50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

United States aviation news

ANALYSIS: America's hypersonic missile revolution beckons

Long before hitching a ride to the moon aboard Apollo 11, then US Air Force test pilot Neil Armstrong was zipping around in a rocket-powered North American X-15, which to this day remains the fastest manned, winged aircraft ever built. That flight record of Mach 6.72 or 7,274km/h was set by pilot William “Pete” Knight in 1967. Now, some 59 years later, America still hasn’t ful...

Iran invites Boeing to talk about plane purchases: State TV

Iran has invited U.S. planemaker Boeing Co to Tehran to discuss purchasing jetliners aimed at revamping its aging fleet hit by decades of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic, state TV reported on Friday. In February, Iran's deputy transport minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan told Reuters the country was ready to buy at least 100 jets from Boeing. Boeing said it was assessing the ste...

First U.S.-built A321 exits paint shop

Painting of the first U.S.-built A321 has been completed as it emerged from the paintshop in Mobile, Alabama in its JetBlue livery. This latest milestone shows that the first aircraft to be produced at the Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility is progressing well on its route to first flight and delivery in spring 2016.   The aircraft painting was achieved by MAAS Aviation. The company is re...

Air Force Thunderbirds prioritize diversity in cockpit amid puzzling decline in applicants

The Air Force’s vaunted Thunderbirds jet fighter aerobatics team is not diverse enough inside the cockpit. Brig. Gen. Christopher M. Short, commander of the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, said in an email last month that of 15 pilot applicants for three openings, 14 are white. He asked fighter wing commanders to stir up more candidates who “don’t necessarily lo...

Boeing Develops Self-Cleaning Lavatory

Boeing engineers and designers have developed a self-cleaning lavatory prototype that uses ultraviolet (UV) light to kill 99.99 percent of germs. The cleaning system can disinfect all surfaces after every use in just three seconds. Boeing believes this self-cleaning technology, combined with touchless features, will enhance the passenger experience on commercial flights.  The lavatory uses...

Breaking Down U.S. Airlines’ Bids to Fly Commercial to Cuba

U.S. airlines are looking to serve Cuba primarily from their large hub cities, with Havana being the most popular destination. At least eight carriers submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation Wednesday outlining what routes they would like to fly. The government will spend the next few months reviewing the requests and is expected to award the contested Havana routes this...

Is Boeing Looking to Introduce a Brand-New Aircraft Class?

Boeing's Marketing VP announced at the ISTAT America air finance conference that the mid-market jet posed a “tough market case”. Boeing Co has been looking to introduce a whole new aircraft class to the market—the mid-market aircraft. However, the corporation’s VP of Marketing, Randy Tinseth, said the prospect posed a “tough market case.” The mid-...

The stuff Dreamliners are made of

Ever wondered what goes in to creating a faultless machine able to transport passengers and precious cargo, thousands of feet up in the air, across the globe?  It turns out the devil is in the detail which experts reassuringly craft into every aspect of building a jet plane. In just four minutes a stunning timelapse video from flight company Norwegian, reveals the process and massive am...

Textron launch PowerAdvantage program for King Airs

Textron Aviation, announced it has expanded its PowerAdvantage engine support program to Beechcraft King Air and Cessna Caravan turboprop platforms. Part of the company’s ProAdvantage suite of support programs, PowerAdvantage offers owners and operators comprehensive PT6A engine coverage with predictable costs for both routine and most unscheduled engine maintenance events. “ProAdva...

Dallas Airmotive, H+S Expands To Cover 65 Percent of Rotorcraft Fleets

BBA Aviation Global Engine Services companies Dallas Airmotive and H+S Aviation have added a series of new capabilities that expand their coverage to 65 percent of the world’s rotorcraft fleets. The new capabilities–including support for the PW200, PW210, PT6T and PT6C-67 (supported by H+S Aviation only)–are part of a multi-year effort to significant...

HELI-EXPO: Bell rules out future conventional military helicopter developments

Mitch Snyder, the chief executive of Bell Helicopter, does not imagine the company offering any future conventional clean-sheet helicopter to the US military after completing delivery of the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom. Snyder, speaking on the eve of the Heli-Expo convention, is putting his faith in tiltrotor technology and other “future of flight concepts” to address long-term mili...

Leonardo DiCaprio Lectures Oscars About Global Warming After Using Private Jet 6 Times in 6 Months

Leonardo DiCaprio used the platform of his Oscar success last night to lecture tens of millions of viewers about global warming, but the actor failed to mention that he routinely uses a CO2 belching private jet to travel between L.A. and New York. After receiving his award for best actor, DiCaprio launched into a rant about man-made climate change. “Climate change is real,” he sa...