Also: HondaJet Elite Japan TC, Malaysian Airlines 1st Female Pilots, Twin Otter MOTW Upgrade, CA Fatigue Regs
A long-anticipated dream was realized in Mojave, CA, as Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity landed from her maiden spaceflight. Not only is this the first human spaceflight to be launched from American soil since the final Space Shuttle mission in 2011, but the very first time that a crewed vehicle built for commercial, passenger service, has reached space. The historic achievement has been recognized by the FAA who will present pilots Mark “Forger” Stucky and Frederick “CJ” Sturckow with FAA Commercial Astronaut Wings at a ceremony in Washington DC. CJ, as a four-time Space Shuttle pilot, will become the only person to have been awarded NASA and FAA wings. The Saudi National Company of Aviation (SNCA), a CAE Authorized Training Center, has selected Diamond Aircraft twin DA42-VI and single DA40 NG for its training center. The agreement will comprise 60 airplanes over a five-year period. Delivery of the first 12 aircraft will start February 2019. The DA40 NG and the DA42-VI represent the newest versions of Diamond’s piston aircraft fleet, the first certified general aviation piston aircraft to combine modern airframes, avionics and power plants. The aircraft are equipped with efficient jet-fuel piston Austro engines and Garmin G1000 NXi avionics systems, representing the very best of modern piston aircraft technology. Elon Musk has had electric airplanes on his radar since 2009, when he mentioned the concept during a Charles River Ventures CEO Summit. At the time, he said improvements in battery technology are making the concept more feasible as time goes on. Since then, Musk has flirted with the idea off and on, saying in 2015 that his engineers were "dying to do that" and that he had a design "in mind." All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!
Airborne 12.14.18 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Friday, December 14th 2018... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Laura Hutson, Brianne Cross, and Christopher Odom, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, and Aero-Journalist Tom Patton, this episode covers:
Virgin Galactic Returns To Space
Diamond Aircraft And SNCA Announce Purchase Agreement Of 60 Aircraft
Elon Musk Says There May Be A Tesla Electric Airplane
HondaJet Elite Receives Type Certification in Japan
First Female Pilots Now Flying For Malaysian Airlines
FAA Approves Ikhana Twin Otter MOTW Upgrade
Minister Garneau Introduces New Fatigue Regulations For Canadian Pilots
Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!
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