Flight Safety Information September 2, 2020 - No. 178 In This Issue Incident: Piedmont E145 at Charlotte on Aug 31st 2020, gear trouble Incident: Red Wings A320 at Moscow on Sep 1st 2020, bird strike Incident: Fedex DC10 at Oklahoma City on Sep 1st 2020, bleed air malfunction Accident: Skymark B738 at Tokyo on Aug 29th 2020, bird strike Incident: IrAero AN24 at Ust-Kut on Aug 27th 2020, failure of anti-skid Woman Walks on Aircraft Wing after Feeling 'Too Hot' in Ukraine Airline crews report jetpack flier near Los Angeles airport CAAi to draft drone regulations for Thailand The "Just Culture" platform improves air traffic safety at Belgian air navigation service NASA Partners with Boeing on Testing Aircraft Noise and Air Traffic Management for Boeing 787 Ex-Mesa Airlines employee pleads guilty to helping create fake airline IDs for free flights NATA Seeks Further Part 135 Check Deadline Extensions U.S. Aviation Workers to "Flood the White House" Switchboard in Effort to Save Jobs Saudi Arabia says flights can now use its airspace to fly to and from the UAE Job losses in aviation could approach half-million by year's end Japan Airlines joins Tokyo drone delivery test The airline industry could shrink by half to survive, United Airlines chairman says USC will work to increase aircraft production through NASA grant Vistara Asks Pilots To Take Three Days Of Unpaid Leave Silver Air's Boeing Business Jet is Available for Global Charter Now Qatar Airways agrees delivery delays with Airbus, still talking to Boeing Rocket Lab gains key FAA launch license for its US-based launch site Booster rocket for NASA Moon missions set for critical test Trinity College Dublin and EASA Air Ops Community Survey on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation workers Swinburne University Capstone Research Projects 2020 - Airline pax preferences Study SURVEY:...GA PILOTS AND PIREPs. Graduate Research Survey (1) Incident: Piedmont E145 at Charlotte on Aug 31st 2020, gear trouble A Piedmont Embraer ERJ-145 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N617AE performing flight AA-4764 from Charlotte,NC to Lexington,KY (USA), was climbing out of Charlotte's runway 18C when the crew stopped the climb at 5000 feet reporting gear trouble and requested ATC to vector them to keep them in the area while they were working the checklists, they would probably need to return to Charlotte. Following troubleshooting the crew decided to return to Charlotte and landed safely on runway 18C about 35 minutes after departure. A replacement ERJ-145 registration N621AE reached Lexington with a delay of 3 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/PDT4764/history/20200831/2020Z/KCLT/KLEX http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc10ebc&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Red Wings A320 at Moscow on Sep 1st 2020, bird strike A Red Wings Airbus A320-200, registration VP-BWX performing flight WZ-258 from Krasnodar to Moscow Domodedovo (Russia), was descending through FL100 towards Moscow when a bird impacted the aircraft just underneath the aircraft's nose. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Domodedovo's runway 32L about 10 minutes later. A post flight inspection revealed the bird had penetrated the lower nose cone just at the connection to the fuselage and caused dents to the lower fuselage as well. The aircraft is still on the ground about 6 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc10a2c&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Fedex DC10 at Oklahoma City on Sep 1st 2020, bleed air malfunction A Fedex Federal Express McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 freighter, registration N313FE performing flight FX-841 from Ontario,CA to Memphis,TN (USA) with 3 crew, was enroute at FL350 about 15nm south of Oklahoma City,OK (USA) when the crew declared emergency reporting a bleed air malfunction affecting their de-icing systems with a large frontal system east of Oklahoma City ahead on their planned route. Oklahoma Airport reported a previously landing aircraft did not report any icing conditions. The crew decided to divert to Oklahoma City and landed safely on runway 17R about 20 minutes after declaring emergency. The crew requested emergency services to inspect the aircraft for any damage. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 2:15 hours, then continued to Memphis flying around the frontal system initially to the west and turning far south and reached the destination with a delay of about 4 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc10251&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Skymark B738 at Tokyo on Aug 29th 2020, bird strike A Skymark Boeing 737-800, registration JA73NM performing flight BC-21 from Tokyo Haneda to Fukuoka (Japan) with 70 passengers and 6 crew, departed Haneda's runway 16R and was climbing through about 10800 feet MSL (3300 meters) when the aircraft received a bird strike. In the absence of abnormal indications the crew continued the flight, climbed to FL340 and landed safely in Fukuoka about 75 minutes later. A post flight inspection revealed damage to the aircraft skin on the left hand side and internal structures. Japan's Ministry of Transport rated the occurrence an accident, on Sep 1st 2020 Japan's JTSB opened an investigation stating the aircraft received "skin damage" as result of the bird strike at 3300 meters about 15km (8 nm) southeast of the airport. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Fukuoka about 80 hours (3 days and 8 hours) after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc0fd20&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: IrAero AN24 at Ust-Kut on Aug 27th 2020, failure of anti-skid An IrAero Antonov AN-24, registration RA-46640 performing flight IO-159 from Irkutsk to Ust-Kut (Russia), suffered the failure of the anti-skid system while landing in Ust-Kut. The crew applied emergency brakes and stopped the aircraft on the runway. As result of overheating brakes two tyres deflated. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc0e4c7&opt=0 Back to Top Woman Walks on Aircraft Wing after Feeling 'Too Hot' in Ukraine The woman walked all the way from the fin of the plane to the emergency exit gate of the Boeing 737-86N to get on the wing of the flight and 'get some air'. Flight experiences ate different for different people. Take-offs and landing can often cause a lot of breathing troubles or even anxiety and nausea and people often try out several ways to prevent this including chewing on a something to balance the air pressure inside ears during the take-off. However, a woman passenger flying with Ukraine International Airlines took a completely different route to breathe some fresh air after feeling too hot inside the flight. Accompanied by her two children, the woman took a flight from Turkey, where she went on holiday, and came to Kyiv, Ukraine. As she was feeling 'too hot' after her plane landed, she decided to walk all the way from the fin of the plane to the emergency exit gate of the Boeing 737-86N to get on the wing of the flight and 'get some air'. Her walk was so casual and relaxed that she looked least bothered to be out there on the wing. The entire incident was caught in the camera and uploaded on YouTube. A witness revealed reports that the woman chose to get on the wing when almost all the passengers had deboarded the aircraft. Her act also left her children embarrassed, who were standing next to the witness and said, "This is our mum". "The aircraft landed and almost all the passengers got off. She walked almost all the way from the tail to the emergency exit row, opened the door, and went out," the man revealed. The pilot had to call the police and ambulance after they got hold of the woman. As a result, she was barred from flying with Ukraine International Airlines. Moreover, when the police interrogated her for the act, she was unable to explain the behaviour. Her tests revealed that she was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/watch-woman-walks-on-aircraft-wing-after-feeling-too-hot-in-ukraine-2842397.html Back to Top Airline crews report jetpack flier near Los Angeles airport LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI said Tuesday they are investigating reports from airline pilots that someone was flying in a jetpack as they approached Los Angeles International Airport to land last weekend. "Two airline flight crews reported seeing what appeared to be someone in a jetpack as they were on their final approaches to LAX around 6:35 p.m. PDT Sunday," the FAA said. The statement did not elaborate. The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the FBI has launched an investigation. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told the Times that agents at the airport were investigating after the pilot reported the incident to the control tower. "The FBI is aware of the reports by pilots on Sunday and is working to determine what occurred," the agency said in a statement. Fox 11 Los Angeles obtained recordings of communications between the aircraft and the tower. "Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy in a jetpack," a pilot said. "American 1997, OK, thank you, were they off to your left side or your right side?" the controller asked. "Off the left side at maybe 300 yards or so at our altitude," the pilot said. Another pilot also reported a sighting. "We just saw the guy pass by us in the jetpack," he said. The controller then advised another aircraft flight crew to use caution. "Person in a jetpack reported 300 yards south of the LA final at about 3,000 feet (914 meters), 10-mile (16-kilometer) final," the controller said. Industry expert David Mayman was dubious that it was a jetpack spotted by the pilots. "It's very, very unlikely with the existing technology," said Mayman, CEO of the Los Angeles-based company Jetpack Aviation. "I'm open to being surprised. But I don't think there's anyone working on technology that could do a flight from ground level to 3,000 feet and then come back down again." Mayman speculated that it could have been a drone, but he added that 3,000 feet was on the high end of what most drones were capable of. https://www.yahoo.com/news/airline-crews-report-jetpack-flier-202315299.html Back to Top CAAi to draft drone regulations for Thailand CAA International (CAAi), the technical cooperation arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA), has been appointed by CAA Thailand (CAAT) to draft new drone regulations. The nine-month project will allow CAAT to safely integrate the operations of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) into Thailand's aviation system. UAS experts from the British aviation regulator will start by assessing Thailand's primary legislation and determine any areas for consideration for UAS regulations. UK aviation regulators will work with CAAT to draft new ICAO compliant operating UAS regulations, harmonised with EASA standards. CAAi will also support CAAT with industry engagement to ensure air transport and UAS operators understand how to comply with the new standards. Drones are widely used in Thailand. In the agricultural sector that accounts for 8.6% of Thai GDP, farmers have increased crop yields by saving time spraying and fertilising crops using drones. With drones becoming an increasingly familiar aspect of life and work, a solid regulatory framework is vital for safe operations and achieving further socio-economic benefits. Commenting after the contract signing, Rob Erskine, Head of International Operations at CAAi said, "We are delighted to be working with our regulatory counterparts in Thailand again, and we look forward to maturing Thailand's aviation system in the areas of drones. As the UK CAA was one of the first regulators to announce UAS regulations back in 2013, we're pleased to leverage our niche regulatory experience to pave the way for the future of Thai aviation oversight." Dr Chula Sukmanop, Director General of CAA Thailand, said "As UAS has become more common to our daily life, CAAT intends to provide a regulatory system to ensure that new technology and innovation fits well with the aviation safety. CAAi has been a trusted partner of CAAT in regulation development from the beginning. It is, therefore, our delight to work with them again on this issue and look forward to the new successful outcome of the Drone Regulations." https://caainternational.com/ Back to Top The "Just Culture" platform improves air traffic safety at Belgian air navigation service provider skeyes To skeyes, the creation of a Just Culture Platform is a boost for the efforts that have been made in recent years in the field of air traffic safety. Air traffic controllers are encouraged to report all incidents with a view to learning lessons for the whole sector and thereby further increasing aviation safety. In order to encourage incident reporting, it is important, in the framework of a Just Culture, that incident reporters are protected from prosecution. Gross negligence or willful omissions are of course not covered by that rule. The Just Culture is clearly bearing fruit within skeyes. This culture of reporting the slightest incident has led to a continuous improvement of procedures and processes which has resulted in a notable and noticeable reduction in the number of serious incidents and thus a significant improvement in aviation safety. Johan Decuyper, CEO skeyes: "skeyes has been applying Just Culture in its operations for many years. It was at the request of skeyes that the principle was incorporated earlier into legislation. In this way, air traffic controllers are protected in performing their jobs. That certainty prevents them from making decisions with the idea that they can be prosecuted for this or that action. On the other hand, the information they provide on incidents they report is invaluable for air traffic safety. That information must not go to waste." The proposal for the creation of a Just Culture Platform also came from skeyes. It includes staff members of the AAIU(Be) (the cell that investigates aviation incidents) and of the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority, the contact magistrate of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Safety Managers of both the Ministry of Defence, skeyes, the Belgian airports and aviation operators. Air traffic controllers and air navigation service technicians and professional pilots also delegate representatives to the Platform. In the Platform, experts from the sector, together with the Public Prosecutor's Office, will thoroughly discuss the incidents and assess them against the Just Culture principle. In this way, the Public Prosecutor's Office acquires practical insights that can help it when it comes to making judgements in this extremely complex matter. In order to guarantee the complete objectivity and independence of Justice, all incidents are discussed anonymously. All members of the Platform are also bound by secrecy concerning the discussions within the body. Johan Decuyper: "skeyes sees the establishment of the Platform as an anchoring of the practice as it has been applied for many years and an important development in Just Culture, following the legalisation of its principle." https://www.aviation24.be/air-traffic-control/skeyes/the-just-culture-platform-improves-air-traffic-safety-at-belgian-air-navigation-service-provider-skeyes/ Back to Top NASA Partners with Boeing on Testing Aircraft Noise and Air Traffic Management for Boeing 787 • NASA HAS COLLABORATED WITH BOEING ON ECO-DEMONSTRATOR PROGRAM SINCE 2014 (NASA) - A pair of NASA research projects to gather data on aircraft noise and test an air traffic management digital data communications tool are flying aboard a Boeing 787 this week as part of the Chicago-based company's 2020 ecoDemonstrator program. Results from these flights will help the continuing development of technology to enable future aircraft designs and flight operations that will be quieter, more fuel-efficient, and result in fewer delays. "That's what our productive partnership with Boeing in these ecoDemonstrator series of flights is all about - making future air travel safer and cleaner," said Robert Pearce, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics. NASA has collaborated with Boeing on its ecoDemonstrator program almost every year since 2014. Past research has involved a number of hardware and software innovations - even non-stick coatings to prevent airflow-disrupting bug residue from building up on a wing. Boeing began its program to take promising technologies and new ideas in air safety and reducing emissions and noise and try them out in flight in 2012, often partnering with other companies or research organizations such as NASA. Each year the company selects a different aircraft to be