At  Least 800 Regional Airports On The Drawing Board In The South American Country

Saying the continent-sized country needs more than railroads, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff indicated Wednesday that her nation would embark on an ambitious program to build at least 800 regional airports, bringing service within 40 miles of any city with at least 100,000 residents.

Deal For Six Of The Airliners Signed By The Airline In 2008

Kazakhstan’s flag carrier Air Astana has taken delivery of its first A321 out of a total of six A320 Family aircraft ordered from Airbus in May 2008. The delivery was celebrated in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The aircraft will join Air Astana’s fleet, which already includes 10 A320 Family aircraft, operated on the airline’s domestic and international network.

Demonstrator Engine Flies On 747-200 Test Bed Airplane

Rolls-Royce has successfully achieved two major milestones in its Trent 1000 launch engine program for the Boeing 787-9.

Locata's Centimeter-Level Positioning To Be Installed At White Sands Missile Range

The U.S. Air Force has signed a sole-source, multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to install the U.S. Military's first ground-based LocataNet positioning system at the famed White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The USAF will field new technology developed by the Australian company Locata to provide them with extremely accurate "reference truth" positioning across a vast area of White Sands when GPS is being completely jammed.

Engine Will Power Upper Stages Of Heavy Lift SLS

NASA on Thursday said it took another step toward human exploration of new destinations in the solar system. At the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, engineers conducted the final test-firing of the J-2X powerpack assembly, an important component of America's next heavy-lift rocket. The J-2X engine is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engine developed in the United States in decades.

Astrium Instrument To ‘Sniff Out’ Dangers To Health Of ISS Crew

When the next crew of the International Space Station (ISS) sets off into space aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on December 19, their luggage will contain an electronic nose developed by Astrium. This ‘E-Nose’, as it is called, will measure the crew’s exposure to bacteria and fungi in the Russian segment of the space station from 2013.

Ten-Hour Test Flight Provided Real-Time Full-Motion Video To Troops On The Ground

Marines in Afghanistan witnessed the first flight of AAI's Aerosonde Unmanned Air System (UAS) Dec. 2. The flight was conducted under NAVAIR’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services contract. AAI field services representatives conducted the nearly 10-hour mission and provided real-time full-motion video (FMV) to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 3.

Will Provide Door Modifications For As Many As 560 Helicopters

The Aviation Applied Technology Directorate of the U.S. Army has awarded a five-year contract to Kaiser Aircraft Industries for work on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The contract contains provisions to perform parts manufacturing, kitting and installation of a transition door modification for up to 800 kits and 560 helicopters.

Affordable Pilotless Technology Could Expand ROKA MD 500 Helicopters' Mission Capabilities

Boeing has demonstrated affordable unmanned aircraft technology that could be integrated onto Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) MD 500 helicopters to expand the fleet's mission capabilities. A Boeing Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) demonstrator aircraft, a variant of the highly successful MD 500 helicopter, autonomously flew for approximately 25 minutes at the ROKA Aviation School in Nonsan.

QEAF Exercises Options To Increase Airlifter Fleet To 4

Boeing has delivered a C-17 Globemaster III to  the Qatar Emiri Air Force, in accordance with Qatar's agreement with the U.S. government to acquire two additional C-17s, which brings the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) fleet of the airlifters to a total of four.

Former Assets Of Runway Services International Offered For Sale December 19th

Airports that may need to pick up some runway cleaning equipment may want to check out a live online auction December 19th, as Tiger Group's Remarketing Services division is auctioning a wide array of specialized trucks, trailers and other equipment used to support airport runway-cleaning operations, but with applications for other businesses and municipalities.

AD NUMBER: 2012-25-02

PRODUCT: Certain Bombardier, Inc. Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes.

Also: USAFA Soars, Falcon 2000S Exceeds, Remembering Vicki, NASA Awards

As this edition of Airborne went into production, David Riggs' hearing before the NTSB had was well into its second day with Riggs' attorney trying to mount a defense against the Emergency Revocation Order issued by the FAA ordering Riggs to surrender his pilot certificate. We have now learned that the NTSB has upheld the FAA Emergency Revocation order and barring a successful last minute appeal, Riggs is grounded for at least a year. American International Group and an investor group led by Mr. Weng Xianding, the Chairman of New China Trust Co. Ltd., announced Sunday that they hav

Redbird's Roger Sharp Reports Results On The First Year Of An Exciting Experiment (Part 1 of 5)

Aviation has been undergoing some rough years... and the future is, as yet, quite uncertain. There are few facets of the aviation world more uncertain, though, than that of the flight training industry and community. Years of "...that's the way we've always done it," have created a serious culture clash among those who feel the old ways are the good ways, and those who feel that its time for something "completely different."

