Flight Safety Information October 13, 2015 - No. 203 In This Issue MH17: Dutch to unveil official crash report Moscow asks UN aviation agency to intervene into MH17 probe European Union aviation agency issues safety note over Caspian missiles Clovis man gets 5 years for laser-aircraft strike Outdated Technology Likely Culprit in Southwest Airlines Outage Fire causes Alaska Airlines plane to land at Buffalo airport NZ announces aviation safety project for region Delta flight to Atlanta evacuated in Jamaica Plane safely lands at Syracuse airport after pilots smell burning wires Cessna 208B...- CFIT Accident (Afghanistan) A300B4 Forced Landing Accident (Somalia) PROS 2015 TRAINING Qantas plans non-stop flights from Perth to London Aviation and Transportation Technology School opens doors for Purdue NBAA Marks the Passing of Aviation Innovator Dick Taylor, Father of ETOPS China's Sunward buys Canada's Avmax to diversify into aviation India to buy 194 microlight aircraft from Slovenia KAI completes maiden flight of KT-100 trainer jet for Korean Air Force Airbus' latest patent suggests 'Concorde 2' hypersonic jet...Future of flying The end of heavy metal: Boeing shows off material that is 99.99% AIR iSMS - Safety Management System Training Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) MH17: Dutch to unveil official crash report Investigators to give technical account of how Malaysia Airlines flight came down in Ukraine but will not apportion blame Friends and families of MH17 victims inspect the wreckage at Gilze-Rijen airbase in the Netherlands. The father of a British man killed when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 came down over eastern Ukraine has said he hopes an official report into the crash, to be released later on Tuesday, will conclude that all of the passengers were killed as soon as the plane was hit. Barry Sweeney's son, Liam, was one of 298 on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed on 17 July last year. He was en route to watch Newcastle United play in a pre-season football tour in New Zealand. The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) is publishing the findings of its 15-month investigation into how the plane came down over a war zone at a time of fierce fighting between pro-Russia separatists backed by Moscow and Ukrainian government troops. Sweeney said: "I think what we are going to hear is that the plane was blown out of the sky, and hopefully everybody died instantly." The DSB will provide a technical account of how the plane came down near Grabovo in eastern Ukraine, but it will not deal with "blame and culpability". A second criminal investigation by the Dutch prosecutor's office is due to conclude later this year or early in 2016. It is expected to answer the most politically charged question of who shot down MH17. Tuesday's report is expected to indicate whether some passengers survived the initial impact of a missile strike, after the body of one passenger was found with an oxygen mask around his neck. Sweeney said he hoped none of the passengers survived the initial impact. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I think once the missile hit the plane the decompression [would have meant] people were unconscious or dead within seconds. It's a hard situation to comprehend." He said he was not frustrated by the length of the inquiry, which has been dogged by problems of investigators gaining access to the crash site. "It's been a long time but I think the Dutch have had to be very meticulous - it is not something that they could do straight away," Sweeney said. The report is also expected to provide answers as to why the Dutch authorities took up to four days to inform relatives of the death of passengers. Sweeney said he found out about Liam's death on a Newcastle United fan site, a day after the crash. He said: "I basically found out on social media the next morning. I wasn't sure what flight Liam was on - he just said he was going to New Zealand to watch Newcastle United and that was it. I got in touch with emergency lines and I wasn't getting anything back. I found out on NUFC.com." MH17 crash report is set for release, but it is unlikely to offer closure Contributors to the forum wrongly assumed that the Sweeneys knew of their son's death at the time. Two-thirds of those on board were Dutch. The remaining passengers were from nine other countries, including 10 from Britain. It is widely assumed that Russia-backed separatists were responsible for bringing down MH17, but the US has stopped short of blaming Moscow directly. The Kremlin, meanwhile, has blamed Kiev. It has variously suggested a Ukrainian military jet shot down the Boeing, or that a missile was launched from a government-held area. In Moscow, the makers of Buk missile systems, Almaz-Antey, gave a press conference on Tuesday morning apparently aimed at distracting attention from the Dutch report. Entire nations can go fossil fuel-free to reverse humans' Earth-hurting actions Brought to you by:About this content The manufacturer said it had performed two experiments which it says proves one of its missiles could not have been launched from areas under pro-Russian separatist control. Representatives of the defence concern said they had used the carcass of a decommissioned Ilyushin-86 aircraft, similar in shape to a Boeing 777, as they did not have any decommissioned Boeings, and showed video of ground-based experiments in which Buk missiles were fired at the front section of the plane. The press conference was held in a huge hall, and attended by journalists from around the world, some of whom had been flown in at the expense of the organisers to cover the event. The company's technical director gave a long presentation packed with graphs and data which he claimed backed up the Russian manufacturer's results, but did not address why so much eyewitness evidence put the Buk missile system inside separatist territory. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/13/mh17-dutch-unveil-official-crash-report-ukraine Back to Top Moscow asks UN aviation agency to intervene into MH17 probe - report Russia has appealed to the head of the UN aviation agency to intervene in the investigation into the MH17 crash in Ukraine to prevent the Dutch experts in charge from ignoring the findings of their Russian counterparts, according to a new media report. The Deputy Chief of Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, Oleg Storchevoy, sent a letter to Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, the head of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), after becoming acquainted with a draft of the final report by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB), which is heading the probe. This was revealed by Malaysian newspaper the New Straits Times on Sunday. The letter, received by the ICAO on September 16, states that the DSB ignored "comprehensive information" provided by the Russian side and relating to the downing of the Boeing 777 over war-torn Eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, the media report said. In the letter, Storchevoy said that, in conducting its investigation, the DSB had violated the principle of "sequence of conclusions," one of the most fundamental rules when conducting probes into air crashes. He went on to explain that, instead of conducting its investigation in a logical order, by first examining the damage to the airplane and then, based on this analysis, drawing conclusions as to its cause and source, the DSB had begun with an assumed hypothesis, and worked backward to demonstrate that the evidence met the criteria necessary to prove their preconceived conclusion. He stated that the DSB steered the investigation to prove that the aircraft was destroyed by a BUK missile launched from a certain location. "This is before any research into the characteristics of the warhead which brought down the plane was done. The basic data and methods of identifying where the missile was fired from were also not explained by the DSB," the letter said, as quoted by the New Straits Times. The US and EU blame Eastern Ukrainian rebels, who were fighting government forces in the area at the time, for downing the plane with a BUK missile system provided by Russia. The claims have been repeatedly denied by both the rebel militias and Moscow, which have urged the West to wait for the official results of the investigation. During two meetings with the DSB, Almaz-Antey, the designer and producer of BUK missile systems, declassified the specifications of its rockets - the 9M38 and 9M38M1 surface-to-air missile systems to aid the inquiry, the letter said. The details provided by Almaz-Antey included technical specifications, flight and ballistics characteristics, launch parameters, algorithms governing the detonator and characteristics of the warhead, the report said. Storchevoy added that the Russian arms maker also provided detailed data describing the damage that would have been incurred by the Boeing had it been hit by a BUK missile, but the DSB refused to consider any of this information, as well as other Russian findings. "All these detailed calculations were ignored by the DSB. As a result, the DSB arrived at conclusions that contradict common sense and are not consistent with the design of this weapons system," he said. He added that the DSB draft report also had discrepancies with regards to the metallurgical properties of the missile and size of the warhead. "According to the [DSB] calculations, the weight of the warhead was no more than 33kg, and the main warhead was equipped with between 3,000 and 4,000 'pre-formed fragments' that weighed around 3g each. These do not correspond with the BUK at all." READ MORE: MH17 investigators to RT: No proof east Ukraine fragments from 'Russian' Buk missile According to the Russian side, the Dutch experts also failed to properly document and examine the metal fragments found at the crash site in Eastern Ukraine. "[The fragments] were submitted half a year later, after the investigation began. As a result, a year after the accident, there is no proof to connect the pre-formed fragments with missiles of any type." "Taking the abovementioned into consideration, there is no proof that this aircraft was destroyed by the BUK rocket," he concluded. The Netherlands was put in charge of the probe because the majority of the 298 people who died in the crash were Dutch citizens. The Dutch have been heading two international investigations into the crash: a criminal inquiry and the probe into the crash's causes (the latter headed by the DSB). The DBS earlier announced that it would release the long-awaited final report on October 13 this year. https://www.rt.com/news/318316-russia-mh17-probe-letter-icao/ Back to Top European Union aviation agency issues safety note over Caspian missiles Airlines including British Airways have been warned that flights over parts of the Middle East are in danger from Russian cruise missiles Now there are concerns long-range Russian cruise missiles fired from the Caspian Sea at targets nearly 1,000 miles away in Syria pose a new danger to civilian flights. The missiles' route cut across busy air corridors between Europe, the Gulf and Asia, leading the watchdog to alert airlines about their path. Airlines including Air France begun altering their routes yesterday (Monday) after the bulletin to avoid the area. BA said yesterday it would adjust flight plans "as appropriate", adding: 'Our first priority is always safety.' However, plane tracking websites showed BA still flying over Iran and the Caspian last night. An early draft of the report indicated that pro-Russian rebels were responsible for shooting down MH17 and killing all 298 people on board. The warning was not sent directly to US and other non-European carriers, but would have been re- circulated via agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration. Russian Federation says the missile strikes are part of an operation aimed against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil). Cruise missiles generally travel below 600ft. EASA said that "before reaching Syria, such missiles are necessarily crossing the airspace above (the) Caspian Sea, Iran and Iraq, below flight routes" used by commercial aircraft. The global Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations' air-safety arm, on October. 