ZeroAvia successfully completes first flight of world’s largest hydrogen-electric plane Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, Max Trescott, and David Vanderhoof. With contributions by Grant McHerron, Steve Vischer, and Brian Coleman.

The NOTAM outage and subsequent ground stop, why Amazon Air is selling cargo capacity, the runway incursion at JFK, the Airbus automated emergency diversion system, and an Australia News Desk report. Aviation News Here’s the latest on the NOTAM outage that caused flight delays and cancellations On January 11, 2023, the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system failed and the FAA issued a domestic ground stop, leading to thousands of delayed and canceled flights. A corrupt database file has been cited as the cause of the failure. NAV CANADA reported issues with their NOTAM system on the same day. At the time, they did not believe the Canadian outage was related to the FAA outage. See FAA’s NOTAM computer outage affected military flights. Amazon Air to Sell Surplus Capacity Onboard its Jets Ahead of Predicted Market Slump In 2023, the global air freight market is forecast to shrink by about 25%. Amazon Air has decided to sell excess air freight capacity on its fleet of 97 wet-leased planes. The FAA is investigating a near-miss between two passenger planes at JFK airport A Delta Air Lines 737-900 (Flight 1943) was on its takeoff roll when ATC noticed an American Airlines Boeing 777 (Flight 106) crossing the active runway. The Delta plane stopped about 1,000 feet before the crossing. The American 737 returned to the gate and passengers disembarked. Due to a crew resource issue, the flight resumed the next morning. Customers were given overnight accommodations. Airbus tests pilot assist that can automatically divert flights Airbus is testing a pilot assistance feature called DragonFly, which can automatically divert a flight in an emergency. The system can pick a flight path to the best airport and communicate with air traffic control and an airline’s operations center. Even if the pilots are incapacitated, DragonFly can land the aircraft safely. Australia News Desk This week we have a follow-up on the news about Bonza Airline’s air operators certificate, which was approved by the regulator the day last week’s episode went live. There’s some consternation among the travel agent sector over Bonza’s decision not to service Sydney at all, but as we talked about last week, they’re trying a different strategy.  Time will tell if it works or not. Australia’s Bonza awarded AOC On the tourism front, two of China’s three major carriers – Air China and China Southern – are boosting their schedule for flights to Australia, in a move that many hope will see the lucrative inbound Chinese tourist market ramping back up. China Southern, Air China boosting flights to Australia And a new network of satellites from Skykraft, sporting significant levels of Australian-made components, has been successfully deployed over the country, in a move that will eventually allow more accurate and reliable tracking of aircraft and WHF communications in some of the more remote areas of the continent. Australia’s largest ever satellite constellation now active Mentioned Airline Pilot Study –  A questionnaire for pilots to learn about what aspects of innovation might make an airline more attractive to pilots when they decide which airline to apply to fly for. Rob’s Newest jet: Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, and David Vanderhoof.

We talk about cabin air management technology with the president of Pexco Aerospace. In the news, an AD for A220 engines, a terrible ground crew accident, the Southwest meltdown, an airport without jet fuel, and happy pets. Also, our safety card and T-Mobile Un‑carrier On giveaway winners and an Australia News Desk report. Guest Jon Page is the President of Pexco Aerospace, a company that produces aircraft interior systems, including trim and finish components. Pexco has developed AirShield, a cabin air management technology that augments existing HEPA filters to reduce shared air by 76 percent and doubles the rate particles are expelled from the cabin and replaced by purified air. Jon explains how the AirShield product mounts over the gasper air vents in an airliner and creates “air curtains” or compartments for each person. Besides reducing shared air, the AirShields return more air to the HEPA filters and increase the effectiveness of the air purification system. Jon tells us about the design challenges and the STC certification process. AirShield “air curtains.” Before joining Pexco in July 2021, Jon was the President of Shield Restraint Systems. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Sales and General Manager at L.O.F., Inc., which sells automotive aftermarket accessories and hardware. Jon also had multiple roles as Director or Manager of Sales for companies including the IMMI Child Restraints team. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin Consortium. AirShield installed over gaspers. Aviation News FAA addresses dual-engine shutdown of A220 P&W engines An airBaltic Airbus A220-300, registered as YL-AAQ, experienced a dual-engine shutdown while landing at Copenhagen Airport (CPH) in July 2021. The FAA investigation found that “the sequence of the auto-throttle increasing throttle to maintain Mach number, immediately followed by pilot command to decrease throttle to idle, caused a transient disagreement between actual and commanded thrust.” This triggered the thrust control malfunction (TCM) detection logic which shut down both engines as soon as wheel sensors detected that the aircraft had physically landed on the runway. The FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) that requires a FADEC software update. American Airlines Ground Worker Reportedly Killed in Horrific Accident After Being Sucked Into Jet Engine A ground handling agent was killed after being sucked into the jet engine of an Embraer E175LR at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama. The victim was an employee of Piedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. FAA and NTSB are investigating. Southwest Airlines’ holiday chaos could cost the company as much as $825 million In a regulatory filing, the airline says that holiday disruptions could cost as much as $825 million. More than 16,700 flights were canceled due to weather, staff shortages, and an outdated crew scheduling computer system. Thousands were stranded and luggage piled up at airports. SWAPA (the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association) published a letter that places the blame on the airline’s lack of leadership. San Diego Airport Has Run Dry of Jet Fuel, Resulting in Lengthy Diversions For Some United and British Airways Flights A leaking fuel pipe that serves San Diego County has led to the unavailability of jet fuel at San Diego International Airport. Some flights are being canceled, others are being diverted for refueling stops, and airlines are tankering extra fuel. Puppy abandoned at SFO adopted by airline captain and family A puppy was abandoned by his owner at San Francisco International Airport after the dog lacked the paperwork to remain in the United States. United Airlines partnered with SF SPCA to find a new home for the pup. Frontier Airlines will Give You Free Flights For Adopting These Cats The Animal Foundation named three kittens up for adoption: Frontier, Delta, and Spirit. Frontier offered up to four flight vouchers to anyone who adopted the Frontier kitten, and two vouchers each for the other kittens. Giveaway Drawing The winners of the two giveaways from Episode 728 were announced. The Interaction Group owner Trisha Ferguson kindly provides airline safety cards, while T-Mobile Senior Manager of Communications Steve Carlson donated the Un‑carrier On hard-sided suitcase. Australia News Desk Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron bring us an installment of The Australia Desk with aviation news from Down Under. Mentioned EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Pilot Proficiency Center Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, Max Trescott, and David Vanderhoof. Contribution by Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron.