used as the ecoDemonstrator by partnering with an airline or using a Boeing-owned aircraft. For this year's program of flights, which are running now through mid-September, Boeing is partnering with Etihad Airways to use one of the airline's 787-10 Dreamliners, considered one of the most modern and advanced aircraft flying today. NASA has long studied aircraft noise. Its Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP) software tool is a respected, ever-evolving, and widely used standard in the aviation community for doing exactly what its name says. That computer code is based on years of measuring and understanding how components of an aircraft - the wings, landing gear, the main fuselage - contribute to the noise you hear when an airplane flies overhead. In the same way, noise levels of engines used for propulsion - no matter the type - have been studied, incorporated into ANOPP, and methods and technologies for reducing engine noise have been developed and implemented, for decades. But what about the whole package - the airframe and propulsion - as they interact with each other? How do you measure those specific interactions in a way that will give you new information you can use in the future to make even quieter airplanes and engines? The best way is to fly an airliner low over the ground and measure the noise it makes as it passes over an array of microphones placed directly underneath, either side of, and nearby the flight path. And that's exactly what NASA and Boeing researchers are doing with the 787 ecoDemonstrator. "This is an opportunity we get very rarely," said Russell Thomas, an acoustics expert at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia who is leading what is officially called the Propulsion Airframe Aeroacoustics and Aircraft System Noise Flight Test. It's not possible to put an airplane the size of a 787 in a wind tunnel, or rely solely on complex computer simulations that may not perfectly represent reality. "Only by flying can we obtain the most realistic conditions for obtaining the measurements we need. And this is really the first time we've ever been able to attempt the kind of research we've planned," Thomas said. For this test, 960 microphones are in place on the ground immediately next to and around the main runway at Glasgow Industrial Airport in Montana, where Boeing has a flight test facility. Another 31 microphones are located even farther away from the runway, and still another 214 microphones have been temporarily wired into locations all over the 787 itself. Thomas believes this is the largest array of sound instrumentation ever deployed for research like this. Boeing has dedicated four days in August for the airplane to make as many runs over the microphone array as possible during a four- to five-hour window each morning, when the weather is expected to be more ideal than later in the day. The 787 will fly in a racetrack pattern over the airport, each time passing over the microphones between 600 to 800 feet above the ground. The low altitude improves the quality of the data collected. "It's a balance between low enough for a good quality signal and not being too low for safety reasons," Thomas said. Passes will feature the aircraft flying in different configurations - landing gear down or up, flaps extended or retracted. Varying engine power levels and speeds used for takeoff, various approaches and landing also will be flown. With a focus on how noise from the airframe and propulsion interact with each other, one of the things researchers will look for is how noise from the 787's wing-mounted, twin engines is reflected or shielded by the fuselage and wings depending on where the microphones are. Research results could help inform noise reduction approaches for today's aircraft, as well as future commercial airliners that may feature designs in which the engines are placed where the wings and aircraft body might help shield the noise - making the airplane sound quieter on the ground. Having high-quality, realistic sound data will help improve tools used to predict the noise a future airplane design might make. "We'll get as close as we can to the real inputs so that the prediction compared to the data can be the most accurate we have been able to do to date," Thomas said. Digital Change in Plans Part of the second NASA project flying on the ecoDemonstrator took place Aug. 14 as the 787 flew from North Charleston, South Carolina to Boeing Field in Seattle, where some final preparations took place before it was flown on to Glasgow, Montana, for the official beginning of the ecoDemonstrator flights. The experiment is testing the ability of an air traffic management tool to generate an efficient new course for an airplane to follow as it approaches its destination, and then digitally transmit the resulting course change order directly to the cockpit. "Taking advantage of digital data communications coupled with advanced decision-making software in a real way to solve complex air traffic control problems - that's really what we're bringing to the table with this," said Richard Coppenbarger, an engineer at NASA's Ames Research Center in California. Coppenbarger is the technology lead for this capability, which is called the Tailored Arrival Manager (TAM). It is largely based on a NASA-developed software tool called AutoResolver. "This is our first foray into the real world with TAM and AutoResolver, at least in terms of directly reaching a larger aircraft type like the 787," Coppenbarger said. As envisioned, here's how TAM is supposed to work if fully deployed in the future by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): A commercial airliner is nearing the end of its flight and is getting ready for its descent and approach to the airport. But something - perhaps bad weather or congested traffic ahead - is going to require the airplane to alter its course and scheduled arrival time. The air traffic management tool, which is constantly monitoring the movements of aircraft throughout the National Airspace System, sees this developing situation early and computes a new course for the airplane more efficiently than a human can. That new course, courtesy of AutoResolver, provides the most fuel-efficient path for the airplane to fly, ensures the course will maintain FAA-mandated safe separation from all other aircraft, and doesn't overload with traffic any one particular region of airspace. The course solution is then automatically sent via digital communications to the Flight Management System (FMS) onboard the aircraft. A chime is sounded, alerting the pilots to the incoming message to their computer. The pilots then push a button, telling the computer to load the new course, which immediately appears on their cockpit displays as a dotted line, showing them the new flight path. If it looks good to them, they push another button to accept it and the autopilot makes the change. "But for this ecoDemonstrator test we will be reducing the complexity of what this could be like if actually deployed," Coppenbarger said. For example, the AutoResolver will only compute a new flight path that will be the most efficient and not overload any region of airspace with too much traffic. It will not deal with any separation constraints during these initial tests using the Boeing ecoDemonstrator 787. Also, the pilots will not direct the FMS to fly the solution. Their job will be limited to loading the solution and taking pictures of the resulting displays that show the suggested new flight path. A video camera behind them will record the cockpit scene as well. These images, along with pilot feedback and other data collection, will be used by NASA to continue maturing the TAM automation. "Basically, we are testing the ability of our system to receive data digitally from the aircraft that TAM can use to generate a solution that then gets sent to the FAA digitally to convert it into a message that they send to the flight deck," said Arwa Aweiss, the project lead for this experiment who is based at Ames. The first test on Aug. 14 went according to plan. "Three TAM solutions were digitally delivered to the flight deck as part of the test. As prescribed in the test plan, they were auto-loaded but not flown," Aweiss said. "Comments from Boeing indicated that each TAM solution would have been flyable had the pilots chosen to execute them." Tools with capabilities similar to AutoResolver and TAM