9 warned of "the possible existence of serious risks to the safety of worldwide civil flights" flying in the wider airspace around Baghdad, Damascus and Tehran. Lufthansa has made no changes to flight paths across the region, and sees no need to do so now given the available information, said Thomas Jachnow, a spokesman for the German carrier. http://www.ledgergazette.com/european-union-aviation-agency-issues-safety-note-over-caspian- missiles/108019/ Back to Top Clovis man gets 5 years for laser-aircraft strike Man accused of shining laser at plane A Hanford man is under arrest after police say he pointed a laser at a Kings County Sheriff's Office spotter airplane. Read more A Clovis man was sentenced to five years in prison last week for shining a powerful green laser at a law enforcement aircraft. Sergio Patrick Rodriguez, 27, was given the maximum possible prison sentence the judge could impose. Rodriguez was suspected of multiple acts of shining lasers at aircraft. In a previous laser strike, he targeted a medical emergency transport helicopter for Valley Children's Hospital. Rodriguez also had a significant criminal history and was guilty of numerous probation violations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Hanford resident Michael Quair was arrested last week for allegedly shining a laser at a Kings County Sheriff's Office airplane flying over Hanford. Quair hasn't been formally charged yet. Laser strikes on aircraft can cause pilots to suffer temporary blindness/eye injuries. http://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/clovis-man-gets-years-for-laser-aircraft-strike/article_4537804e- 02fc-5c14-8a34-15855d4c3a90.html Back to Top Outdated Technology Likely Culprit in Southwest Airlines Outage A computer glitch that prevented passengers from checking in for their Southwest Airlines flights and caused widespread delays around the nation on Sunday was likely caused by a failure of a legacy technology asked to do too much, travel experts said Monday. Southwest has provided few details about the source of the problem on Sunday, which resulted in 836 delays out of 3,355 scheduled flights and created long lines at numerous U.S. airports. The problem forced the airline staff to manually issue tickets and use backup systems to check travelers into their flights. Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said Monday that workers had fixed a failed software application that had caused the problems. He did not provide more details or describe the application but said there was no indication that hackers were to blame. But experts said the problem was clearly serious. "It was much more than a bag glitch. They were down to writing tickets and boarding passes by hand," Joe Brancatelli, who covers travel issues for biztravelife.com, told NBC News. "It seemed like a systemwide outage of their passenger service systems." Image: Southwest Airlines passengers wait in long line at McCarran International Airport Departing Southwest Airlines passengers wait in line at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Sunday. Steve Marcus / AP Daniel Baker, CEO of FlightAware, said such problems are becoming more common because of airline mergers and efforts to extend the life of older ticketing systems. "The airlines are operating with legacy systems that were designed when the airlines were a lot smaller than they are now," he said. "If you look at the fleet size in the 1980s compared to today, the growth has been extraordinary. They're trying to scale these platforms for the much larger airline they've become and it's hard to keep up with the passengers' expectations." Brancatelli said the complexity of the programming and networking that keeps passengers moving when it works correctly works against a quick fix when something goes wrong. Southwest Says Ticket Glitch is Fixed "The systems do so much that there are a million things that must be restored when there's an outage," he said. "The problem, at base, is that everything is essentially automated now because airlines are trying to drive down costs and once something blows, the whole system bogs down." Sunday's outage created long lines at several airports, including major hubs like Los Angeles International, where airport workers handed out water and provided shade canopies to travelers stuck in lines outside the terminal. Southwest issued a statement Monday letting travelers know that the system should be back up and running. "Today we are expecting the technical systems that power our Customer Service to perform normally. Teams worked throughout the night in advance of our first departures to ensure the smoothest operation of our originating and later flights," the statement said. This isn't the first time an airline has had an automation issue this year. American Airlines just experienced technical difficulties three weeks ago and United has already had two major outages in 2015. Rick Seaney, a representative of farecompare.com, told NBC DFW said the rapid growth of the major airlines through consolidation has strained the computer systems. "You have four airlines that control 80 percent of all traffic in the United States," he