Aero-News Network: The aviation and aerospace world's daily/real-time news and information service

First Flight Of Stratos Aircraft Successfully Completed

Data Analysis Will Verify Performance And Handling Predictions

On November 21, the Stratos 714 took to the sky, according to information received from project partner Abbott Aerospace.

Airborne 11.30.16: C Series Type Ratings, ATC Reform, Highest Air Show Grounded?

Also: EAA Warning, ABQ Balloon Fiesta, NTSB, El Al, Coast Guard, Alaska Airlines, Heli Move

The European Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada have awarded the CS100 and CS300 airliners with the same pilot Type Rating which provides operators with significant cost-saving opportunities. Bombardier’s Todd Young said in part, "The Same Type Rating is a reflection of the high commonality between the CS100 and CS300 aircraft. This is great news for customers that operate both aircraft as they will benefit from the cost-effective, minimal training required to transition pilots from

Airbus Looks To Boost A350 Deliveries

Sets Goal Of 80 Airliners Out The Door In 2017

Airbus has set a tentative goal of delivering 80 A350XWB airliners in 2017, according to sources familiar with the planemaker's plans.

Boeing Delivers 10th 787 To Vietnam Airlines

Carrier Has Has Nine More Dreamliners On Order

Boeing and Vietnam Airlines recently celebrated the delivery of the flag carrier's 10th 787-9 Dreamliner.

Orbital Marks Three Successful Cargo Resupply Missions To ISS

Cygnus Continues Its Role As A Platform For Performing Experiments In Space

Orbital ATK has successfully completed its sixth cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station for NASA. Known as OA-5, the mission marked the company’s return to flight operations from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia and the second time Cygnus has been used as a platform for conducting research in space.

Teamsters Ask For Federal Court To Intervene In UPS Dispute

Calls For Injunctive Relief In The Face Of Serious Safety Violations Affecting UPS Aircraft Mechanics

The union representing airline maintenance technicians and related classifications who maintain UPS' fleet of jet engine aircraft filed for injunctive relief after the company has repeatedly failed to protect workers' safety on the job.

Association Of European Airlines Ceases Operations

Many Members Moving To The Recently-Formed Airlines For Europe

A second European airline association has suspended operations as carriers shift to the recently-formed Airlines for Europe (A4E) trade group.

Global SuperTanker's 747 Mobilized To Fight Israeli Wildfires

Spirit Of John Muir Raced To Israel At The Request Of The Israeli Government

The Spirit of John Muir ... a Boeing 747 configured to fight wildfires operated by Global SuperTanker Services, LLC ... has been mobilized to Israel to fight growing wildfires there.

Swiss Pilot Hopes To Fly The Sun To The Edge Of Space

SolarStratos Project Plans To Take A Solar-Powered Airplane An Altitude Of Over 15 Miles

The project is ambitious one. Swiss pilot Raphaël Domjan, the founder of SolarStratos, hopes to get into a solar-powered airplane and fly it to an altitude of more than 15 miles sometime in 2018.

Innovative UAV To Be Shown At Composites Europe Conference

Aircraft With Wings Coated In Graphene Was Flown At Farnborough

A UAV that incorporates an innovative material called graphene will be exhibited at the Composites Europe conference being held in Dusseldorf, Germany this week.

Aircalin Orders Two A330neo And Two A320neo Aircraft

New Caledonia Selects Airliners For Fleet Upgrade

Aircalin, the Noumea based carrier in the French territory of New Caledonia has signed an agreement (MoU) for two A320neo single-aisle and two A330-900 wide-body aircraft. The agreement was finalized and signed at a ceremony in the capital Noumea attended by airline officials and Airbus executives.

Candy Bomber Rededicates Frankfurt’s Berlin Airlift Memorial

Renovated Memorial Honors Those Who Provided More Than 2 Million Tons Of Supplies

Dozens of German and American citizens indulged their collective sweet tooth for freedom with thanksgiving and reflection during the reopening ceremony of the Berlin Airlift Memorial at Frankfurt International Airport Nov. 21.

