April 20, 2020 - No. 029 In This Issue GE Cancels Large Boeing Order Fossil Flyers Hold Secrets to Better Flight Technologies Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company Continues Full-Scale Fulfillment of the State Defense Order IATA salutes aviation workers with free training Etihad outlines re-start and operational plans NASA, Partners Work with FAA to Develop UAS Road Map NATS to receive £92m in funding for maintaining service AINsight: Finding the Silver Lining in Covid-19 Crisis Virtual Internships Take Off at Embry-Riddle Strong headwinds swirl around AirAsia-MAS merger NASA and SpaceX set historic first astronaut launch for May 27 GE Cancels Large Boeing Order Boeing suffered another setback over its 737 Max on Friday, as General Electric Co.'s aircraft-leasing arm canceled an order for 69 of the planes, which have been grounded for more than a year after two crashes. GE Capital Aviation Services referred to less need for planes by airline customers. Nearly two-thirds of the world's passenger planes are grounded because of a sharp drop in travel during the coronavirus pandemic, and Boeing removed about 300 Max jets from its order book last month. Boeing also said it will resume production Monday at facilities near Philadelphia that produce military helicopters after a two-week shutdown due to the coronavirus. The announcement came a day after Boeing said it will resume production at commercial jet-assembly plants in the Seattle area, which shut down after some workers tested positive for the virus. https://www.mbtmag.com/home/news/21129205/ge-cancels-large-boeing-order Back to Top Fossil Flyers Hold Secrets to Better Flight Technologies "There's a lot of really cool stuff in the fossil record that goes unexplored because engineers generally don't look to paleontology when thinking about inspiration for flight," said Dr. Liz Martin-Silverstone, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol. "If we're only looking at modern animals for inspiration, we're really missing a large degree of the morphology out there and ignoring a lot of options that I think could be useful." Previously, engineers have largely focused on the physiology of modern birds and insects when designing aeronautic technology like drones and planes. They might not think to examine fossils which are often incomplete. However, there are a select few pterosaur fossils that provide extraordinarily deep insight into the anatomy of their wings, which is essential for understanding their flight capabilities. "There are two or three absolutely amazingly preserved pterosaur fossils that let you see the different layers within the wing membrane, giving us insight into its fibrous components," Dr. Martin-Silverstone said. "Also, some fossils are preserved enough to show the wing attachments beneath the hip." "While you don't know exactly the shape of the wing, by knowing the membrane attachments you can model the effectiveness of different wing shapes and determine which would have performed best in natural conditions." Analyzing the morphology and predicted flight mechanics of these ancient creatures has revealed novel tactics that don't exist in modern flyers. Becoming airborne is one example. Launching into the air through a leap or jump, also known as ballistic launch, is standard throughout the animal kingdom. However, larger birds require a running start to gain enough momentum for lift-off. Pterosaurs, on the other hand, may have developed a method to launch from a stationary position despite some specimens weighing nearly 300 kg. One hypothesis suggests that the wing membrane and robust muscle attachments in the wings allowed pterosaurs to generate a high-powered leap off of their elbows and wrists, giving them enough height to become airborne. "Today, something like a drone requires a flat surface to launch and is quite restricted on how it actually gets into the air," Dr. Martin-Silverstone said. "The unique launch physiology of pterosaurs might be able to help solve some of these problems." Pterosaurs can also provide insights on how to prevent flight instability once in the air. Contrary to how sails can become unstable in a strong wind, pterosaurs evolved strategies to resist flutter of their broad wings. "So far we've struggled to design things like flight suits that can resist the pressures of flight. If we can understand how pterosaurs did it, for instance by understanding how their wing membrane was actually structured, then that's something we can use to answer modern engineering questions," Dr. Martin-Silverstone said. These unique physiological elements aren't limited to just pterosaurs, either. Other ancient flyers, such as Microraptor, had feathered wings on both their arms and legs, while a recently-discovered dinosaur, Yi qi, had wings that combined feathers with a bat-like membrane - a body plan that has never been repeated since their extinction. As such, many flight strategies remain to be properly explored. "If we combine our knowledge from flyers both living and extinct, we will have a much better chance of overcoming the hurdles still hindering manmade flight," Dr. Martin-Silverstone said. "We want biologists and engineers alike to reach out to paleontologists when they are looking to solving flight problems, as there might be something extinct that could help. If we limit ourselves to looking at the modern animals, then we're missing out on a lot of diversity that might be useful." http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/fossil-flyers-flight-08340.html Back to Top Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company Continues Full-Scale Fulfillment of the State Defense Order Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company, part of Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation), continues the fulfillment of the state defense order; the works are being carried out on schedule and at full scale. At present, the effort involves over 4,000 company employees. Throughout the last week, basing on the accord with the regional administration, Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company was gradually increasing the number of employees involved. As they continue their work, the plant team observes all requirements and sanitary and epidemiological standards imposed by the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor). At the entrance check-point, the employees sanitize their hands with disinfectant agents and receive personal protective equipment. In addition, thermographic cameras are being installed at the entrance check-point for fast and non-contact measurement of the employees' body temperature. During the day, the employees sanitize their hands with antiseptic and keep the recommended 1.5 meter distance at their workplaces. Premises are treated with disinfecting solutions. The plant's radio regularly broadcasts reminders of the necessity to strictly observe the preventive measures. During the self-isolation period, the company's sewing facility produced 9,000 protective reusable masks. In addition to that, the employees also received disposable masks and gloves. The works on the fulfillment of the state defense order are carried out on schedule and at full scale. Therefore, no annual output forecast or financial target is being revised, neither is it considered to defer any payments under the company's credit liabilities. Production-related issues are constantly monitored by the Managing Director. According to the local office for prevention of the coronavirus infection, as of 16 April, no COVID-19 cases are registered in Arsenyev. JSC "Russian Helicopters", a part of Rostec State Corporation, is a leading player in the global helicopter industry, the sole Russian designer and manufacturer of helicopters. The Holding Company was established in 2007 and is headquartered in Moscow. We operate five helicopter assembly plants, two design bureaus, component production and maintenance enterprises, aircraft repair plants and one helicopter service company providing after-sales support in Russia and abroad. The customers of the Holding Company are the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Home Affairs, EMERCOM of Russia, and other state customers, Gazpromavia, UTair Aviation company, large Russian and foreign companies. State Corporation Rostec is one of the largest industrial companies in Russia. It unites more than 800 scientific and industrial organizations in 60 regions of the country. Its key areas of activity are transport engineering, electronics, medical technology, chemistry and innovative materials. Rostec holdings form three clusters: electronics, weapons and aviation. The corporation's portfolio includes such well-known brands as AvtoVAZ, KAMAZ, Kalashnikov, Russian Helicopters, Uralvagonzavod and others. Rostec is active in the implementation of all 12 national projects. The company is a key provider of Smart City technology, it is engaged in the digitalization of public administration, industry and social sectors, and it is developing plans for the development of 5G wireless technologies, an Industrial Internet of Things, big data and blockchain systems. Rostec partners with leading world manufacturers such as Boeing, Airbus, Daimler, Pirelli and Renault. The corporation's products are delivered to more than 100 countries worldwide. Almost a third of the company's revenue comes from the export of high-tech products. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/rotorcraft/press-release/21134504/russian-helicopters-progress-arsenyev-aviation-company-continues-fullscale-fulfillment-of-the-state-defense-order Back to Top IATA salutes aviation workers with free training GENEVA - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is offering free access to online training courses for up to 5,000 aviation workers as part of its efforts to help the industry through the COVID-19 crisis. Current employees - or those who wish to become a part of the aviation or related industries - can select one from eight of IATA's most popular e-learning courses to strengthen their industry knowledge and skills: Aviation Competition Law Destination Geography Travel Agency Fees: A Professional Approach Accounting and Financial Management for Travel Agencies Geography in Travel Planning Distribution and Airline Retailing Diversity and Inclusion Aviation Law - Fundamentals "Aviation will make it through the COVID-19 crisis. That's because, as with past crises, the many great people of this industry will pull together to face the challenges head-on. In a salute to the women and men of this industry, IATA is making a small contribution to support the sector's recovery with free training. These are tough times but we wanted to see the opportunity of the future, and what better way than through learning," said Stéphanie Siouffi, IATA's Director of Training. Courses will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis for 5,000 online training opportunities. Applications must be received before 27 April 2020. IATA is proud to offer this as part of an ongoing campaign, #WeAreAviation, to support the men and women in the aviation community during these challenging times as well as to showcase the passion and people behind the business of freedom. https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/iata-salutes-aviation-workers-with-free-training Back to Top Etihad outlines re-start and operational plans Etihad Airways is revamping its schedules and operations as COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions remain in place around the world. Subject to UAE government imposed travel restrictions being lifted on passenger travel, Etihad plans to operate a reduced network of scheduled passenger services from 1 May to 30 June, with the aim of gradually returning to a fuller schedule as and when the global situation improves. Etihad said in a statement that it is also continuing to operate a growing schedule of special passenger flights allowing foreign nationals in the UAE the opportunity to travel out of the country, and to carry essential belly-hold cargo such as perishables, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies. To date, the airline has also repatriated almost 600 UAE nationals on return services. Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer for Etihad Aviation Group, said: "The term 'unprecedented' is currently the most used in our industry, and the most appropriate. The monumental challenges being faced by all airlines, and our customers, have been beyond measure. However, we remain cautiously optimistic and will push ahead with our plans to resume normal flying, while striving to better serve and support our customers and our employees. While the intention is to assume a 'business as usual' approach to the restart of our operations, the aviation landscape has changed, and how it will look month by month is difficult to predict. This has necessitated a fundamental shift in focus for us...We are implementing a series of network-wide route and fleet efficiencies, while conducting an extensive brand study and trialling new service concepts in our guest experience proposition. We are also using this time to drive further internal improvements in the efficient use of automation and technology across all areas of the business, while maintaining productivity, creativity and quality." Currently, Etihad is using 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 777-300ER passenger aircraft, with five more ready for service, to complement its operational fleet of five 777-200F freighters. These aircraft are providing scheduled and special passenger and belly-hold cargo services to several destinations worldwide. Since 25 March, approximately 500 special passenger, freighter and cargo flights have been operated. These include passenger and belly-hold freight flights to Amsterdam, Bogota, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Jakarta, London Heathrow, Manila, Melbourne, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Seoul Incheon, Singapore, Tokyo Narita, Washington, D.C., and Zurich, with other destinations planned. Etihad has revised the launch date of its inaugural service to Vienna from 22 May to 1 July. Etihad Cargo is now operating up to 100 turnaround flights per week to 32 destinations on five continents. In addition to normal scheduled cargo services, special freighter and humanitarian flights have been flown to Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Beijing, Bogota, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Chennai, Cochin, Dublin, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Karachi, Khartoum, Kiev, Milan, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Tbilisi, Wuhan, and Zagreb. More special flights will be introduced in the coming weeks. With 80 percent of its passenger fleet on the ground, the airline has embarked on the biggest aircraft maintenance programme in its history. Etihad Engineering, the group's MRO, is performing maintenance work on 96 passenger aircraft including 29 Airbus A320 and A321s, 10 Airbus A380s, 38 Boeing 787s, and 19 Boeing 777-300ERs. The programme ranges from minor maintenance tasks, such as seat repairs and updates to Inflight Entertainment Systems, to bringing forward scheduled engine changes and modifications on several aircraft, eliminating the need to withdraw them from service when flights begin operating again. The company said it is implementing a number of changes to customer policies including travel waivers. Customers who booked directly with the airline before 31 August 2020, now have greater flexibility to change their bookings or to utilise Etihad Credit where possible. This credit will provide each customer with the value of their current unused ticket and up to US$400, plus up to 5,000 Etihad Guest Miles, for future travel. Additionally, for tickets purchased directly from Etihad within Europe or the United States, a refund is also available if requested. https://asianaviation.com/etihad-outlines-re-start-and-operational-plans/ Back to Top NASA, Partners Work with FAA to Develop UAS Road Map NASA and its industry partners are taking unmanned aircraft systems closer to operating in harmony with other aircraft in the national airspace. The technology and procedures developed during a nearly decade-long program has been assisting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), develop the rules for certification of unmanned aircraft to safely coexist with other air traffic. The goal is to enable new commercial and public service opportunities, such as real-time surveillance of fires, infrastructure inspections for pipelines and medical transportation in the future. NASA began its Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project in 2011. Work since then has included multiple simulation efforts and six specific flight tests series that focused on validating these simulations and supporting the development of minimum operational performance standards (MOPS) for Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems. Flight Test Series One (FT1) kicked off the series with the unmanned Ikhana aircraft at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in California. The