said. "We've seen all of their systems suffer glitches this year." http://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/outdated-technology-likely-culprit-southwest-airlines-outage- n443176 Back to Top Fire causes Alaska Airlines plane to land at Buffalo airport CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) - First responders were called to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport Monday morning as a plane approached with a reported fire on board. According to Alaska Airlines, Flight 17 was traveling from Newark, N.J. to Seattle International Airport when it made an emergency landing in Buffalo at 8:15 a.m. EDT. The airline released a statement saying smoke was coming from the battery compartment of a credit card reader so a flight attendant brought it to the back galley of the plane. Crew members put out the fire using an extinguisher, according to C. Douglas Hartmayer, spokesman for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. Dispatchers requested help from the Buffalo Fire Department, but those firefighters were not needed for long at the scene. The airline said there were never any flames and it was extinguished before the plane landed in Buffalo. There were 181 passengers and six crew members on the plane. There are no indications of any injuries to any passengers or crew members. Passengers waited at Buffalo Niagara International Airport until a replacement plane was brought in. Alaska Airlines said they needed to put passengers on a different plane with unused fire extinguishers. The replacement flight was delayed multiple times. The FAA warned airlines in 2009 credit card readers could be a fire hazard. The FAA said lithium and lithium-ion batteries commonly used in credit card readers can overheat and cause a fire. We asked Alaska Airlines if they knew about the warning and if this has ever happened before. They did not answer either question. http://wivb.com/2015/10/12/plane-with-fire-lands-at-buffalo-airport/ Back to Top NZ announces aviation safety project for region Aerodromes around the Pacific are to get a 1.4 million US dollar funding boost aimed at improving aviation safety in the region. The New Zealand government has announced the new aid project which will improve 38 areodromes around the region. The Pacific Aeronautical Charting and Procedures Project will use satellite technology to develop new flight approaches around the runways which will improve the ability of aircraft to land safely, especially in bad weather. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the initial work will be undertaken in Vanuatu and the Cook Islands by the Airways Corporation of New Zealand. It will be expanded later to Niue, Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga and other countries in the region. Mr McCully says the project will allow for more accurate surveying of runways, while also checking the landscape for obstacles that could encroach on flight paths. Local staff will receive training to ensure the countries are able to update aviation charts and procedures. http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/286895/nz-announces-aviation-safety-project-for- region Back to Top Delta flight to Atlanta evacuated in Jamaica ATLANTA - A Delta flight from Jamaica to Atlanta had to be evacuated shortly after takeoff Monday afternoon. Delta officials told Channel 2 Action News the flight crew observed a flight deck warning of a possible cargo hold fire on the Boeing 737-800 and quickly activated fire suppression systems with Flight 304 in Montego Bay. The crew stopped the plane and got all of the passengers off via slide. There were no reported injuries among the 160 customers and six crew and Delta personnel on the scene reported that no fire was present. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/delta-flight-atlanta-evacuated-jamaica/nn2DT/ Back to Top Plane safely lands at Syracuse airport after pilots smell burning wires, dispatcher says SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A commuter plane carrying 105 passengers landed safely in Syracuse this morning after pilots smelled something burning, an official said. JetBlue Flight 115 returned to Syracuse Hancock International Airport shortly after taking off at 6:09 a.m. after pilots smelled burning wires, said Christina Callahan, the airport's executive director. The flight was headed for John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The plane made an emergency landing around 6:26 a.m., Callahan said. No one was injured, and smoke was not visible inside the plane, she said. Multiple emergency responders rushed to Syracuse Hancock International Airport to meet the plane, according to dispatch logs. Soon after the plane landed around 6:26 a.m., firefighters said there were no apparent problems, scanner reports said. Aside from the Syracuse Police Department and the Syracuse Fire Department, all other ambulance, firefighter and police crews were released from the scene. Members of the North Syracuse Fire Department, Rural Metro and New York State Police also responded to the airport, dispatch logs showed. At least three other fire departments were put on standby. http://www.syracuse.com/ Back to Top Cessna 208B - CFIT Accident (Afghanistan) Status: Date: Monday 12 October 2015 Time: 14:00 Type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Operator: Afghan Air Force Registration: registration unknown C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 7 Airplane damage: Damaged beyond repair Location: near Bamyan ( Afghanistan) Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Military Departure airport: Bamyan Airport (BIN/OABN), Afghanistan Destination airport: ? Narrative: The Cessna 208 struck a mountain ridge while transporting the body of a deceased soldier. Two occupants died in the crash, five were