The Newcomer’s Shopping Spree Continues

Breeze Airways has continued their buying spree this week, with news of their newest purchase breaking soon after their full flight simulator purchase. Airbus announced the sale of 80 of their newest A220-300 aircraft during Breeze’s tour of the final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama. The delivery schedule, barring unforeseen circumstances, should see the receipt of one aircraft a month for the next 6 and a half years. A surprisingly large order for a months-old airline, the purchase is the result of a very successful round of Series B funding that brought the company $200 million to invest.

Level D Sim Ready for Training

Pan Am Flight Academy announced their freshly acquired Level D Boeing 757-200 Full Flight Simulator (FFS) is qualified and ready to go. Equipped with the most up to date flight models, with full IS&S cockpit controls, Rolls Royce RB211 engine models, GPS, and SMGCS support. Thanks to its FFS build, it is capable of UPRT Dir 2 training. The sim is accompanied by a Level 5 flight training device, expected to come online within the coming weeks. Purchased from Dallas, Texas last August, the school has managed to successfully relocate and install them with all the new modifications only months later.

Powertrain for 76-Seat, Zero Emission Aircraft

In an industry increasingly flirting with sustainability and zero-emissions future tech, the simplest way to get positive press and fill the order book is to make a sleek, light, futuristic product that makes “greening up” a fleet as simple as writing a check and waiting for delivery. Granted, newer propulsion systems often need all the optimization they can get, but the ability to reuse legacy airframes as sustainable aircraft is seldom seen in the industry. Perhaps it’s the lack of ramp appeal, the difficulty at selling the company treasurer on spending large sums of money only to result in a fleet of planes that look and feel no different from how they did when burning jet fuel. N

AD 2021-20-22 Requires An Inspection For Corrosion Of The Wing Front Spar Lower Boom

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 Mark 0070 and Mark 0100 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of exfoliation corrosion found during an inspection of the wing front spar lower boom. This AD requires an inspection for corrosion of the wing front spar lower boom, and applicable corrective actions, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD becomes effective November 15, 2021.