early flights were completed to help the UAS-NAS project team develop foundational technologies for future flight series. FT1 involved the installation of the automatic dependent surveillance broadcast system, also known as ADS-B on the Ikhana, and launched the development of the Live Virtual Constructive Distributed Environment (LVC-DE). The LVC-DE can sync NASA's research centers to create a real-life simulated airspace integrating manned and unmanned aircraft to test concepts, technologies and procedures in the same airspace. LVC-DE is a capability developed by the Integrated Test and Evaluation (IT&E) subproject of UAS-NAS that interfaces live flights at AFRC with simulated airspace and traffic at NASA's Ames Research Center in California. The IT&E team worked from FT1 through Flight Test Series Four (FT4) on maturing the LVC-DE capability. The data collected during these flight tests and associated simulations helped the FAA, through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group, inform the development of the Phase One DAA Systems and Airborne Radar MOPS. As the team entered Phase Two of their operations, a major milestone occurred when the Ikhana became the first remotely piloted aircraft to fly through class E airspace without a safety chase aircraft. The team was able to receive the first No Chase Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for NASA from the FAA to accomplish this demonstration flight. The Ikhana was able to demonstrate that a UAS with an onboard DAA system could safely detect and avoid other aircraft. As a result, Aviation Week and Space Technology selected the team as the recipient of the 62nd Annual Laureate Awards, in the category of Commercial Aviation, Unmanned Systems. Phase Two of the UAS-NAS Project shifted focus to a smaller sized unmanned aircraft. In particular, a Group 3 UAS that will fly under 18,000 feet and weigh more than 55 pounds. The project selected the TigerShark XP, a Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation (NASC) UAS with a wingspan of 21.3 feet for Flight Test Series Six (FT6). The aircraft was modified with a nose structure to integrate Honeywell's Digital Active Phased Array, or DAPA-Lite, an early, developmental, low size, weight and power (SWaP), air-to-air radar system. The radar system underwent initial limited flight testing on a Honeywell helicopter test bed during Flight Test Series Five. FT6 was focused on informing revisions to the DAA related MOPS addressing Group 3 UAS and expanded operations in the NAS. The TigerShark performed scripted encounters and full mission flights at Armstrong. The scripted encounters involved an "intruder," manned aircraft, flying pre-planned paths in the vicinity of the TigerShark to trigger the DAA alerting and guidance. All encounters maintained a safety buffer, a vertical clearance, to ensure test effectiveness of the DAA alerting and guidance system, while maintaining a safe operation. The full mission flights involved interfacing via the Armstrong and Ames LVC-DE to integrate the live aircraft flying at Armstrong, into the simulated Oakland airspace. The team was able to gather pilot performance data using specific DAA system constraints. "Subject pilots," expert UAS pilots were not aware of the details of the simulation, flew the full mission encounters against real and simulated traffic. The project selected seven subject pilots from active duty Air Force UAS squadrons. Two project researchers sat with the pilots to oversee the data collection during the flight. The researchers highly anticipated these full mission flights as they gathered data to compliment previously gathered human in the loop simulation data. The LVC-DE created virtual traffic as the TigerShark flew with a manned intruder entering its flight path. The system was also used as a central hub collecting data and translating messages from the DAA and Command and Control systems during flight. The subject pilots relied on the DAA logic running on the UAS to avoid live and virtual traffic. Among other things, the full mission flights provided the team with data on pilot reaction time and workload, and system acceptability. FT6 had its final flight in November, but the team will continue to work this year on data analysis, results documentation and providing inputs for DAA related MOPS updates. The UAS Integration in the NAS project managed the Flight Test Series as part of NASA's Integrated Aviation Systems Program, under the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. All of NASA's aeronautic research centers Ames, Armstrong, Glenn Research Center in Ohio and Langley Research Center in Virginia contributed to the flight test series. https://uasweekly.com/2020/04/18/nasa-partners-work-with-faa-to-develop-uas-road-map/ Back to Top NATS to receive £92m in funding for maintaining service UK air traffic management company NATS will receive up to £92m in funding to maintain its service amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding is a part of the £1.1bn support package provided to the air navigation service providers in Europe to aid them in maintaining operations despite the decrease in passenger services. The intergovernmental organisation EUROCONTROL was backed by European countries, including the UK, to secure a loan to support the air navigation services. With this funding, NATS can continue to provide services, support repatriation and cargo flights and ensure that it will resume full operations after the pandemic to aid the aviation sector's recovery. The Government of UK, which has a 10% share in the vote for any action passed by EUROCONTROL, had voted in favour of the loan. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "The effect of coronavirus is being felt right across the aviation sector, which is why we have announced an unprecedented package of support measures to help firms through this extremely testing period. "Air navigation service providers rely on airlines operating for their revenue, so this support will enable them to continue providing their safety critical services, as we help stranded Brits get home and transport vital medical supplies. "Following the announcement last week that airlines would be able to temporarily defer payments for route charges for up to 14 months, this arrangement provides financial relief to air navigation service providers also facing disruption as a result of coronavirus." NATS took over tower operations at St Athan Airfield in Wales earlier this month. The organisation became responsible for the tower and air traffic engineering teams, combining this with the other 13 airports in the UK where it manages air traffic. https://www.airport-technology.com/news/nats-receive-92m-funding/ Back to Top AINsight: Finding the Silver Lining in Covid-19 Crisis About 30 days into the biggest spanner-in-the-spokes that the business aviation industry has yet faced, signs of hope that at least the worst of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic might be peaking are what many are looking for these days. Pressures to return to some semblance of a "new normal" life have been building, as we individually and collectively learn to adjust to a very different world of work and life. Within the business aviation industry, flight operations in Europe and North America have reportedly dropped by 70 percent to 90 percent over the past 30 days, enough to take the tailwind out of anyone's flight plan. Commercial air passenger enplanements through U.S. TSA checkpoints are down 95 percent in some cases, as workplace shutdowns, social distancing, and work-from-home/stay-at-home orders have become the rule rather than the exception. Just-released 2020 GDP growth forecasts for the world's key economies point to a sudden onset of economic recession unlike we have yet weathered in our generations' lifetimes. Within the business aviation industry, the questions at the forefront of many people's minds are: what happens next and when do things get better again? First, the obvious: although we should be hopeful that scientific ingenuity and collaboration will yield an effective vaccine in due course, there is no known timeline for this to occur. Analyses of past pandemics highlight the dangers of second waves of infection when collective guards are lowered, the last thing that anyone wants in a prolonged battle against an invisible but deadly foe. Unfortunately, the U.S. has rapidly emerged as the epicenter of the pandemic, with the number of cases surpassing China on March 27 and the death toll eclipsing all other nations on April 12. As of April 16, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported that U.S. cumulative cases had already reached 640,000, equivalent to the population of Washington, D.C. To illustrate the severity and force at which the pandemic has hit, cumulative deaths in the U.S. have increased from zero to 31,000 in the last 45 days, with the slope of the line continuing to steepen. With more than 22 million Americans applying for initial unemployment benefits in the last 30 days (representing almost 14 percent of the civilian workforce), official U.S. unemployment rates are set to soar in the weeks to come, approaching levels seen only during the Great Depression in 1933. With airplane factories, supply chains, and countless employees already furloughed, production has been disrupted at many of the OEMs, although some seem better positioned than others to weather the Covid-19 storms. Is there a silver lining to all of this disruption? Absolutely! There is never a better time to reimagine, restructure, and retool an organization as there is right now. Capital remains cheap, and talent (an oh-so-tight resource up until very recently) is suddenly and widely available. For those with a longer-term view of their business, now is an excellent time to innovate and to consider investments while others are either hunkered down or still trying to get through to their stockbrokers-think airplanes, competitors, technology startups, tooling, facilities, and airport property. For OEMs, it's an opportunity to reassert discipline in cost, quality, production, and pricing to enhance product line profitability. For aircraft owners and operators (including lenders and lessors), it's a good time to have necessary maintenance performed and to consider upgrades to improve aircraft performance, in-flight connectivity, and the entire cabin experience. For brokers and dealers, inventory has increased and it's always a good time to educate and build trust with prospective customers. With sharply reduced airline schedules and concerns about crowded airports and flying elbow-to-elbow in aluminum tubes, now could be the optimal time to personally demonstrate the inherent value and safety, security, productivity, and comfort benefits of business aviation. The Covid-19 storm has arrived on our shores, and it is an unprecedented challenge to our ways of life and to the health of our broader economy. This pandemic is already affecting air travel in profound and probably permanent ways. As an industry, I am confident that business aviation will bend but not break-and come out the other end even stronger for the exercise. When? As a public health crisis, let's defer to the medical experts on the front lines of searching for the blessed vaccine, which can't come soon enough. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/blogs/ainsight-finding-silver-lining-covid-19-crisis Back to Top Virtual Internships Take Off at Embry-Riddle Mahteme Desta, a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was sprinting toward graduation when the pandemic struck. With stay-at-home orders and strict social distancing guidelines in place, his career quest could have been derailed, but Embry-Riddle has been working with industry partners to launch virtual internships, especially for seniors like Desta. On May 22, Desta will begin his virtual internship with a leading aircraft manufacturer. The company is shipping equipment to him so that he can take part in virtual meetings, presentations and other business activities. Through the internship, he hopes to deepen his engineering and business skills. "My long-term goal is to help advance the aerospace industry in Africa," said Desta, a native of Ethiopia who currently lives in Daytona Beach. The virtual internship opportunity sprang from Desta's service as a flight engineering intern for the same company last summer. Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler said the university is actively seeking industry partners to support as many virtual career opportunities for students as possible. "As businesses and individuals work to find their new normal, we're seeing a number of innovative, technology-based solutions for maintaining a robust talent pool across the aviation and aerospace industries," Butler said. "At Embry-Riddle, we want to help our students build meaningful careers and promote workforce capacity for our industry partners." Virtual Career Solutions As the novel 2019 coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis erupted, Embry-Riddle's residential campuses in Florida and Arizona quickly shifted classes as well as a wide array of student services online. In addition to virtual tutoring, counseling and fitness offered by various departments, "Embry-Riddle's Career Services team has been offering online panels, webinars, competitions and programs with top employers - from manufacturers and airlines, to government agencies," said Alicia M. Smyth, executive director of Career Services on the Daytona Beach Campus. The Student Affairs team at Embry-Riddle is promoting a competition for prizes for students who take part in Eagle Elevate, a digital career development program that gamifies career skill-building to help students stand out in a competitive job market, she noted. A new weekly Instagram video was launched, featuring career tips, and Embry-Riddle is offering virtual one-on-one career advising, resumé reviews, mock interviews, LinkedIn profile reviews, internship and job search assistance as well as help with salary negotiation, Smyth reported. Students have access to online resources such as Handshake, GoinGlobal, CareerShift, Big Interview and CareerSpots videos for students at all of Embry-Riddle's campuses. "We are having live virtual seminars for individual degree areas on such topics as internship for credit and hot job leads coinciding with our one on one outreach to every May graduate," said Kevin L. Hewerdine, executive director of Career Services & Corporate Relations on Embry-Riddle's campus in Prescott, Ariz. Most recently, the deans of Embry-Riddle's three Colleges of Aviation at Prescott, Daytona Beach and the Worldwide Campus have teamed up to organize a virtual panel for students, focusing on the resiliency of aviation and featuring industry executives. Zooming Along To date, 814 students have taken advantage of virtual tutoring services on Tutor.com since April 17, with the most popular subject being Calculus 1. Some 95 percent of survey respondents said they were happy that Embry-Riddle made the Tutor.com service available to them, reported Terry Dallas, executive director of IT Services. In addition, during the same timeframe, nearly 6,000 Embry-Riddle Zoom classes and other sessions serving more than 61,000 participants have happened, she added. Faculty have been leveraging Zoom's interactive features such as instant polling and virtual breakout rooms to enliven online classes and keep students engaged. Amid the health crisis, faculty have used Zoom and other platforms to communicate across all three campuses and with university leadership, who recently took part in an EagleVision Faculty Senate meeting. (View the archived recording.) "Embry-Riddle's Zoom service was carefully configured to prevent commonly reported security issues," said Vice President and Chief Information Officer Becky Vasquez. "For added security, best practices are in place for all users. Those guidelines call on all Embry-Riddle Zoom users to avoid publishing meeting links on public sites, require passwords for meetings and use the waiting room https://news.erau.edu/headlines/virtual-internships-take-off-at-embry-riddle Back to Top Strong headwinds swirl around AirAsia-MAS merger PETALING JAYA: Transport experts say a merger of AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines may kill competition and result in a surplus of aircraft. However, another expert feels the idea is workable. The two airlines serve different market segments, according to Rosli Azad Khan, who has over 40 years in the transport industry. "AirAsia appeals to the tourists market, students, pensioners and migrant workers, among others," he said, while MAS appeals to the corporate sector such as civil servants who travel on government warrants, business travelers and high end tourists. He said healthy competition within different market segments in the airline industry would push fares down and increase service levels. "It is not the role of the government to stifle competition and allow airlines to operate as a monopoly," he added. "Monopolistic airlines would bring no economic benefit to passengers, airline staff