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AD NUMBER: 2016-20-07

PRODUCT: Certain Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 airplanes.

AD: Airbus Airplanes

AD NUMBER: 2016-20-11 PRODUCT: Certain Airbus Model A300 B4-600, B4-600R, and F4-600R series airplanes, and Model A300 C4-605R Variant F airplanes (collectively called Model A300-600 series airplanes); and Airbus Model A310 series airplanes.

Bombardier Delivers First CS300 Aircraft To airBaltic

Aircraft Scheduled To Enter Service With airBaltic On December 14

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has announced the delivery of the first CS300 aircraft to launch operator Air Baltic Corporation AS (airBaltic), the flag carrier of Latvia. The CS300 is the larger variant of Bombardier's all new C Series aircraft, which is designed to carry between 130 and 150 passengers. The handover to airBaltic comes just five months after the successful entry into service of the CS100 variant of the C Series.

New FAA Video Stresses Holiday Drone Safety

Stresses Safety For All UAV Operators

If you’re one of the lucky people who gets a drone as a holiday present, the FAA wants you to know how to fly it safely. The agency has released a new video reminding everyone of the rules and regulations that safe drone pilots must follow.

STC Group Works Towards Approval Of Trio Next Gen Autopilot

Lower Cost Safety And Reliability For Cessna 172/182

Trio Avionics, longtime manufacturer of autopilots for the Experimental-Amateur-Built (EAB) aircraft market, is working with the FAA and a team of industry leaders to develop an STC for its Pro Pilot Autopilot in the Cessna 172 and 182, with other certified, production models to follow. Paul Odum, CEO of The STC Group, LLC, is leading the initiative to bring affordable autopilots from the EAB world to production airplanes.

Charter Plane Carrying Brazilian Soccer Team Down In Columbia

At Least 75 Fatally Injured, Six Survived

A chartered Avro RJ85 carrying the Brazilian soccer team to Medellin, Colombia went down Tuesday morning in a mountainous region near Rionegro, Colombia resulting in the fatal injury of at least 75 of the 81 people on board.

Havana Flights Mark Important Milestone In Reengagement With Cuba

First Scheduled U.S. Commercial Flight Departed From Miami Monday Morning

Monday, for the first time in more than fifty years, a scheduled, commercial flight took off from the United States and landed in Havana, Cuba.

AeroSports Update: AOPA’s Rusty Pilots Program

If You’ve Been Out Of The Cockpit For A while, AOPA Can Help You Get Back In?

If you’ve been out of the cockpit for quite a while and think you have lost too much and forgotten everything, it could seem like an insurmountable task to get cranked up and behind the controls again? However, it doesn’t have to be that way. AOPA has developed what they call the 'Rusty Pilot Program' that can help you get back in the left seat fast!

El Al, Pilots Reach New Agreement

Dispute Arose Over Use Of Foreign-Leased Aircraft

The management of El Al Airlines and its pilots union reached an agreement Sunday that will see the airline stop using foreign-leased aircraft during labor actions.

Airborne 11.29.16: Aquila, Solar Impulse 2, Gone West: Tuskegee's Willie Rogers

Also: Drone Regs Scrapped, Aero-Calendar, EAA Board, ATC Privatization, Alaska/Virgin, U.K. Airports, ICAO Council

The NTSB has recently released documents related to the structural failure of the Aquila drone being tested by Facebook as a way to deliver Internet service to remote areas. Bloomberg reports that the documents allude to a "structural failure" of the Aquila aircraft, which has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 737. It’s reported the accident occurred while the aircraft was on approach to landing following the test flight June 28. According to a report in the Dayton Daily

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (11.30.16)

"By the end of 2016, airlines are planning to conduct well over 500 round trip flights – with more than 90,000 passenger seats available – between Havana and the cities of Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando, and Tampa." Source: Deputy Secretary of Transportation Victor Mendez.