Amid Dispute with Airbus, Boeing Wins Coveted Order 

Qatar Airways has placed a firm order for 34 of Boeing's new 777-8 freighters, with an option for 16 more, in a deal that essentially marks the end of the airline's rocky love affair with Airbus. The agreement included an additional MoU for up to 50 737-10s, the largest Max variant. The carrier's choice of the Boeing aircraft comes after a volley of lawsuits between Qatar Airways and Airbus over manufacturing quality and paint flaws in its fleet of A350s in a London High Court. The White House signing ceremony, a headliner event of US/Qatari relations, was attended by the US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and the CEOs of both Boeing and Qatar Airways, Stan Deal and Akbar Al Baker. Th

GE's Fancy H75 Replaced by PT6 to Meet Project Deadlines, as EASA Certification Expected Next Year

Diamond Aircraft's DART program has seen a few changes, replacing its powerplant with a PT6A-25C turboprop engine sourced from Pratt & Whitney Canada. The change removes the original engine for the program, General Electric's 550hp H75-A turboprop. The move to the venerable PT6 is said to be necessary to meet program deadlines, as the GE product is yet to be fully certified and ready for widespread use With the DART expected to be EASA certified by the end of 2023, Diamond decided to move forward with a turnkey solution while it can. 

Company Reportedly Continues to Slow-Roll Negotiations

The Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council (MEC) of ALPA has reelected its officers and, for the second time in a row, the MEC has displayed 'a significant sign of unity' by electing all positions by acclamation. These officers will continue to advocate on the pilot group’s behalf to get their concerns with the contract addressed, which include improvements to job security and quality of life. These improvements would help bring the contract more in line with the pilots’ industry peers. Despite the MEC’s early start in negotiations well before the current collective bargaining agreement became amendable on April 1, 2020, management hasn’t shown sufficient willing

Cruise Ship Sails Into Restricted Area, Invoking Danger Of Launch Debris

SpaceX has experienced an irritating delay to their launch schedule, caused by cruise liners sailing into the restricted zone off the coast of Florida's Cape Canaveral. The launch was 33 seconds from ignition only to be canceled in the interest of safety should the worst come to pass. The now-delayed launch is anticipated to make the attempt sometime on the evening of the 31st. The region closed off to maritime traffic is different from the usual hazard areas seen for ISS-bound launches. The polar orbit required for the Italian COSMO-SkyMed delivery requires SpaceX to send the 2.2-ton satellite to the south, as opposed to the more commonly used eastern corridor. The Coas

The Hyperion II Builds On The Company's Previous Hyperion I Success

Kadex has completed the STC process and stocked up on their Hyperion II LED Wing Tip Lighting Kit for Beechcraft King Air 350s. The upgrade provides all the niceties that come with the jump to LED tech - freedom from finicky, delicate bulbs, unnecessarily high power draw, and poor output. The Hyperion II builds on the company's previous Hyperion I success for the  King Air C90/200/300 and 1900 series. The system installs just as easily and quickly, being a direct plug and play that even allows for the removal of the high voltage power supplies.

CEO Florian Reuter Shares Future Plans

Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter spoke with ANN about the successful public test flight they took for their eVTOL aircraft at Oshkosh. They wanted to fly in front of a crowd and that mission was accomplished, with proper FAA permissions of course. “What we saw with the 2X generation, the previous generation aircraft, we’ve been flying this for quite some time, over 1000 test flights amassed on that generation of aircraft. We are flying remote controlled, piloted aircraft as well as fully autonomous,” Reuter says.

Manufacturer Expands Production Capabilities for Container Loader/Navigator

Vita Inclinata, developer and manufacturer of helicopter and crane load stabilization and precision hardware, opened its new 13,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Broomfield, Colorado. The new manufacturing facility will house the company's primary production of the large Vita Load Navigator, a heavy-duty stabilization system for cranes that mount to spreader bars and hoist loads over 25,000 pounds. The time for heavy life equipment could be ripe, given the current issues seen throughout the supply chain.

AD 2022-01-03 Prompted By Reports Of A Quality Control Issue On Certain Fire Extinguishers

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Umlaut Engineering GmbH (previously P3 Engineering GmbH) HAFEX (Halon-free) hand-held P3HAFEX fire extinguishers (fire extinguishers). This AD was prompted by reports of a quality control issue on certain fire extinguishers, where the spindle geometries of the fire extinguishers were found to be out of tolerance. This AD requires removing affected fire extinguishers from service. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective March 7, 2022.

AD 2022-01-01 Prompted (By) A Report Of Increased Vibration During Flight

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Helicopters Model AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350D, EC130B4, and EC130T2 helicopters; AS355E, AS355F, AS355F1, AS355F2, AS355N, and AS355NP helicopters; and Model SA-365C1, SA-365C2, SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, and AS 365 N3 helicopters. This AD was prompted a report of increased vibration during flight. This AD requires the application of alignment markings on, and repetitive inspections of, the main rotor (MR) pitch rod upper links and, depending on findings, the accomplishment of applicable corrective actions, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is

Aero Linx: The Virginia Department of Aviation The Virginia Department of Aviation is an executive branch agency, reporting to the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, whose creation and powers are contained in Title 5.1 - Aviation. The agency is based at Richmond International Airport in Richmond.

On-Course Indication An indication on an instrument, which provides the pilot a visual means of determining that the aircraft is located on the centerline of a given navigational track, or an indication on a radar scope that an aircraft is on a given track.

"Qatar Airways very much looks forward to adding the 737-10 to its fleet, with this new variant of the 737 being ideally suited to our short-haul network, allowing us an opportunity to further enhance our product offering for our customers, modernize our fleet and operate the most efficient aircraft in its category." Source: In addition to news of their launch purchase of the Boeing 777-8F, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, also spoke of their selection of the latest generation of B737 Max.