US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) appears to be confident that the Sikorsky CH-53K programme has put the gearbox failures and parts delays experienced prior to first flight in October 2015 behind it, but the Lockheed Martin-owned helicopter manufacturer won’t receive bonus cheques for lateness. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently stated that the King Stallion’...
Gogo Inc., the leading provider of in-flight connectivity and wireless entertainment solutions to the global aero market, today announces new hourly pricing plans for turboprop and light jet operators, making connectivity affordable and predictable for airframes of all types. Starting at $39 per hour, the new service plans provide the convenience of in-flight connectivity with predict...
Tiny planes and turbulence are the least of your worries when taking off and landing in Lukla, Nepal. We did it and lived to tell the tale. It’s a 40-minute flight from Kathmandu, Nepal to the village of Lukla. That seems like a simple trip, until you consider it's 40 minutes of mountain-dodging, white-knuckling, flying in a small plane to arrive at what's consistently named the w...
Suspicious luggage caused the partial evacuation of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol late Tuesday due to a major “security threat.” The air hub has been given the all-clear and services have returned to normal after military police confirmed that no explosives had been located. Heavily armed military police wearing balaclavas sealed off parts of the country's busiest airport for hours...
If you’ve been following recent trends in the custom motorcycle world, then you’ll know that minimalism is the new chrome plating. Bodywork is passé, colors are muted, and honest function is the end result. Apply that treatment to a cruiser, and you end up with a bobber. So it makes sense that renowned bush plane maker Zlin Aviation is calling this new, minimalist airplane the s...
Air France is facing a rebellion from gay air stewards – who are refusing to fly on a new route to Iran. The company is launching a new route from Paris to Tehran, the capital of the reclusive state, with flights set to begin on April 17. However, the new route has been controversial with cabin crew – after a memo instructed female staff members to wear heards...
Yuri Milner is pushing forward with the hunt for intelligent alien life beyond our planet, and is investing another $100 million in a more proactive approach after putting up the original $100m last year. In July of 2015, Milner and I sat down and discussed the greatest question of all. In the mind of this legendary investor, that question is “are we alone?” To get to the answer, he...
Jet Aviation has introduced JetVision, an app that lets customers “see the progress of their aircraft in real time, from the development of engineering through installation, from the comfort of their homes,” said Matthew Woollaston, vice president of completions sales, noting that the app also facilitates “much quicker decisions” from customers, accelerating completions. &l...
The first jet to land at St Helena Airport was a business aircraft chartered by Air Safety Support International (ASSI) to bring its team to assess the airport. The aircraft departed from Lanseria Airport on Sunday morning with a refuelling stop at Walvis Bay. On board were three pilots and eight passengers, with the ASSI team led by senior aerodrome inspector, Justin Rothwell....
Garmin has announced that eight new features are now available for select helicopters with GTN650/750 panel-mounted navigators. By contacting an authorized Garmin dealer, operators can now add WireAware (for locating dangerous power lines); FastFind (with predictive logic to make it easier to enter waypoint and airport data); simple frequency enter and ID (removing the need to type...
Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has so far not arrived at the definite conclusion that it was the pilots’ error that caused a Boeing passenger plane crash at Rostov-on-Don airport, IAC sources told TASS on Tuesday. "The work is still underway to establish the causes of what happened and how it happened. We have not arrived at any definite conclusions here that we c...
The rebrand of Airbus’ premium seatmaker Stelia, which was created from the merger of Aerolia and Sogerma in January 2015, is well under way, with the new positioning for Stelia at last week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo redolent of the best of elegant French design. But behind the bottles of Chanel No. 5, Hermès scarves and beautiful monochrome photos of Paris, Stelia’s rebra...
Ryanair Holding Plc. once notorious for its spartan cabins and hands-off attitude to customer service, plans to give passengers still unconvinced by a recent charm offensive a platform to make their gripes clear. Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier will introduce a “Rate My Flight” mobile feature as part of the third phase of its Always Getting Better program, according to Chief...
Qatar Airways Cargo has today announced the launch of QR Express, a solution to deliver airport-to-airport air freight service for time critical shipments. QR Express is the latest addition to the cargo airline's expanding portfolio of specialised services and products. Above: QR Express is the latest addition to the cargo airline's expanding portfolio of specialised services a...
Metrojet, a Hong Kong based six-star business aviation services company, has engaged Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirectSM to provide international trip support services for its fleet business aircraft. The new contract expands Metrojet’s relationship with Rockwell Collins, which is currently using a number of ARINCDirect’s integrated services. “Metrojet is dedicated to u...
Dassault Aviation’s new flagship, the Falcon 8X, will be on hand at the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE) in Shanghai, the ultra-long range trijet’s first appearance in China. The exhibit, which opens at Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport on April 12, will feature aircraft s/n 03, the first 8X fitted with a fully equipped interior. S/n 03 is in the midst of...
A Mil Mi-28N strike helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces has crashed in Syria, two its crewmembers have been killed. The helicopter was not downed, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service reported on Tuesday. "At 01:29, Moscow time on April 12, 2016, a Mi-28N helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed during a mission in the area of the city of Homs (in the Syrian...
CS300 aircraft’s first operator airBaltic and Bombardier enter into a firm agreement to convert seven option aircraft to firm as Riga-based airline transitions to all-Bombardier fleet. Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced today that Latvian flag carrier Air Baltic Corporation AS (airBaltic) has converted its remaining seven option aircraft to firm. This latest orde...
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has delivered two EC145 helicopters to the National Police Agency in its native Japan. These will be the first EC145s to be used by the National Police Agency, and are replacements of existing helicopters deployed by the police in the provinces of Kanagawa and Chiba. The EC145 is a modification of the BK117 which Kawasaki started to develop with MBB before the German m...
Europe's Airbus dropped behind U.S. rival Boeing in the race for new airplane orders in the first quarter, sending its shares lower as it recorded its slowest start to the year since 2011. Both orders and deliveries at the European planemaker dwindled, with the latter affected by glitches and delays at U.S. engine supplier Pratt & Whitney. The planemaking unit of Airbus Group di...
Air France has made fresh cost-cutting proposals to pilots' unions that would see a rise in the number of flying hours and more flexibility in return for a share of the resulting productivity gains, the French carrier's head said on Monday. The plans by Air France, which were sent to unions on Sunday, with a May 2 deadline to respond, would also see it hire more than the 600 new pilots...