injured. http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20151012-1 Back to Top A300B4 Forced Landing Accident (Somalia) Date: Monday 12 October 2015 Time: ca 19:30 Type: Airbus A300B4-203F Operator: Tristar Air Registration: SU-BMZ C/n / msn: 129 First flight: 1980-12-05 (34 years 11 months) Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: near Afgooye ( Somalia) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Entebbe Airport (EBB/HUEN), Uganda Destination airport: Mogadishu International Airport (MGQ/HCMM), Somalia Narrative: An Airbus A300 cargo aircraft carried out a forced landing near Afgooye, Somalia. The aircraft operated on a flight from Entebbe, Uganda to Mogadishu International Airport, Somalia, carrying a cargo on behalf of the African Union Mission In Somalia (AMISOM). After several failed attempts to land the crew apparently force landed in the outskirts of Mogadishu. Approaches to the airport were hampered by the night time conditions and the lack of aids that would allow the aircraft to land in these conditions. Sunset at Mogadishu was at 17:47 hours local time. The extent of damage is unknown. The aircraft was reported to have been an Airbus A300 cargo plane from an Egyptian airline. http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20151012-0 Back to Top Back to Top Qantas plans non-stop flights from Perth to London Qantas might soon surpass its own claim to the world's longest direct flight with an even longer haul. Chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline could be flying from Australia to Britain non-stop within two years. He said the range of the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner meant flights from Perth to London, a journey of more than 14,000 kilometres, would be feasible. "The 787-9 has the range to operate such a route," Joyce told Air Transport World. "This opens up direct service from Australia to Europe for the first time." The route would not be without its challenges. In order to make the distance, the flight would likely have to pass over the Crimea, which is currently off-limits to airlines in the wake of last year's shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. It could also raise issues on the return journey if an alternative airport to Perth was needed (due to thunderstorms, for example). The nearest major airport is Adelaide, more than 2000 kilometres further on. Joyce also indicated the airline might begin direct flights from Melbourne to Dallas - a route that would be similar in distance to the Perth-London flight. Qantas has eight 787-9 aircraft on order to replace the its ageing 747 jumbo jets. The 787-9s will have about 250 seats, including business class, premium economy and economy class. Qantas already flies the longest route (by distance) in the world, Sydney to Dallas-Fort Worth, a 13,800- kilometre haul that takes about 14 hours. Qantas took the title from Singapore Airlines, which previously flew a non-stop flight from Singapore to New York, a distance of 16,700 kilometres. However, this year Emirates announced it is planning an ultra-long haul flight from Dubai to Panama from February 2016, covering a distance of 13,821 kilometres in a Boeing 777-200LR, the longest range airliner available today. The 777-200LR has a range of up to 17,000 kilometres, according to Boeing. Singapore Airlines, meanwhile, has indicated it would like to return to its direct New York route, and hopes the new Airbus A350 aircraft will make the route economical again. Singapore's longest haul was a business class-only flight and high-end travellers would be crucial to the success of the planned Qantas route. Whether passengers would be willing to sit in a cramped economy class seat for 18 hours or more remains to be seen. The ultra-rich might have a quicker alternative: Richard Branson recently told traveller.com.au he expects his space flight company Virgin Galactic to be making the journey from Australia to London in less than two hours within a generation. http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/72972224/qantas-plans-nonstop-flights-from-perth-to-london Back to Top Aviation and Transportation Technology School opens doors for Purdue WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Purdue's Board of Trustees has decided to turn Purdue's Aviation Department into the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. Those in attendance could hear the excitement in John Wensveen's voice, when he introduced himself for the first time Friday as the head of the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. It's something Wensveen's wanted to say since he started working as the head of what used to be Purdue's Aviation Department. "I've been at Purdue just over a year, and I was given one mission when I got here and that was to build a vision," said Wensveen. "And part of that vision was to evolve from a department to a school. And I'm very happy to say that with a very successful team behind me, we were able to make that happen." Wensveen said it was the right choice for the university. "We are one of the few schools in the world now that actually has the 'school' status," said Wensveen. "So we've always been a top tier, but now we are at the top of that tier." The transition from department to school will not only enhance Purdue's Aviation program, Wensveen said it also sets Purdue up to create the foundation to look at other modes of transport - hypothetically: air, road, rail, water and space. "It's still too early at this stage, so what we are doing really is building a house," described Wensveen. "We have a very firm foundation, we have walls, and we have a very solid roof." Wensveen said that house is only going to expand. "The long-term objective is to take our current infrastructure and duplicate that 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 times - depending on what other industries we decide to focus on in the future," said Wensveen. Essentially, the school title allows for the creation of new departments within the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. New departments that Wensveen said will take Purdue to new heights. http://wlfi.com/2015/10/10/aviation-and-transportation-technology-school-opens-doors-for-purdue/ Back to Top NBAA Marks the Passing of Aviation Innovator Dick Taylor, Father of ETOPS NBAA noted the passing of renowned aviation innovator Dick Taylor at age 93. "Dick Taylor was - by any standard - one of the significant figures in the history of aviation," said Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO, noting that Taylor led the transition from three- and four-person commercial airplane crews to today's two-pilot cockpits in the Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777. But, Bolen added, Taylor is perhaps best known as the father of extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards (ETOPS). His efforts to educate the industry, government and public about the safety of long-range twin-engine airplanes were largely responsible for the current face of commercial and business aviation. "Some people do planes. Some people do policy. Dick Taylor did both at a level that is hard to comprehend," said Bolen. "Even more than that, he did it all with a class, grace and humility that was truly unique. He is absolutely one of the finest gentlemen I have ever met. It has been a great blessing to know him." With a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, Taylor joined Boeing in 1946 after serving in World War II as a U.S. Army artillery spotter pilot. A design engineer, he held many positions. Among them was test pilot on the B-47 Stratojet, in which he developed and demonstrated the "toss-bombing" technique, and the KB-29 aerial tanker, in which he traded the test pilot's seat for one in the tail to conduct the first refueling boom operation. Taylor held a number of Boeing management positions, including chief of flight test, director of engineering at the Wichita Division, director of engineering for the 737 and vice president of product development at the Renton Division. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1967 and of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1976. In 1991 the FAA recognized him with its Distinguished Service Award, in 1992 the National Aeronautics Association bestowed upon him its Elder Statesman of Aviation Award, and in 2010 Aviation Week presented him with the Phillip J. Klass Lifetime Achievement Laureate Award. Beyond his work at Boeing, Taylor served as a director at the Museum of Flight in Seattle and at the Experimental Aircraft Association, and he set nine world speed records in his Piper Aerostar. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12125779/nbaa-marks-the-passing-of-aviation-innovator- dick-taylor-father-of-etops Back to Top China's Sunward buys Canada's Avmax to diversify into aviation Chinese construction equipment maker Sunward Intelligent Equipment Co (002097.SZ) said it has bought Canadian aviation services provider Avmax Group, which has assets of up to $312 million, amid a sustained downturn in the construction machinery market. Sunward closed the deal with Avmax's biggest shareholder in mid-September, but the pricing has yet to be finalised based on Avmax's future performance, among other factors, Sunward said in a stock exchanging filing late on Monday. Sunward will raise up to 2.2 billion yuan ($347.24 million)via a private placement arrangement of shares to fund the acquisition, it added. The deal would give Sunward a share of China's fast growing aviation market, including regional aviation and jet leasing sectors, the statement said, by bringing Avmax's expertise to the country. Avmax, based in Calgary, maintains facilities in Vancouver and Montreal, as well as in the United States, Kenya and Chad. Besides a leasing and operations business, Avmax also offers avionics, component repairs and engineering services. Sunward's bigger rival Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology (000157.SZ) is also diversifying into farm machinery sector amid a supply glut of construction equipment at home and some overseas markets. Sunward started making small drones as early as 2010. It also invested in the jet engine business. Its shares, traded in Shenzhen, fell to the daily trading limit of 10 percent shortly after the market opened on Tuesday and remained at that level at the noon break. ($1 = 6.3357 Chinese yuan renminbi) http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/13/us-sunward-takeover-idUSKCN0S70CC20151013 Back to Top India to buy 194 microlight aircraft from Slovenia New Delhi: India is all set to buy 194 microlight aircraft from Pipistrel, a Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer for ab initio flying training, surveillance, aerial photography and high-altitude operations. The deal is said to be inked shortly. It is not clear as to which one of a series of light aircraft would be procured but in all probability, it would be a variant of the Pipistrel's Virus SW 80/100. The aircraft to be provided to Indian users has been specially tweaked to meet the buyer's requirements. Sources told India Strategic (www.indiastrategic.in) the aircraft is likely to be designated SW-80 Garud in India. The deal is being inked after four years of protracted negotiations with the Slovenian company meeting all the requirements put forth by the Indian customer. In India these aircraft will be operated by the IAF (72), Indian Navy (12) and the NCC (110). According to company sources, the SW 80/100 is made from state-of-the-art composite material. It is lightweight, robust, allowing an unprecedented useful payload of more than 300 kg (660 lbs) and has earned