and the government," he said. Talk of a possible merger arose on Friday when senior minister Mohamed Azmin Ali told Reuters the proposal was one of the options to "save" the two airlines as the Covid-19 crisis batters the industry. MAS has struggled to recover from two tragedies in 2014 - the mysterious disappearance of flight MH370 and the shooting down of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. The government has been seeking a strategic partner for the national airline. Rosli said monopoly may reduce departure times, lower overall frequencies between given destinations and reduce staff and workers, pushing more retrenchment of airline staff, causing the airlines to suffer more losses in aircraft number, passenger volume and income. Clash of two cultures Harridon Suffian of the Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology at Universiti Kuala Lumpur said the merger would create a surplus of aircraft, and a problem of how to properly use these assets without creating wastage. He said an in-depth study was needed. The two airlines had overlapping routes, for example Kuala Lumpur-Toyko. "This is redundancy and it has to be decided, in order to gain cost efficiency, on how to reduce this redundancy," he added. Harridon said there is also a clash of two different working cultures and philosophies. "One has to decide on how to approach this delicately as this involves employees of both sides," he added. Economics professor Nazari Ismail said a merger between Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia has to be "reasonable". However, he thinks there is no reason for the merger not to work, saying "they have been in the airline industry long enough to know how to proceed". AirAsia said last week that it had no incoming revenue and 96% of its fleet was grounded, after most flights were suspended since March. Its long-haul arm, AirAsia X Bhd, had also parked most of its aircraft at its Kuala Lumpur hub. The airline said last week it planned to resume domestic flights starting with Malaysia on April 29, Thailand and the Philippines on May 1, India on May 4 and Indonesia on May 7. Some of those would be subject to governmental approval. Malaysia has shut down most public activities from March 18 to April 28. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/04/19/strong-headwinds-swirl-around-airasia-mas-merger/ Back to Top NASA and SpaceX set historic first astronaut launch for May 27 NASA and SpaceX have set a specific date and time target for their historic first astronaut launch aboard a private spacecraft from U.S. soil, with a planned date of May 27 and a target liftoff time of 4:32 PM EDT (1:32 PM PDT) from Kennedy Space Center, at SpaceX's Launch Complex 39A (LC-39). The mission had been previously announced to be tracking toward a mid to late-May launch time frame, but now we know exactly when the agency and SpaceX hope to launch astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley for this inaugural trip to the International Space Station. The launch is the first crewed mission in NASA's Commercial Crew program, which seeks to return American launch capabilities to U.S. soil through private partnerships, with both SpaceX and Boeing taking part and developing their own separate launch vehicles and crew craft. SpaceX has taken all the steps necessary to get to this stage ahead of Boeing, and this flight, called Demo-2, while still technically part of the test program, will see NASA's astronauts visit the space station for "an extended stay," with a full duration yet to be determined. This final test will validate each aspect of the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 launch system, including the pad from which the rocket takes off, the operational facilities on the ground, orbital systems and astronaut procedures. Pending successful completion of all those elements, Crew Dragon should be set for full operational certification, after which time it can begin regularly scheduled service of delivering astronauts to and from the ISS. For the mission, Crew Dragon will launch with Behnken and Hurley, then enter orbit and rendezvous with the ISS, which should occur around 24 hours after liftoff. The spacecraft is designed to dock fully autonomously with the station (and has done so on a previous occasion during an uncrewed demo mission), then Behnken and Hurley will disembark and join as members of the ISS crew, performing research on the orbital science platform. The Crew Dragon flying this mission is designed to stay on orbit for around 110 days, but its actual length of stay will be decided by how ready the commercial crew mission to follow is at the time of launch. That Crew Dragon, which is the fully operational version, is designed for stays of at least 210 days, and the crew complement of four astronauts, including three from NASA and one from Japan's space agency, is already determined. If all goes well, it'll happen sometime later this year. Crew Dragon from Demo-2 will perform an automated undocking from the ISS with Behnken and Hurley on board when it is ready to leave, and then they'll re-enter Earth's atmosphere and have a controlled splashdown landing in the Atlantic Ocean, where a SpaceX ship will pick them up and bring them back to Florida. Obviously, NASA and SpaceX are facing challenges, along with everyone else, with the global COVID-19 crisis ongoing, but the agency has taken extra precautions to ensure this mission continues, since NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine notes that continued U.S. access to, and presence within the ISS is critical. https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/17/nasa-and-spacex-set-historic-first-astronaut-launch-for-may-27/ Curt Lewis