We speak with the President and CFO of DG Fuels LLC about producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), and the Co-Founder and Chief AI at Fetcherr about continuous pricing models for airlines. We also take a look back at 2022. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Christopher J. Chaput is the President of DG Fuels, LLC. He has over 23 years of experience as an executive, an investment banker, a restructuring advisor and investor, primarily in the aviation sector. Christopher J. Chaput DG Fuels is developing a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production facility at Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone, Maine, the former Loring Air Force Base. Chris explains SAF and biofuels and describes how the DG Fuels process uses waste timber products and stranded electricity to make SAF efficiently and sustainably. An existing pipeline to the coast will facilitate the transport of the SAF to Boston and New York markets. Prior to DG Fuels, Chris was a partner in and co-founder of RPK Capital Management, investing in commercial aircraft and other aviation-related assets. Chris was a partner and head of the Structured Finance Group at the Seabury Group where he arranged secured financings of aircraft and other assets. Chris was a senior member of the advisory team that represented US Airways in its merger with America West Airlines and that restructured US Airways, Air Canada, and Northwest Airlines in bankruptcy. Prior to that he structured and executed public and private aircraft-backed secured bonds at Morgan Stanley. Early in his career, Chris was the Managing Director-Corporate Finance at Northwest Airlines. Chris earned his B.A. from Creighton University, magna cum laude, and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he also taught Business Planning for two years as an adjunct professor. Continuous pricing models for airlines Dr. Uri Yerushalmi Dr. Uri Yerushalmi is the co-founder and chief AI officer at Fetcherr, an Israeli tech company that developed a proprietary AI-powered engine that predicts demand and enables continuous pricing for the airline industry. The company was founded in 2019 by experts rooted in deep learning, algorithmic trading, e-commerce, and the digitization of legacy architecture. Uri explains the continuous pricing approach and how that can solve airline challenges and maximize revenue. Airlines typically employ dynamic pricing where the prices are bucketed into certain levels and change infrequently. Under a continuous pricing model, the price can be set at any level. Dynamic pricing is all that was allowed by the technology in the 80s. Now, however, deep learning and reinforcement learning technology can predict the behavior of the market by considering factors such as travel origins, destinations, number of stops, days of advance purchase, stay days, capacity (load factor), seasonality, and time of day. Old pricing models are inefficient and utilize “middlemen” that introduce an added cost. Uri tells us that the efficiency of continuous pricing models negates the need for middlemen and creates a revenue uplift for the airlines. Fetcherr technology is running live now with low-cost Azul Airlines. The company is onboarding a large traditional global airline and exploring advanced functionality with another major airline. 2022 I Can Hardly Remember Our Main(e) Man Micah brings us his year-in-review piece. He originally thought 2022 was pretty quiet for him aviation-wise, but when he reflected on it Micah realized that quite a lot actually happened. 2022 was very much an #AvGeek year for Micah. John Bush VSF50 VisionJet Micah in the 787 headed for the UK Dartmouth-Hitchcock Helicopter Friends at Spurwink More friends at Spurwink Sunday Roast at The Greyhound Inn Micah and Lt Hardinger Hosts this Episode Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, and Brian Coleman.