itself a name for being the most economic high-speed cruiser and the fastest high-wing aeroplane in its category. The SW 80/100 is able to operate at all elevations from sea-level up to 15.000 feet with short take-off/landing run The aircraft boasts of speed, efficiency and an ultra-long range. It can cruise at 260 km/h (140 kts) at heights up to 22,000 ft and has a range of close to 1,500 km (800 nm). With such performance characteristics, the aircraft would be capable to operate even from high-altitude airfields, such as Leh and Thoise and could easily loiter over the Siachen Glacier. The aircraft can also be adapted for special missions including Visual/IR camera gimbals, geographical surveys, trans-oceanic flights etc. The aircraft could be economically used for bird watching duties to enhance safe operations over and around the military airfields The aircraft has high glide ratio of 17:1 and can glide further in emergency than most aeroplanes in its class. The aircraft can be powered by either the Rotax 912 UL2 (80 hp) or 912 ULS (100 hp) power plants and has a large variety of avionics options. The 80 HP SW 80/100 can cruise at 246 km/h (133 kts), burning less than 13.6 liters per hour. At 75 per cent cruise-power-setting the 100 HP version can fly at an astonishing 273 km/h (147 kts). More than 100 SW80/100 have been already sold worldwide in different continents. Pipistrel was the first private aircraft company in the erstwhile Yugoslavia. Till date, the company has produced 1,000 plus aircraft and 500 plus hang-gliders. Its stable of different types of aircraft includes Alpha Trainer, Virus SW, Sinus, Apis/Bee, Taurus, Surveyor, Panthera, etc. With the rising demand of its products, Pipistrel is building a new factory in Italy near the town of Gorizia. http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/india-to-buy-194-microlight-aircraft-from-slovenia_1809240.html Back to Top KAI completes maiden flight of KT-100 trainer jet for Korean Air Force Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has successfully completed the first flight of its KT-100 trainer jet in a bid to support the flight practice of the Republic of Korea's Air Force. Conducted at Sachem Airport in South Gyeongsang Province, the maiden flight was aimed at testing whether or not the remodelled trainer was manufactured to fit its design purposes. In addition, the flight assessed the overall flight characteristics of the plane and the functions of the mount equipment. The KC-100-variant trainer is equipped with a video / voice recorder and an identification friend and foe apparatus. A KAI official said: "Via the KT-100 project, KAI could be likely to offer its training system to the foreign countries as a package. "In this case, such a package will prevent Korea from draining its foreign currency and get KAI to maintain its high operation rate via our quick flight maintenance support, which will contribute to reducing the period and cost for training the pilots of the country." According to the company, the aircraft will be used for an introductory course for flight education of the Korean Air Force Academy's cadets. "In this case, such a package will prevent Korea from draining its foreign currency and get KAI to maintain its high operation rate via our quick flight maintenance support, which will contribute to reducing the period and cost for training the pilots of the country." The air force pilots will have to conduct their primary, middle and high training programs with the basic KT-1 trainer jet and the supersonic advanced trainer jet, T-50 before training with KT-100 jet. After completing the training programme, the pilots will continue to go through the lead-in fighter training and the combat readiness training with a TA-50 trainer. In September, Thailand signed a contract worth $110m with KAI to deliver four advanced and tactical T- 50TH trainer jets to the Royal Thai Air Force. The new aircraft is expected to replace the Thai Air Force's old and aging L-39 advanced trainers and the tactically introductory jets. http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/newskai-completes-maiden-flight-of-kt-100-trainer-jet-for- korean-air-force-4690723 Back to Top Airbus' latest patent suggests 'Concorde 2' hypersonic jet Future of flying ... A computer-generated image of the new airliner. Picture: Patent Yogi DUBBED the 'Concorde 2', this futuristic craft could be the next step in hypersonic aviation after Airbus was awarded its patent. The Mirror reports that the plane would be able to travel at Mach 4.5, meaning it would be possible to travel close to 6000 kilometres in just over an hour. It's believed the trip would be more than three times faster than the original Concorde, which made its final flight in 2003. Normal airliners take around eight hours to complete the flight. In the patent, Airbus describes how the plane would use three different hydrogen engines to propel the craft at around 6000 kms an hour. New design ... A drawing of what it could look like taken from the recent patent. Two turbo jets would allow the aircraft to climb vertically at takeoff, before retracting into the fuselage just before it reaches the speed of sound. A rocket motor would also mean the airliner could cruise at 100,000 feet. "In the case of civil applications, the market envisaged is principally that of business travel and VIP passengers, who require transcontinental return journeys within one day," the patent explains. It's thought the plane would only hold about 20 people. Futuristic ... The 'Concorde 2' could make flying up to four times faster. New designs are on the way for planes that will be able to fly into space at super speeds. http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/airbus-latest-patent-suggests-concorde-2-hypersonic- jet/story-e6frfq80-1227567455077 Back to Top The end