After Much Delayed Receipt Of AOPA's Latest IRS-Form 990s, We Have More Questions Than Answers -- And AOPA Isn't Interested In Talking Anymore...

First of all, ANN realizes that it has had some pretty tough questions to ask of and about AOPA this year... but after the last few years of aero-decline, we felt that it behooved us to demand more of what our associations are supposed to be doing for us, than ever before. It took ANN what we consider to be in inordinate amount of time to get AOPA to cough up the latest IRS Form 990 (for 2011), which are required to be disclosed to the public. Despite promises that the documents, signed by former AOPA CFO Doug Kitani on August 9th, 2012, would be available by the first week of November, we did not get them (and only after sever

After A Tough Year, Let's Celebrate What We Think Is The Best And Brightest This Industry Has To Offer

OK... 2012 is a year that many of us would just as soon forget. Still, we believe (and hope that you do, as well) that there was still a fair amount to celebrate about the year that is quickly coming to an end. That being the case, we'd like to ask your input as we try to decide what planes, products, company and persons made this tumultuous year better than it might otherwise have been. Let's face it, the year kinda sucked, and did so in a lot of ways... but if not for the best effort of a number of companies and people, it could have been a whole lot worse.

Detroit? .... But Seriously Now, Detroit???? Really???

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Airplane Developed An Electrical Problem Similar To One That Cropped Up On A UCH 787

Qatar Airways says it has been forced to ground one of its three Dreamliners because of an electrical problem that forced them to take the jet out of service. A similar problem was discovered recently in a 787 belonging to United Continental Holdings.

Economic Conditions Expected To Push The Bottom Line Down In 2013

A slowdown in new orders earlier this year and the ongoing global economic uncertainty are pushing profit levels down in Canada's aerospace product manufacturing industry in 2012 and likely will again in 2013, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Autumn edition of its Industrial Outlook. Industry profits have been on a turbulent ride since the 2008-09 recession.

Potential Bidders Say Process Favors Sikorsky For 112 Aircraft Contract

Five major defense contractors have pulled out of an Air Force competition to produce 112 new SAR helicopters, saying the bidding process is unfair. But the Air Force says the requirements for the helicopter will drive the competition.

In-Flight Fire Caused By V-Band Coupling Malfunction

The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) concerning Cessna Aircraft Company Model T206H airplanes. The SAIB is the result of an in-flight fire on a Cessna T206H with only 1,000 hours time-in-service (TIS) since new.

Threaten To Not Serve Alcohol Or Food, Or Even Smile Due To A Pay Dispute

Cathay Pacific flight attendants are feeling pretty grumpy about how negotiations are going between their union and the airline, and have voted to begin a labor action which may include flight delays and a cut back on the service for which the airline is noted.

Plan Will Be Activated On January 1

On January 1, 2013, USAIG will roll out a new, full-featured workers’ compensation insurance package  – AeroComp by USAIG – designed specifically to address the needs of aviation operators, including both commercial and business operations. USAIG is a leading provider of insurance to the aviation and aerospace industries.

The First App To Support The XGPS170 Is WingX Pro7 From Hilton Software

Dual Electronics said on Friday that its new XGPS170 GPS + ADS-B Weather & Traffic Receiver for iPad, iPhone and Android devices is now shipping to authorized resellers in the U.S.

Aero Linx: International Society of Air Safety Investigators ISASI is a society formed to promote air safety by the exchange of ideas, experiences and information about aircraft accident investigations, and to otherwise aid in the advancement of flight safety; to promote technical advancement by providing professional education through lectures, displays and presentations and by the exchange of information for mutual development of improved investigations; to broaden professional relationships among members; to maintain and increase the prestige, standing and influence of the Air Safety Investigator in matters of air safety. The Society was founded in the United States under articles of incorporation in the District of Col

Precision Approach Radar Radar equipment in some ATC facilities operated by the FAA and/or the military services at joint-use civil/military locations and separate military installations to detect and display azimuth, elevation, and range of aircraft on the final approach course to a runway. This equipment may be used to monitor certain nonradar approaches, but is primarily used to conduct a precision instrument approach (PAR) wherein the controller issues guidance instructions to the pilot based on the aircraft's position in relation to the final approach course (azimuth), the glidepath (elevation), and the distance (range) from the touchdown point on the runway as displayed on the radar scope.

"We found that we needed to completely rethink the learner, the materials and delivery methods... We identify better methods every week." Source: Redbird's Roger Sharp, reporting after the first year of the Skyport experiment...  in which the redbird operation announced that their school had graduated 20 Private Pilots, as well as completed 18 instrument ratings, one multi-engine rating and one instrument instructor certificate. It took an average of 38 flight hours to complete the private pilot rating, which is less than two-thirds the national average.