complement others that NASA is designing right now or that already have been transferred to the FAA for their further consideration and deployment into the field. Examples of these tools are known by a plethora of acronyms, including TSAS, FIM, DRAW, ATD-2, EDA and PDRC. All of the tools are designed to make air traffic management more efficient in order to save fuel, reduce emissions, and increase schedule reliability so passengers can get from airport gate to airport gate as safely and trouble free as possible. https://spacecoastdaily.com/2020/09/nasa-partners-with-boeing-on-testing-aircraft-noise-and-air-traffic-management-for-boeing-787/ Back to Top Ex-Mesa Airlines employee pleads guilty to helping create fake airline IDs for free flights PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A former Mesa Airlines worker has admitted to his role in creating fake airline IDs that were used to get free flights for himself and other people on another airline. Hubbard Bell from Houston pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The 32-year-old told the court after he was fired from the airline, he worked with others to gain access to the company's employees' information to book free flights on Spirit Airlines. That info included their names, dates of hire, and employee identification numbers. For himself, Bell created 34 free airline tickets for domestic flights, even though he didn't work for Mesa Airlines. He also said he helped his alleged co-conspirators make and sell phony Mesa employee ID cards for fake travelers. The crimes happened between February 2016 and November 2017. Bell is scheduled to be sentenced in December. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. The other defendants in the case are expected to go to trial this spring. https://www.msn.com/en-us/Travel/news/ex-mesa-airlines-employee-pleads-guilty-to-helping-create-fake-airline-ids-for-free-flights/ar-BB18COHq?ocid=a2hs Back to Top NATA Seeks Further Part 135 Check Deadline Extensions As the Covid-19 pandemic drags on, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has turned to the FAA seeking longer-term relief for Part 135 from some key regulatory deadlines surrounding observation checks. In petitions for exemption published in the September 1 Federal Register, NATA asked the FAA to extend the deadline for a Part 135 check airman to undergo an observation check by an FAA inspector or designated examiner from 24 to 36 months. The association similarly has asked the FAA to extend the deadline for an instructor to undergo an observation check by an FAA inspector, operator check airman, or aircraft designated examiner from 24 to 36 months. Comments on both petitions, which were revised after the agency sought further detail, are due September 8. The petitions included in the FAA notices follow myriad extensions the agency has granted from aeromedical, training, proficiency, and other deadlines as the industry has grappled with an inability to travel and/or delays in lining up FAA-qualified inspectors to meet the requirements. "The current restrictions on FAA inspector travel (as described to our members by FAA employees), requirements for social distancing, and individual health concerns have significantly hampered the ability of the operators to maintain instructor currency," the association told the agency. Most Part 135 operators are small businesses with one or two aircraft and 90 percent have fewer than 10 aircraft, NATA said. "For the significant number of these small operators, the FAA has not authorized them aircrew designated examiners, forcing the operator to rely solely on FAA inspectors to perform the required 24-month check. This significantly reduced pool of authorized individuals available makes it virtually impossible to comply with [FAR] 135.339(a)(2), hence our request for relief." NATA noted the agency's efforts to grant appropriate relief and said, "As the impact of the national health emergency continues, additional relief is appropriate." The association further suggests certain conditions to ensure that the extension still meets the intent of the original requirements. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2020-09-01/nata-seeks-further-part-135-check-deadline-extensions Back to Top U.S. Aviation Workers to "Flood the White House" Switchboard in Effort to Save Jobs Aviation workers across the United States plan a week of action and protests to exert pressure on lawmakers and the Trump administration to extend federal relief in the form of a multi-billion-dollar payroll support program. The current program, which has prevented airlines from furloughing employees in exchange for financial support, will finish at the end of September at which point tens of thousands of airline workers face being laid off. The union which represents flight attendants at American Airlines called on its members to "flood the White House" switchboard yesterday demanding the administration return to the negotiating table with Congress on a wider CARES Act 2 that would contain crucial payroll support provisions. Despite broad bipartisan support for extending financial relief for U.S.-based airlines through to the end of March 2021, CARES Act 2 is currently off the table. American Airlines plans to start October with 40,000 fewer employees, including 19,000 workers who face being involuntarily and indefinitely furloughed. Thousands more involuntary furloughs and redundancies have been announced by the likes of Delta and United Airlines. Wednesday will see a series of #ReliefNow protests organized across the United States, including a march in Washington D.C. Other protests are planned in Dallas and Philadephia. Aviation workers have been urged to show up in uniform to makes their voices heard, although there's no telling whether their chants will heard by those in power. "Aviation is still in the middle of the crisis and right now Americans are barred from traveling to the rest of the world even if there were a demand for travel," explained Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents crew at 20 airlines including United last week. "This crisis is like no other in our history and it requires attention right now," she continued. Nelson hopes a six month extension of payroll support will buy enough time for the COVID-19 pandemic to finally be brought under control, likely in the form of a vaccine. Until then, travel demand will remain severely suppressed. The number of passengers choosing to fly is currently stuck at around 25 to 30 per cent of the numbers travelling before the COVID-19 pandemic and borders around the world remains closed. Experiments to reopen borders, notably in Europe, have had mixed results and real fears of a second wave are weighing heavy on the aviation industry. Even if a vaccine is approved by the end of this year, there's no telling that demand will recover in the way that Nelson and others are hoping. Industry analysts and leaders fear demand won't return to anything like pre-pandemic levels until at least 2024. Even then, business travel may have changed forever, with longterm consequences for airlines and aviation workers. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2020/09/01/u-s-aviation-workers-to-flood-the-white-house-switchboard-in-effort-to-save-jobs/ Back to Top Saudi Arabia says flights can now use its airspace to fly to and from the UAE, apparently referring to Israel DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - CORRECTS: Saudi Arabia says flights can now use its airspace to fly to and from the UAE, apparently referring to Israel. https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Alert-Saudi-Arabia-says-flights-from-all-15536664.php Back to Top Job losses in aviation could approach half-million by year's end • With COVID cases surging in hot spots and restrictions returning, passenger demand continues to sputter. Airports may need to step up dismissals as the extent of the slump becomes clear. (Bloomberg) - The global aviation industry has racked up more than 350,000 job losses in the past six months, with more pain on the way, according to new research delving into the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the once-bouyant sector. The total could approach half a million positions after including some 25,000 cuts that don't fit into the main categories of airlines, aerospace manufacturers and airports, and another 95,000 that