Popular Flight Planning & Weather App Ups Capability

Airmate EFB, the free, flight-planning and weather app, now offers synthetic vision. The feature is provided free of charge to Airmate users. Formerly, synthetic vision capability required a premium subscription plan. The Airmate app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android phone or tablets. User inputs and data are synced with Airmate Web Flight Planning, thereby permitting users to flight-plan at home and fly with their devices. Data can also be shared among devices. 

To Boldly Go—Over Budget

NASA intends to once again land human beings in the moon. The space agency intends, also, to bring Mars within the purview of human exploration. These lofty and concomitant goals are largely dependent on the ongoing development of the Space Launch System (SLS)—a two-stage, heavy-lift rocket that will launch the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion) into space. Currently, NASA is developing two mobile launchers at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each massive construct comprises a two-story base structure—the platform to support the SLS vehicle—and a tower equipped with connection lines; launch accessories; and a walkway for personnel, equipment, and astronauts.

Lights Out, Lights Out Scotland

An easyJet Airbus A320 made an emergency landing in Edinburgh, Scotland [UK] after the Pilot in Command became incapacitated. The incident occurred in the early hours of 12 June 2022, when the aircraft, registration G-EZTK, was operating as easyJet flight U2-6938 between Heraklion in Greece and Edinburgh. According to unofficial, online flight history, the flight was scheduled to depart Heraklion International Airport (HER) at 21:20 UTC  and arrive Edinburgh Airport (EDI) a few hours later. However, for undisclosed reasons, the flight was delayed for more than an hour and didn’t depart HER until approximately 22:48 UTC.

Unreliability and Late Deliveries Cited

Disappointed by ongoing problems with its fleet of NH90 military helicopters, Norway is about the endeavor of returning the aircraft to their manufacturer, NHIndustries. In addition, Norway is seeking repayment of 5 billion crowns [$523-million] plus interest and other costs from NHIndustries—a consortium comprising Airbus Helicopters, Italy's Leonardo, and Fokker Aerostructures of the Netherlands. 

“This was a tragic event and our hearts go out to the families of the deceased.” —USAF Spokesperson

In the final days of an inexplicable, disorganized withdrawal of American Forces from Afghanistan, an American C-17 Globemaster III aircrew was faced with a wartime decision—depart, or lose their aircraft, its cargo, and possibly their lives to a mob seeking egress from the war-torn nation. The crew—in keeping with the Rules of Engagement and Laws of Armed Combat—departed. 

Over Nine-Hundred Short-Haul Trips Nixed 

Deutsche Lufthansa—the German flag-carrier and second-largest European airline—has canceled hundreds of summer flights due to staff shortages. The move underscores the challenges facing European air-carriers as the airline industry struggles to recover from the coronavirus crisis. Lufthansa did away with approximately nine-hundred domestic and European short-haul trips scheduled in July, including those at its namesake and Eurowings budget brands. The canceled flights, which were to take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, represent about five-percent of the airline’s typical weekend capacity. 

Celebrating Two-Decades of Flying Through Storms and At Mountains 

Forty-years-old, middle-age, a milestone signifying slowing down, resting on one’s laurels, and looking soberly toward retirement—but not for Honeywell’s iconic Boeing 757 test aircraft, which celebrated its fortieth birthday on 13 June 2022. The aircraft was acquired by Honeywell in 2005, but its history stretches back to June, 1982, when it rolled off the production line at Boeing’s Renton facility—only the fifth of over one-thousand 757s the Seattle aerospace giant would produce.

From 2017 (YouTube Version): Technology Is Misunderstood, Company Executive Says…

Lithium batteries are a misunderstood technology that has suffered from a misperception of the devices. That is the assessment of Rick Slater, Director of True Blue Power at Mid Continent Instrument Company, who told Aero-News CEO and Editor in Chief Jim Campbell at NBAA-BACE that the company began in 2013 to educate people about the technology, and its benefits for aviation. Slater said the company worked to educate consumers about lithium batteries, and the importance of proper use and maintenance. That included seminars to various

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The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) successfully prosecuted an independent filmmaker for flying a drone over a crowd of demonstrators in Dublin. The May 2021 incident saw the drone detained and its operator informed by the IAA that he’d violated its 1993 Act for “operating a drone over an assembly of people.” The agency alleged the operator did not appreciate the safety risks posed to the crowd gathered underneath a flying drone. The IAA further stated that bystanders below an airborne drone cannot safely move away if the drone malfunc

Witnesses Stated The Engine Was “Sputtering” And Did Not Sound Right On The First Takeoff

On May 25, 2022, about 1750 mountain standard time, a Cessna C-172F airplane, N5532P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Show Low, Arizona. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was as operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. Witnesses at Show Low Regional Airport (SOW) observed the airplane attempt a takeoff from runway 25. They stated the airplane became airborne two or three times but did not climb out of ground effect.

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Permanent Echo Radar signals reflected from fixed objects on the earth’s surface; e.g., buildings, towers, terrain. Permanent echoes are distinguished from “ground clutter” by being definable locations rather than large areas. Under certain conditions they may be used to check radar alignment.

"That's the right call. They've probably been on pins and needles since this happened. There were no good options, but the crew made the exact right call."  Source: From  an unnamed military pilot, discussing the fact that nearly 10 months later, the OSI announced the C-17 crew who fled Afghanistan while some attempted to escape by clinging to the aircraft, had been cleared by military investigators and lawyers.