of heavy metal: Boeing shows off material that is 99.99% AIR and could lead to new generation of planes and spaceships * Microlattice was inspired by the structure of human bones * Made up of interconnected hollow tubes * Each tube has a wall 1,000 times thinner than a human hair * Egg wrapped in the material would survive a 25 story drop Boeing has revealed the world's lightest metal structure, which it claims is 99.99% hollow. The revolutionary breakthrough claims to be 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and could be the future for aeronautical design, and is so light that is can sit atop a dandelion Called a microlattice, it is so strong the firm says an egg wrapped in the material would survive a 25 story drop . Boeing says an egg wrapped in the new material would survive a 25 story drop. They expect to use it to reduce the weight of planes, and is so light that is can sit on top of a a dandelion. WHERE IT COULD BE USED HRL, which worked with Boeing on the project, says it could find its way into planes firstly in flooring, seat frames and walls. The firm is also working with Nasa on future spacecraft designs, while DARPA hope to use it for energy damping. The material, called Microlattice, is a 3D open-cellular polymer structure made up of interconnected hollow tubes, each with a wall 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. 'One of the main applications that we've been looking into is structural components in aerospace,' said Sophia Yang, Research Scientist of Architected Materials at HRL Labs who worked with Boeing on the project. 'The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness of 100 nanometers, 1,000 times thinner than a human hair,' Dr. Tobias Schaedler of HRL said. In addition to its ultra-low density, the material's cellular architecture gives rise to unprecedented mechanical behavior for a metal, including complete recovery from compression exceeding 50% strain and extraordinarily high energy absorption. Originally developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the novel material could be used for battery electrodes, catalyst supports, and acoustic, vibration or shock energy damping. HRL Laboratories also announced today that it will develop new ultra-lightweight materials for future aerospace vehicles and structures under NASA's Game Changing Development Program. These new materials can enable NASA to reduce the mass of spacecraft for deep space exploration by 40 percent and are necessary for the journey to Mars and beyond. The focus of HRL's effort is to develop ultralight sandwich panels based on our ultra-light lattice core materials. Attaching thin, stiff facesheets to the top and bottom surfaces of a relatively thick, lightweight core makes such structures. Sandwich structures provide high torsional and bending rigidity at low weight and have become the standard for lightweight design in the aerospace industry. The material was inspired by the structure of bone, the researchers said. While foam and honeycomb cores are used currently, additional weight savings and performance increases are sought from advanced cores. Led by Dr. Tobias Schaedler, HRL's team will develop lighter and stronger cores with innovative truss architectures that will be combined with carbon fiber composite facesheets. The HRL approach combines ultra-stiff and ultra-strong materials (such as nanocrystalline metals) that provide higher strength than conventional materials with highly optimized truss architectures that enable unprecedented degrees of freedom to tailor the mechanical performance. 'We are building on our breakthrough invention of ultralight metallic microlattices and will mature this technology to be applied in the next generation of space vehicles,' says Dr. Schaedler. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3270060/The-end-heavy-metal-Boeing-shows- material-99-99-AIR-lead-new-generation-planes-spaceships.html#ixzz3oRTJ33HC Back to Top iSMS - Safety Management System Training Back to Top Upcoming Events: Fundamentals of IS-BAO November 2, 2015 Hong Kong, China https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1724162 IS-BAO Auditing November 3, 2015 Hong Kong, China https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1724176 BARS Auditor Training Washington DC? Tuesday-Thursday 5-7 April http://flightsafety.org/bars/auditor-training OSHA & Aviation Ground Safety Training Course (ERAU) Oct. 19-23, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/cmas Aviation Safety Program Management Training Course (ERAU) Oct. 26-30, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/cmas Aircraft Accident Investigation Training Course (ERAU) Nov. 2-6, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/cmas Air Cargo Safety and Security Symposium ALPA Washington, DC November 5, 2015 http://aircargoconference.alpa.org Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) Seminar (ERAU) Nov. 17-19, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/sms Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Seminar (ERAU) Dec. 8-10, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/uas New HFACS workshop Las Vegas December 15 & 16 www.hfacs.com 2016 DTI SMS/QA Symposium January 3, 4, & 5 2016 Disney World, FL 1-866-870-5490 www.dtiatlanta.com Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Aerospace Tenure-Track Faculty Middle Tennessee State University http://mtsujobs.mtsu.edu/postings/2124 Aerospace (UAS), Tenure-Track Faculty Middle Tennessee State University http://mtsujobs.mtsu.edu/postings/2125 *IOSA FLT Auditors *Experienced Trainers in the area of Safety Management Systems *Quality Control Specialist *Manager Quality Assurance and Quality Control Aviation Quality Services GmbH www.aviation-quality-services.com Flight Training Human Factors Specialist Emirates www.emirates.com/careers Curt Lewis