Si Seigel, standing far right. In this special holiday episode, our Main(e) Man Micah tells the story of Si Spiegel. As a young man, Si wanted to serve his country and he joined the US Army Air Corp. After completing his training, he flew his first mission over Europe in a B-17 at the age of 20. On one mission, two of the B-17 engines became disabled and Si made an emergency landing in Poland. Micah tells us how Si was able to make an incredible escape over occupied territory and went on to complete 35 missions during the war. But that’s not the end of Si’s story because after the war he went on to develop something that was unusual for the time, but commonplace now during the Christmas season. It’s all in Micah’s story. At the time of this episode, Si Spiegel is 98 years old and lives in a Manhattan apartment with a view of Central Park. Si Seigel, May 2016. Hosts this Episode Our Main(e) Man Micah and Max Flight.

We speak with the operator of the world’s largest network of airport lounges. In the news, United’s order for Boeing planes, air travel trends for 2023, Boom Supersonic plans to develop its own engine, the U.S. Army selects the Bell V-280 over the Sikorsky/Boeing offering, and passengers are injured by turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight. Guest Stuart Vella is Vice President of Commercial Development and Operations with the Plaza Premium Group (PPG), an award-winning leader in premium airport hospitality services. PPG operates the world’s largest network of airport lounges. In the U.S. the company operates the Plaza Premium Lounge at DFW Terminal E and recently opened a lounge at Orlando (MCO) Terminal C. Stuart has been in the hospitality industry for some 30 years and has an extensive travel background. Stuart Vella We talk with Stuart about airport lounges and making the travel experience less hectic. He explains how PPG was formed to cater to those without access to elite lounges. PPG offers lounges for all travelers, regardless of cabin class or airline. Customer demand is high for more lounge access not necessarily tied to an airline or credit card. PPG owns the lounges they operate and offers full food and beverage service with production kitchens, full bars, showers, play areas for children, and quiet areas for business people. The benefits of each lounge are tailored to the demographics of travelers going through that specific airport. We discuss the PPG pricing model, LEED ratings, and the “ALWAYS” meet and greet at DFW. Plaza Premium Lounge Opens at Orlando International Airport Plaza Premium Lounge Wins Skytrax Awards Six Years in a Row [PDF] Aviation News United places order for 200 Boeing planes, giving two troubled jets a vote of confidence The United order represents 35% of the orders received by Boeing commercial airplanes this year. The announced order includes 100 firm/100 option 787 Dreamliners and 56 firm 737 Max planes for delivery between 2024 and 2026. The airline also exercised options on 44 737 Max jets with delivery between 2024 and 2026. Suppliers expect Boeing to increase 787 rates next year United Airlines to add thousands of jobs at SFO as part of huge expansion 3 air travel trends to watch for in 2023 Three trends are noted in a conversation with United’s Director of UK, Ireland, Israel and Off-line Sales: “Alternative” airports will increase in popularity Greener air travel will remain a top priority Travel will become a lighter-touch experience Boom plans new Symphony supersonic engine design Boom Supersonic could not get any of the major engine manufacturers to commit to developing an engine for them. Boom now plans to develop its own engine, called Symphony, a medium-bypass engine producing 35,000 pounds of thrust. Three partners were announced: Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT) for engine design, (a division of  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions) GE Additive for additive technology design consulting,  and StandardAero for maintenance. Symphony (conceptual render). Courtesy Boom Supersonic. Kratos purchased Florida Turbine Technologies in February 2019 and formed the Kratos Turbine Technologies (KTT) division. KTT develops and produces small high-performance jet engines for cruise missiles and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). A Reality Check On The Army Picking V-280 Valor Over SB>1 Defiant U.S. Army’s fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters is to be replaced under the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft initiative, or FLRAA. The Army has chosen the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor over the Sikorsky/Boeing Defiant X, a compound coaxial helicopter based on Sikorsky’s X2 technology. The Army said the V-280 offered the “best value proposition” without providing any specifics. Note: Paul Wilson, chief engineer for the Bell V-280 Valor program was our guest in Episode 576 Bell V-280 Valor. Passengers and Flight Attendants Hit the Ceiling After Severe Turbulence Strikes Hawaiian Airlines Plane From Phoenix The A330 flight from Phoenix to Honolulu encountered severe turbulence, injuring as many as 36 passengers, 11 seriously. The pilots declared an emergency following the incident due to the number of injuries and the plane was given priority clearance to land. See inside of Hawaiian Airlines plane rocked by turbulence David’s Christmas Story Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Max Trescott, David Vanderhoof, Brian Coleman, and our Main(e) Man Micah.