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

Fifty-One Fokker Aircraft Placed In 2012

Six New Operators Added To The Company's Client List

A total of 51 Fokker aircraft were placed with 11 existing and 6 new Fokker operators in 2012 by their respective aircraft sellers and lessors. The number of 51 comprises 16 Fokker 50s, 5 Fokker 70s and 30 Fokker 100s.

AF Releases New 'Vision' Document

Calls On Airmen To Proudly Tell Their Story

The Air Force has released a new Vision document outlining the force's vision and way forward. "Focused on 'Airmen, Mission, and Innovation,' I believe this short document captures what today's Air Force is all about and where I think we ought to focus on for tomorrow," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III in an email to all Airmen.

Veteran Key West Air Show Performer Fatally Injured In Cozumel Accident

Fred Cabanas Was Said To Be Helping Shoot A Documentary Film In Mexico

The air show industry lost another one of its veterans when stunt pilot Fred Cabanas was fatally injured in an accident in Cozumel, Mexico. A second person aboard the plane, Mexican extreme sports program host Jorge Lopez, was also fatally injured in the accident which reportedly happened Tuesday, according to Keysnews.com.

London Airport Debate Heating Up Again

Mayor Of The City Asks For Input From Airline Industry, Residents, Businesses

The Mayor of London is seeking public input on how to solve the city's airport capacity shortage, reaching out to the airline industry, city residents, and businesses. He has drafted criteria that will help planners narrow the possible options with a goal of adding capacity southeast of the city.

NASA Issues 2013 Call For Visionary Advanced Technology Concepts

Seeks Proposals With 'Transformative' Potential

NASA's Space Technology Program is looking for visionary advanced concepts. This year's annual call for NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Program (NIAC) is seeking proposals for revolutionary concepts with the potential to transform future aerospace missions. Proposed concepts should enable new missions or significantly improve current approaches to achieve aerospace objectives.

Chicago Agency Sues United Airlines Over Sales Taxes

Regional Transportation Authority Says Office Outside Chicago Is A Tax Dodge

United Airlines has an office in a rural community in Illinois about 70 miles from Chicago which the city's Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) says is amounts to a tax dodge that is costing the city tens of millions of dollars in sales taxes on fuel purchased by the airline.

First AW139 Helicopter Assembled In Russia Performs Maiden Flight

Produced By A Joint Venture Between AgustaWestland And Russian Helicopters

The first AW139 helicopter assembled in Russia has successfully performed its maiden flight. HeliVert, a joint venture between Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland, said in a news release that on December 18, 2012, the first AW139 built in Russia, with the tail number 60001, was rolled out at the HeliVert assembly plant to perform ground testing.

Columbia Announces Memorial Fund For Families Of Peruvian Accident

Some Donations To The Fund Can Be Made Online

Columbia Helicopters announces the establishment of a memorial fund that will assist the families of the seven employees who perished in a recent helicopter crash in Peru. The funds raised will be distributed equally among all families.

Airbus Military Delivers First Two C295s To Kazakhstan

Marks Airbus' Entry Into The CIS Market

Kazakhstan has taken delivery of the first two C295 transport aircraft that it ordered last year, marking Airbus Military´s entry into the CIS regional market.

New Zealand NIMBY's Fight Helicopter Pad

Residents Say It Will 'Ruin Their Quiet Neighborhood'

Residents of Auckland, New Zealand living near an area called Stanley Point are fighting hard to prevent a helicopter landing pad from being built nearby.

Dorm Sprinklers Tripped By Baylor Student's RC Helo

Some Students May Have To Be Moved To Temporary Housing

You can almost hear the student's mom saying "how many times have I told you not to fly that thing in the house!" An RC helicopter being flown by a student in campus housing at Baylor University in Waco, TX, set off the building's sprinkler system.

FAA Grounds All U.S.-Registered Dreamliners Following Series Of Incidents

Emergency AD Issued For Battery Fire Risk

As a result of an in-flight, Boeing 787 battery incident Wednesday in Japan, the FAA will issue an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) to address a potential battery fire risk in the 787 and require operators to temporarily cease operations. Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered, Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the FAA that the batteries are safe.

Classic Aero-TV: Of Course It's Yellow -- Redbird’s J-3 Cub Simulator

Innovative and Inspirational.... You Can Teach An Old Cub New Tricks!

One of the hands-down favorites of the most recent Oshkosh Fly-In was not a real live airplane.... but a reasonable facsimile thereof. In fact, Redbird Flight Simulations J-3 Cub Simulator, adorned in stereotypical eye-catching Cub Yellow, wowed the crowds at Oshkosh -- and while it was built strictly as a "One-Of-A Kind" promotional gimmick, it caught on with such fervor that the one they brought was sold within hours of the show's opening and others have asked for Cub-Sims of their own.

Helicopter Hits Construction Crane In Central London

Two Fatally Injured, 13 On The Ground Hurt

A helicopter impacted a construction crane on top of an unfinished residential tower in London Wednesday, resulting in the fatal injury of the only person on board the aircraft and one person on the ground. Thirteen other people on the ground were reportedly hurt in the accident.

IBA COO Says Dreamliner Grounding Will Not Impact The Airplane's Value

Seymour: 'All New ... Aircraft Will Exhibit Reliability And Technical Issues'

Despite a series of technical issues culminating today with the grounding of all Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in Japan, Phil Seymour Chief Operating Officer of the International Bureau of Aviation (IBA), does not foresee any impact on values of the Boeing 787.

Shuster Names Transportation Vice Chair, Subcommittee Assignments

New Jersey's LoBiondo Proposed As Chair Of Aviation Subcommittee, Petri Moves To Highways

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) has announced the Committee leadership he intends to appoint for the 113th Congress.

NASA Mars Rover Preparing To Drill Into First Martian Rock

Hope To Find Evidence Of A Watery Past On The Red Planet

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is driving toward a flat rock with pale veins that may hold clues to a wet history on the Red Planet. If the rock meets rover engineers' approval when Curiosity rolls up to it in coming days, it will become the first to be drilled for a sample during the Mars Science Laboratory mission.

Aviation Partners Boeing Launches Split Scimitar Winglet Program

United Airlines To Retrofit Next-Generation 737 Fleet

Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) has launched its new Split Scimitar Winglet program with an order from United Airlines, the company said Tuesday. Using a newly patented design, the program will consist of retrofitting existing Boeing Next Generation 737 Blended Winglets by replacing the aluminum winglet tip cap with a new aerodynamically shaped "Scimitar" winglet tip cap.

Embry-Riddle Accepts Donation Of Space Technology Archive

Students And Faculty Will Have Access To Over 1,000 Space-Focused Technical Papers

Under an agreement with the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies (CCTS), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has gained access to a unique archive of over 1,000 space-focused technical papers from more than 40 years of annual Florida Space Congress conferences dating back to 1966.

Nebraska Governor Eyes King Air Purchase

Airplane Currently Belongs To The University Of Nebraska Foundation

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman (R) has placed funds in his budget to purchase a Beechcraft Super King Air which currently belongs to the University of Nebraska Foundation. The money set aside for the plane is $2.5 million.