are threatened but not formally announced, according to Rowland Hayler, a co-founder of consulting group Five Aero, which compiled the study. Meanwhile, Asian firms and airports worldwide appear to be depressing the total by holding back on payroll reductions, or at least not publicizing them, Hayler said. Here's what the data show: Airlines are offloading more than 200,000 workers after months of groundings wiped out earnings, threatening the survival of many players. With Covid-19 cases surging in hotspots and restrictions returning, passenger demand continues to sputter. Airports may need step up dismissals as the extent of the slump becomes clear, Hayler said. Manufacturers such as Airbus SE and Boeing Co. are always reluctant to slash output because of the cost and complexity of slowing production lines, as well as the risk of pushing parts suppliers to the brink. They came into the crisis with record order books, though as those are eroded, the loss of engineering positions is mounting. More than 80% of the job cuts announced so far have been in Europe and North America, even though the two regions accounted for only 49% of 2019 passenger traffic, the study shows. While the figure may be higher because the biggest planemakers and many key suppliers are based in the West, losses in the Asia-Pacific in particular seem implausibly small, Hayler said, with more than half the total coming just from Australia and New Zealand. Asian companies may be more reluctant to fire workers, but the absence of data from China and elsewhere is a major issue, he said. Leading carriers such as Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Singapore Airlines Ltd. have also yet to announce permanent plans to reduce headcount while taking government furlough money, and are expected to do so in coming weeks and months. More than 50,000 positions were eliminated across the sector in August, with the trend line suggesting that there are many more to come. The Five Aero tallies don't include potential moves, such as more than 20,000 added reductions at Gulf giant Emirates and tens of thousands in the U.S., where furloughed workers have been put on notice that their work could permanently disappear, Hayler said. Firms like tour operator TUI AG that don't neatly fit in any of the three main categories are also missing from the list. "This crisis is wreaking huge long-term damage on the aviation industry," Hayler said. "Given the importance of the sector in supporting all sorts of other businesses, the job losses are also a disaster for the wider economy." https://www.chicagobusiness.com/airlines-airports/job-losses-aviation-could-approach-half-million-years-end Back to Top Japan Airlines joins Tokyo drone delivery test Japan's flagship airline has joined a consortium of transportation and technology specialists to test drone deliveries of medicines and food in Tokyo. Japan Airlines (OTCMKTS: JAPSY), along with KDDI Corp., East Japan Railway, Weathernews and Terra Drone Corp., announced the project with the Tokyo government on Monday. "Due to the lack of delivery personnel and the impact of the global pandemic, the necessity to respond to changes in the logistics industry has become real and the use of drones may help realize automatic, contactless delivery," the participating companies said in a press release. KDDI will provide the drone operations platform for the project. Japan Airlines will offer safety management of flights, business development and feasibility assessment of pharmaceutical deliveries, while East Japan Railway will allow the tests to be performed from its stations. Weathernews will supply weather data for flights, and Terra Drone will offer air traffic control support. The project developers said they are particularly focused on developing efficient and safe drone operations in urban settings. To demonstrate the use of drones for pharmaceutical deliveries, the project will transport medicines from Mediceo Corp.'s Tokyo warehouse to nearby St. Luke's International Hospital. Food deliveries will be tested from restaurants to offices in close proximity to the East Japan Railway stations in Tokyo. The project began in August and will end in March 2022. A budget to support the project in 2021 is expected to be approved by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly is expected soon. Drone industry analyst Michael Blades, vice president of aerospace, defense and security at Frost & Sullivan, told American Shipper that although the project is not unique, he believes that it is "a solid plan." "Tokyo can benefit greatly from this capability because there are many natural barriers, especially when it comes to the islands that are part of the city," Blades said. "I expect there will be many similar tests and trials in the wake of COVID - the pandemic may just accelerate the adoption of drones and public acceptance for delivery of critical items and services." Freight transportation services providers throughout the world have stepped up their interest in the prospects of drone delivery in recent years. In the U.S., Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and UPS (NYSE: UPS) are working with technology developers and government regulators to develop drone-based parcel delivery services. https://www.freightwaves.com/news/japan-airlines-joins-tokyo-drone-delivery-service-testing Back to Top The airline industry could shrink by half to survive, United Airlines chairman says New York (CNN Business)The US airline industry needs to shrink its labor costs by as much as 50% to survive -- and even then it's possible some carriers don't make it through the crisis, United Airlines Executive Chairman Oscar Munoz told CNN Business. "The stark reality of what we're facing is dire," Munoz said in an exclusive interview. Munoz, an icon in the airline industry who stepped down as United's CEO in May, estimates the collapse of air travel during the pandemic will force airlines to slash their payroll costs by a staggering 30% to 50%. That translates to tens of thousands of lost jobs. You've seen some airlines, in essence, fold. I suspect you may see more the longer this thing goes on." "This industry has gone through hell and back on repeated occasions," said Munoz, who suffered a heart attack and had a heart transplant during his five-year stint as United's CEO. "This is, by far, orders of magnitude larger than anything we've ever seen." Times are so tough for airlines that they're taking dramatic steps to lure customers. United (UAL) announced Sunday it will permanently eliminate hated change fees on economy and premium cabin tickets for domestic flights. Delta (DAL) and American followed suit Monday. The shift underscores the enormous leverage travelers now have over hurting airlines. • Thousands of workers take voluntary cuts • Airlines have signaled steep job cuts are on the way. Last week, American Airlines (AAL) said it will lay off or involuntarily furlough 19,000 workers as of October 1 unless Congress provides more aid. In July, United Airlines warned that 36,000 employees, or nearly half of its frontline workforce, could be furloughed this fall. "Hopefully things recover and we can bring everyone back," Munoz said, adding that this crisis is far worse than the downturn in the airline industry after 9/11. Prior to the pandemic, the airline industry was booming - and spending more on its workforce. Wages and benefits for the nine publicly traded airlines in the United States stood at $50.9 billion in 2019, up nearly 6% from the year before. Oscar Munoz, chairman of United Airlines, said the airline industry likely won't recover until there is a vaccine. "Confidence in the health aspect is going to bring back conferences, bring back corporate travel," Munoz said. Passenger airlines employed nearly 500,000 people in February before the pandemic erupted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Studies. The CARES Act, which provided a $50 billion bailout designed to keep US airlines afloat, requires carriers to avoid making involuntary job cuts until October 1. But thousands of workers have already taken buyouts, early retirements or unpaid furloughs. Munoz praised the thousands of workers who have accepted voluntary cuts so that colleagues who are "more in need" don't face financial hardship. "That's just heroic stuff," he said. Some US airlines may not survive Munoz said that a potential 50% drop in industry-wide