50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

United States aviation news

Rockwell Collins and Stellar Labs partner to develop transformational flight operations management platform for business aviation

Aircraft operators and flight departments will have access to an end-to-end aircraft management solution through mobile devices, tablets and web browsers as a result of a recently signed agreement between Rockwell Collins and Stellar Labs. Under the agreement, the companies will co-develop a next-generation flight operations management platform, based on Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect®...

Korean Air, Boeing partner on unmanned helicopter development

Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD), the manufacturing division of the Korean Air Group, have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Boeing to renew its joint cooperation of converting the South Korean military’s MD 500MD Defender helicopters into unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The Korean Air chairman and chief executive Yang Ho Cho and Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg si...

Bell Unveils 'Vigilant' Unmanned Tiltrotor for U.S. Marine Corps

Bell Helicopter unveiled a new unmanned tiltrotor aircraft—the V-247 Vigilant—it is proposing for the U.S. Marine Corps. The manufacturer displayed a one-eighth-scale model of the aircraft with a working swiveling wing at a briefing September 22 in Washington, D.C. Bell has designed the Vigilant to meet a need expressed in the 2016 Marine Aviation Plan for a large, “sea-baseab...

Boeing still studying larger 737 Max 10 to enter service after 2019

Boeing Co is still studying whether to build a larger version of its best-selling 737 aircraft to counter runaway sales by rival Airbus (AIR.PA) of a large version of its competing plane, a senior executive said. The company has not made a decision yet to build the larger jet, dubbed the 737 MAX 10, said Michael Teal, vice president and chief project engineer of the 737 MAX program. &qu...

NBAA: 18% of Bizjet Crews Don't Do Pre-takeoff Control Checks

NBAA is stressing the need for compliance with pre-takeoff flight-control checks in a new report that stemmed from the findings of the fatal 2014 Gulfstream GIV accident at Hanscom Field Airport in Bedford, Mass. Alarmingly, a study released yesterday by the association found that before-takeoff control check non-compliance among business aircraft operators is 17.66 percent. The U.S. NTSB found th...

Boeing 777X set to become world’s first flying iPad

Pilots on Boeing’s 777X jetliner will soon be able to use a swipe of the finger to plot a course around a threatening storm or check an engine’s maintenance history. The Chicago-based plane maker has chosen Rockwell Collins to provide the first touchscreen monitors to be installed in a commercial aircraft. When Boeing’s largest twin-engine plane debuts in 2020, pilots will hon...

US grants Airbus, Boeing a chance to sell airplanes to Iran

The U.S. government granted aviation giants Airbus and Boeing permission on Wednesday to sell aircraft to Iran following last year's nuclear accord. European airplane manufacturer Airbus announced the license from the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control early Wednesday. Chicago-based Boeing followed with its own announcement later in the day. The approval clears the way...

Sikorsky Thanks S-92® Helicopter Operators and Steps Up Support in Key North Sea Region

Sikorsky continued its celebration of the S-92® helicopter fleet’s one million flight hour milestone with events in the North Sea Region, the largest S-92 operating area in the world. Sikorsky is a Lockheed Martin Company (NYSE: LMT). Celebrating Monday in Aberdeen, Scotland, and Tuesday in Stavanger, Norway, Sikorsky executives thanked operators and customers for their dedication and...

First flight of a solar-powered, piloted helicopter

A University of Maryland student team has once again achieved new aviation heights, this time by successfully lifting a helicopter and passenger through the sole use of solar power. After successfully completing the longest duration flight for a human-powered helicopter in fall of 2013, the UMD Gamera Team, a student team originally inspired in 2012 by the American Helicopter Society's Siko...

Bell 407GT Helicopter used to tackle Rhino Poachers in South Africa

Charity Rhino911 will operate a Bell 407GT in an attempt to curb the problem of illegal Rhino poaching in South Africa. The non-profit organization established by Fred Hees, President of BBM Inc. in cooperation with Heli Africa Wildlife will use the Bell 407GT to try and reduce the rising number of Rhino killed particularly in relation to the surging demand for illegal Rhino horn. Rhi...

JetBlue - One of the Largest Renewable Jet Fuel Purchase Agreements in Aviation History

JetBlue announced a ten-year renewable jet fuel purchase agreement with SG Preston, a bioenergy company. The airline is partnering with SG Preston to purchase renewable jet fuel made from rapidly renewable, bio-based feedstocks that do not compete with food production. This marks one of the largest renewable jet fuel purchase agreements in aviation history, and the largest, long-term, binding comm...

Airbus job-cuts possible as plane maker considers restructure plan

The Airbus chief Tom Enders said on Monday he did not rule out job cuts at the European aircraft manufacturer after a media report said the group was considering slashing costs. "You never exclude anything when you’re talking about efficiency and synergy but we’re in the process of thinking it all through, how we can make our corporate structures leaner and more efficient,"...