Flight Showcases Capabilities by Extending Endurance Record
A Boeing KC-46A with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, completed a 45-hour circumnavigation to establish a new record for Maximum Endurance Operations (MEO) in the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC). MEOs serve to stretch aircraft missions in time and aircrew to facilitate greater capabilities over longer distances. The mission, called Project Magellan, required extensive planning and coordination to pre-position refueling for itself and while refueling and a variety of receiver aircraft such as B-2 Spirits, F-15E Strike Eagles, C-17 Globemaster IIIs, and another C-46.
AirVenture to Display a Full Roster of Northern Aircraft
The Royal Canadian Air Force is celebrating its 100th anniversary at AirVenture Oshkosh 2024, bringing out the whole kit and kaboodle of the Canadian performing fleet. That means they'll have the headlining Snowbirds, equipped with their CT-114 Tutors (a license built Cessna T-37 Tweet), riding along with their CF-18 Demo squadron and a rare appearance from their WWII bomber, the Avro Lancaster mark ten. It's a nice chance for fans of the neighbors up north to see their best work, since the teams are coming out in force for the Canadian Air Force centennial. A new livery will be displayed by one of their CF-188 Hornets across the US, UK, and Canada under 'Operation INSPIRATION 2024'.
Volunteers Ending Yearlong Mission in Mars Dune Alpha Habitat
NASA is gathering important baseline data and information that will help guide planning for the first human-crewed mission to Mars through its “analog” Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) ground-based missions. The first of three such missions in the Mars Dune Alpha habitat will come to an end July 6, 2024, when the volunteer crew emerges from the habitat after a year-long test of living and working in an isolated environment.
Private Aircraft Aren’t Just for the High-Falootin’
The British Business & General Aviation Association has responded to some high-profile displays of aircraft vandalism by some 'Just Stop Oil' activists. "The perception of private aviation as all champagne and caviar is wrong. Many of our aircraft have such small cabins you can’t stand up in them, but they do connect city pairs which scheduled airlines do not," the Association noted. "Around 10% of business jets flying are air ambulances. One leading London Stansted FBO handled 85 medical repatriations last year. We have King Airs, Pilatus PC-12 turboprops repositioning crew; delivering AOG parts for stricken airlines or cruise lines."
First-of-its-Kind Automated and Robotized Facility in Aviation
Airbus Helicopters on July 2 officially opened its new logistics hub in Albecete, Spain. The facility is designed, equipped, and operated by Daher, the lead logistics partner of Airbus Helicopters and industrial giant in aircraft and related manufacturing, industrial services, and logistics. The 50,000 square meter warehouse is located next to the Airbus Helicopters production plant and will optimize operations while creating hundreds of new skilled jobs for the region. To provide the highest level of service, Daher utilized a storage system that is highly automated and robotized.
Pilots Overwhelmingly Ratify Contract After Years Negotiating
Pilots flying for Canada-based PAL Aerospace voted by a large margin to ratify a three-year contract. The group is represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and said it was the first-ever collective agreement for them. The agreement includes competitive compensation, stronger protections for job security, better benefits, and improvements in working conditions and scheduling methods. PAL Aerospace, part of the PAL Group of Companies, provides maritime airborne surveillance, charter, air ambulance, and aircraft management services. It also supports the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard.
Pragmatism Forces Slowdown of Green Projects As Subsidies Decline, Market Flags
Shell is halting its construction on one of Europe's largest biofuel manufacturing facilities, citing a weak market and renewed focus on stock returns. The Rotterdam biofuel facility will be put on pause for a while, with a reduction in contractors on site, and a slowdown of activity, hopefully cutting costs as Shell's margins get thinner. Renewables and energy solutions director Huibert Vigeveno said that "temporarily pausing on-site construction now will allow us to assess the most commercial way forward for the project." Those in the industry blame a weakening European biofuels market, where margins have slimmed for renewable diesel and SAF.
From 2015 (YouTube Version): The Airframes Displayed At AUVSI 2015 Were Quite Innovative
It’s common to visualize a small vertical lift UAV as having 4 to 6 propellers, it’s very maneuverable, but it has a short range and limited load caring capabilities. Well, NASA says you can have your cake and eat it too with something they call “Greased Lightning.” ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, spent time at the Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference and met with aerospace engineer Bill Fredericks to talk about what’s different with their vehicle.
Pilot Reported A Cylinder Temperature Issue, And Requested A Divert To Steamboat Springs Airport/Bob Adams Field (SBS)
On June 17, 2024, about 1623 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 421C airplane, N245T, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data captured the airplane as it departed Vance Brand Airport (LMO), Longmont, Colorado, about 1515 and was en route to Ogden-Hinckley Airport (OGD), Ogden, Utah.
Aero Linx: International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine (IAASM)
The Academy was founded in 1955, with the object of searching for and promoting new knowledge in Aviation and Space Medicine and contributing to international co-operation and exchange of information among those devoted to education and research in this field. Members of the Academy (referred to as ‘Academicians’) are selected for their merit, based on their outstanding contribution to Aviation and Space Medicine, regardless of nationality, race, creed, ideology, political belief or any other characteristic.
Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS)
The operation of a UAS beyond the visual capability of the flight crew members (i.e., remote pilot in command [RPIC], the person manipulating the controls, and visual observer [VO]), if used to see the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, spectacles, and contact lenses.
"The perception of private aviation as all champagne and caviar is wrong. Many of our aircraft have such small cabins you can’t stand up in them, but they do connect city pairs which scheduled airlines do not... Around 10% of business jets flying are air ambulances. One leading London Stansted FBO handled 85 medical repatriations last year. We have King Airs, Pilatus PC-12 turboprops repositioning crew; delivering AOG parts for stricken airlines or cruise lines."
Source: The British Business & General Aviation Association, responding to some high-profile displays of aircraft vandalism by some 'Just Stop Oil' activists/terrorists.
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