payroll costs doesn't necessarily translate to a loss of half of the jobs. That's because some jobs cost more than others. And Munoz mentioned that companies could adopt job-sharing programs where workers share a job - and a salary - for a period of time. That would reduce worker hours and pay, eliminating the need for layoffs. Air travel in the United States, as shown by the CNN Business Recovery Tracker, has bounced off its worst levels. Travel came to a virtual standstill in April. Yet TSA security lines processed just 808,000 travelers on August 30 -- down by 57% from the same day last year. That's a far cry from the V-shaped recovery that has emerged in housing, retail sales and other parts of the US economy. During the second quarter, United Airlines burned through a stunning $40 million a day. "We used to make a decent amount of money for an airline just a few months ago," Munoz said. "We tell our employees that we are going to be a smaller airline for some time and we hope to get back to the place where we were. But we think that's quite a bit a ways out." Several major airlines based overseas have collapsed into bankruptcy, including Colombia's Avianca and Virgin Australia. Asked whether all of the non-regional US airlines will survive as independent carriers, Munoz said the answer depends on how long the crisis lasts. "You've seen some airlines, in essence, fold. I suspect you may see more the longer this thing goes on," Munoz said. "If this would stretch an inordinate amount of time, all of us would be affected to some degree." He added that most major airlines have enough financial resources to withstand the crisis "certainly through next year." The industry went through widespread bankruptcies and mergers in the two decades before the Covid-19 pandemic. Every major carrier other than Southwest made a trip through bankruptcy. The nine major carriers that existed on 9/11 have been consolidated into four major carriers, often through the bankruptcy reorganization process. Business travel won't recover until there's a vaccine The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) predicted in late July that global air travel won't recover from the pandemic until 2024, a year later than the body's previous projection. One of the biggest challenges facing airlines is the implosion of business travel. Corporate conferences have been canceled. Investment bankers are doing deals virtually. And companies aren't rewarding star performers with travel junkets. Although domestic leisure bookings have improved to about half their year-ago levels, corporate bookings remain down nearly 90%, according to Bank of America. "Corporate demand remains soft," Bank of America analysts wrote in a note Monday, adding that bookings have "shown no improvement" since mid-June. Munoz said business travel - a major moneymaker for the airline industry - likely won't recover until there is widespread access to a coronavirus vaccine. "The vaccine is going to be probably the most determinant piece of the beginning of the end of this," Munoz said. "Confidence in the health aspect is going to bring back conferences, bring back corporate travel. It's going to bring back across-the-pond travel for lawyers and bankers and consultants." That vast uncertainty makes it extremely challenging for airlines to plan for the future and make major decisions around how much money they need to survive and how much money to invest in innovation. "It's tough to pinpoint anything because we don't know the basic determinant: When will things return to normal? When will a vaccine come?" Munoz said. "Until...that vaccine that comes in, uncertainty is going to rule the day." https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/business/airline-jobs-united-munoz/index.html Back to Top USC will work to increase aircraft production through NASA grant The University of South Carolina will use a $5.7 million NASA research grant to help speed aircraft manufacturing and production. A team from the university's College of Engineering and Computing will work in partnership with Benedict College, Boise State University, the University of Southern Mississippi and industry partners to ramp up the country's aircraft production rate. Paul Ziehl is USC's principal investigator for the project, funded by a four-year NASA University Leadership Initiative grant. Increased aircraft production rates will aid urban air mobility, or services ranging from drone delivery to air taxis, according to a news release from USC. Expected to be a commercially viable market by 2030, urban air mobility will require aircraft to be built in higher quantities and at a faster rate, researchers said. Michel van Tooren, the initiator of the NASA proposal and the former director of USC's SmartState Center for Multifunctional Materials and Structures, predicted that urban air transport will ultimately require 100 aircraft to be produced a day, as opposed to the 60 to 70 currently produced a month by top carriers. "How do you do that?" van Tooren said in the release. "And if you do 100 aircraft a day and it's maybe 30 blades on an aircraft, then that's 3,000 blades a day. There's no technology available at the moment that creates such an enormous number of aircraft-quality products, and that's the big challenge." Boise State and Southern Mississippi will begin the research using experimental and simulation techniques to make the thermoplastic tape used to build aircraft stronger and more durable. South Carolina's team will then use advanced manufacturing processes such as automated fiber placement and automated tape layup to build aircraft parts at a higher production rate and use thermoplastic welding to fusion-bond the parts. "It's a new level of simulation and it's a new way of manufacturing," van Tooren said. "Through it, we can transform aerospace manufacturing and open the door to large-scale urban air mobility sooner than we ever imagined." The University Leadership Initiative was created by the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. "In an impressively short period, the USC McNair Aerospace Center has become a household name in the aerospace composites world, especially in the area of thermoplastics and fastener-free joining, as well as robotics, digital commissioning, combustion and predictive maintenance," said Hossein Haj-Hariri, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing. "Receiving one of the coveted NASA ULIs is testimony to the excellence of the center, which continues to pursue and receive similarly competitive and prestigious funding in all its areas, and educates, trains and produces graduates that are at the forefront of their respective disciplines and highly sought as a result." https://columbiabusinessreport.com/news/education/79188/ Back to Top SHOULD I PURCHASE AN AIRCRAFT FOR MY FLIGHT TRAINING? Adam answers in September's edition. AOPA Aviation Finance Question: I am 58 and am a student pilot. I have set as my goals to get my PPL, then my Instrument rating, followed by my MEL. I live in Southwest Florida and my mission is to fly around the Bahamas, but also do a lot of cross country flying. I have a son in Colorado. My thought process is that when the time comes to do my multi engine training I would purchase my own plane to be trained in. I am looking for something like a 1979 Piper Seneca II. Would that be something I should consider? Answer: I definitely think it's a good idea to purchase an aircraft for doing your flight training - leverage the "4 Cs". Consistency, Comfort, Control and most importantly Cost are all big advantages. • Consistency - It's a lot easier when you are flying the same plane and not having to learn subtle nuances of one avionics setup versus another • Comfort - When it's your plane you have comfort by making it the way you want and knowing it's clean, safe and organized the way you want it. • Control - One of the challenges in flight training can be aircraft availability and scheduling. If it's your own plane the only issue you need to coordinate is when it's in for maintenance. • Cost - This is one of the most obvious, but flight schools make money by "grossing up" the rental cost of plane (as well as flight instructor). By using your own aircraft, your hourly usage rate should be much less. Please feel free to reach out to my team directly at 800.627.5263 so we can help you further. https://finance.aopa.org/resources/2020/august/31/should-i-purchase-an-aircraft-for-my-flight-training Back to Top Vistara Asks Pilots To Take Three Days Of Unpaid Leave Vistara is introducing a three day leave-without-pay (LWP) program for its pilots starting this month. The new unpaid leave comes above the salary cuts previously put in place, as the airline struggles with low demand. The new policy will affect around 500 pilots, who will see a 30% pay cut in total. Under the new program, pilots will take three days of unpaid leave every month, roughly a 10% salary cut. This leave comes in addition to the previously reduced base flying allowance for pilots. The move will affect the 500-odd pilots flying for the carrier and comes after Vistara sees struggling demand in the short term. With all the changes included, pilots will see a total salary cut between 28% to 32%, depending on whether the reduction is from their original pay or current pay. Vistara is prioritizing saving jobs during this crisis and has not announced any workforce reductions yet. The current policies will also be reviewed monthly and will be reversed once revenue returns. Compared to other airlines, Vistara's cuts seem quite conservative. SpiceJet announced it would not pay pilots for two months during the crisis, along with steep pay cuts, and IndiGo said it is letting go of 10% of its staff. Lower demand In the last few months Vistara has taken a number of decisions to face the reality of low demand. The airline is in talks to defer aircraft deliveries from both Airbus and Boeing, pushing back dates for its 787 and A320 fleet. The airline did take delivery of its second 787 and first A321neo in the last two months, but will likely delay any more deliveries. As mentioned before, Vistara has made relatively fewer cuts to its workforce. The airline enacted a 5-10% pay cut for around 40% of its staff in June and has put many of its crew on short unpaid leave. Pilots were originally exempt from these initial pay cuts but the prolonged downturn has meant the airline must make more cuts. International expansion While 2020 was supposed to be Vistara's year to rapidly expand internationally, the carrier has taken a slower approach due to the current situation. The airline started long-haul flights to London last week, and plans to add two more European destinations for now. Other possible destinations such as Japan and Australia seem to be out of the picture. https://simpleflying.com/vistara-asks-pilots-to-take-three-days-of-unpaid-leave/ Back to Top Silver Air's Boeing Business Jet is Available for Global Charter Now SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 2, 2020-- The Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) managed by Silver Air is now available for charter and uniquely without restrictions by the jet's owner. Based in West Palm Beach, Florida, this one-of-a-kind BBJ is a state-of-the-art aircraft with global reach, and an expansive 18-passenger configuration designed for personal and business travel. Featuring a custom interior and master bedroom with a large bed, shower with exclusive steam feature, conference room, lounge area, and three lavatories, the BBJ is the first private charter with GoGo 2kU fully worldwide highspeed internet connectivity. All onboard monitors have Apple TV for streaming and Sling TV for live TV. The galley is equipped with wine chiller, two microwaves, oven and De'Longhi coffee/espresso maker. "BBJs are unique among private aircraft. Executive Liners, or Bizliners, are luxurious, they provide a next level VVIP experience, and the BBJ being managed by Silver Air is special even within this exclusive category. It's state-of-the art, and the owner hasn't put any restrictions on when we can charter it," said Chuck Stumpf, Silver Air's President of Business Development. "This BBJ offers flyers the ultimate in-flight experience whether you require space for your family or a working office in the sky. It's more akin to an executive suite in a high-end hotel than a private jet." Silver Air has operations in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Seattle, Dallas, Florida, Houston and New York. The BBJ can carry 18 passengers to airports around the world, such as a luxurious flight from Miami to Dubai in 15 hours or New York to Morocco in seven hours. "Private charters have seen an increase in demand this summer as more travelers look to our controlled environment, and it's no surprise that Silver Air is gaining market share at this time when customer service isn't just about comfort, it's about health and security," Stumpf said. "Silver Air isn't simply a charter broker - we're an operator, and our experienced staff can access international destinations when other carriers can't or won't. That's never been more important than right now, as travel restrictions are evolving daily." The BBJ is managed under Silver Air's PURE Jet Management model that provides a unique opportunity for jet owner partners, creating quality management plans at the best value, and expertly managing the multiple service vendors on the owner's behalf ensuring a cost effective and transparent relationship. In addition to the BBJ, Silver Air manages and operates light to large-cabin jets from Gulfstream, Dassault, Bombardier, Embraer, Cessna, and Hawker/Beech. Silver Air's charter operations have earned a WYVERN Wingman certification for maintaining operational safety. The company is currently IS-BAO stage two compliant, demonstrating the industry's highest safety practices. Silver Air is also a member of the Air Charter Safety Foundation. For more information on Silver Air visit http://www.silverair.com/. Follow Silver Air at www.facebook.com/FlySilverAir, www.twitter.com/FlySilverAir, and www.instagram.com/FlySilverAir. About Silver Air Silver Air is an innovative, industry leading aircraft management company and charter operator. As a DOT Certificated Air Carrier, the company operates under a Full FAA Part 135 certificate with worldwide operations. Silver Air is based in Southern California with corporate offices in Santa Barbara, and has bases of operations in California, Washington, Texas, Nevada, Florida and New York. The company manages and operates an all jet fleet, consisting of a wide range of aircraft from light jets to heavy long range jets. Silver Air's charter operations have earned a WYVERN Wingman certification for maintaining operational safety. The company is currently IS-BAO stage two compliant, demonstrating the industry's highest safety practices. Silver Air is also a member of the Air Charter Safety Foundation. https://www.manchestertimes.com/news/business/silver-air-s-boeing-business-jet-is-available-for-global-charter-now/article_de27754d-3128-52ad-a4ff-68e9854cbab5.html Back to Top Qatar Airways agrees delivery delays with Airbus, still talking to Boeing SYDNEY/DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar Airways has struck a deal with Airbus SE to delay delivery of airplanes due to the pandemic-induced travel downturn but remains in talks with Boeing Co about deferrals, the airline's chief executive said on Wednesday. "We have the ability to bring forward the deliveries if there is a rebound in air travel," Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said of the Airbus deal at the CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit, without providing further details. Al-Baker said the airline had not reached an agreement with Boeing. "As far as Boeing is concerned we are still in negotiations with them, but regardless of what they feel an aircraft manufacturer needs to oblige customers in difficult times," he said. "People who will not oblige and stand with us in this difficult time will not see us again." Qatar Airways said in June it would not take any new planes ordered from Boeing or Airbus in 2020 or 2021, adding there would be a knock-on effect to future deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline has 27 A350-1000s and 50 A321neos on order, according to the Airbus website. It has also ordered 60 777X planes, five 777 freighters and 23 787-9s from Boeing, the U.S. manufacturer's website said. Qatar Airways had also ordered 737 MAX jets for its part-owned carrier Air Italy before its collapse and it is in talks with Boeing about those planes, al-Baker said. Airbus and Boeing did not respond immediately to requests for comment. https://www.yahoo.com/news/qatar-airways-reached-deal-airbus-073614028.html Back to Top Rocket Lab gains key FAA launch license for its US-based launch site Launch provider Rocket Lab has gained a key clearance from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration that should mean it'll be launching from its U.S.-based facility at Wallops Island, Virginia relatively soon. As it had done before for its LC-1 launch pad in New Zealand, Rocket Lab gained a Launch Operator License for its LC-2 pad in Virginia, meaning it can conduct multiple launches from the location without having to petition the agency for a mission-specific license for each individual flight. Rocket Lab held its official opening ceremony for the Virginia-based LC-2 at the end of last year, and while we don't yet know exactly when it'll launch its first Electron from the location, it's probably that COVID-19 and its related disruptions have had an impact on the planned debut activity at the site. The company expanded first to LC-2, and is now putting the finishing touches on LC-3 back in New Zealand, in order to help ramp its launch capacity - which it says will reach up to 130 launches per year with all three launch pads up and running. Part of the reason that Rocket Lab spun up the U.S.-based pad to begin with was to serve government customers with rapid, responsive launches that could be put together quickly and often, so having this FAA multi-launch license is a big boon to its operating model. Hopefully that means we'll see the Wallops location come to life sooner rather than later. https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/01/rocket-lab-gains-key-faa-launch-license-for-its-u-s-based-launch-site/ Back to Top Booster rocket for NASA Moon missions set for critical test Engineers are preparing to test a booster rocket that will help send Americans back to the Moon in 2024. Two of these boosters form part of Nasa's massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the biggest launcher built since the Saturn V in the 1960s. The huge Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) provide most of the thrust in the first two minutes of the SLS's ride to space. One of the rockets will be fired while secured to the ground at a test site in Promontory, Utah. The two-minute-long test is scheduled to take place at 14:40 EDT (19:40 BST) on Wednesday at a facility operated by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman. It is designed to test the performance and manufacturing quality of the rocket motor. It will also help teams evaluate potential new materials, processes, and improvements for the boosters beyond the first landing on the Moon in 2024. Measuring 54m (177ft) long and 4m (12ft) wide, the SLS booster is the largest and most powerful solid propellant booster ever built. Space Launch System (SLS) • Designed to send the Orion spacecraft, astronauts and cargo to the Moon • Consists of a core stage with two attached solid rocket boosters • Four RS-25 engines sit at the base of the core stage; they're the same engines used on the space shuttle orbiter • The core stage stands 98m (322ft) tall in its initial, or Block 1, configuration. • The Block 1 SLS can send more than 27 metric tonnes (59,500 pounds) to orbits beyond the Moon. • SLS will produce 8.8 million pounds (39.5 Meganewtons) of maximum thrust, 15% more than the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo missions It burns around six tonnes of propellant every second, generating more thrust than 14 four-engine jumbo commercial airliners. The SLS consists of a huge core stage with four engines at its base. Two SRBs are attached on each side of the core and provide 75% of the thrust during the first two minutes of the ascent to space. Both the core and boosters are derived from technology used in the space shuttle, which was retired in 2011. Able to produce a total thrust of more than eight million pounds, the SLS will supply the power necessary to launch crewed missions to the Moon, and eventually - it is hoped - Mars. Nasa plans to launch the giant rocket on its maiden flight next year. This mission, called Artemis 1, will see an unpiloted Orion capsule sent on a loop around the Moon. Teams at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center are already assembling the solid rocket boosters for this mission. For Artemis 2, four astronauts will travel around the Moon in 2023, followed a year later by the first crewed landing since 1972. Meanwhile, engineers in Mississippi have resumed their "Green Run" testing of the massive SLS core stage, after operations were paused in response to the threat from tropical storms Marco and Laura. The Green Run consists of eight tests, four of which have been completed since the core stage arrived at Nasa's Stennis Space Center near Bay St Louis in January. The fifth, which has just started, will aim to check out rocket controls and hydraulics. Nasa's head of human spaceflight Kathy Lueders said she hoped the programme could stay on track for a "hot fire" test in October. During the hot fire, all four of the powerful RS-25 engines at the base of the core stage are fired for about eight minutes - the time it takes for the SLS to get from the ground to orbit. https://www.yahoo.com/news/booster-rocket-nasa-moon-missions-102201060.html Swinburne University Capstone Research Projects 2020 - Airline pax preferences Study Airline Passenger Carrier Preference Research Project 2020 The Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) business model has disrupted the aviation industry. It has generated new passenger demand, provided passengers with more choice and created many competitive challenges for the traditional Full-Service Carriers (FSC). As the global airline market continues to change and adapt to new challenges, airline passenger preferences and intent to travel may also change. As part of our undergraduate research project at Swinburne University of Technology we are conducting a survey on passenger preferences regarding the decision to fly between LCC and FSC airlines. This survey asks for your views on various issues associated with airline choice and seeks to better understand passenger risk perceptions and the perceived value offered by each airline model. You will be asked to complete an online questionnaire, which also includes an explanatory statement. The study takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. To access the survey, please go to the following link: https://swinuw.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3wwfJDvc7chU3Cl Participants who complete the study will be eligible to enter a draw to win an iPad. This research project is being supervised by Peter Renshaw at the Department of Aviation, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. If you have any questions, please contact Peter at prenshaw@swin.edu.au *** Image from: Uphues, J. (2019). Full service carrier vs. low cost carrier - What's future-proof? Retrieved from https://www.inform-software.com/blog/post/full-service-carrier-vs-low-cost-carrier-whats-future-proof Back to Top SURVEY: GA PILOTS AND PIREPs "Dear GA pilot, Researchers at Purdue University are seeking general aviation (GA) pilots to participate in an online study, partially funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NextGen Weather Technology in the Cockpit (WTIC) program. The goal of this study is to evaluate opportunities for speech-based or other "hands-free" technologies that GA pilots might use to submit PIREPs. If you are able and willing to participate, you will be asked to review a set of 6 weather-related flight scenarios and record PIREPs as if you are flying. The study will last approximately 20 minutes and can be completed using a laptop or desktop computer. Participation in this study is completely voluntary. You can withdraw your participation at any time during the study for any reason. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to acknowledge your voluntary participation. Then there are 4 questions about your flight history, 6 weather scenarios, and 4 questions about PIREPs. Responses to the survey will be completely anonymous. We ask that you complete the study in a quiet location free from background noise. You must be at least 18 years of age or older to participate. When you are ready to begin, please click here: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6lZhv409DcoV8KF and follow the instructions in Qualtrics. Please feel free to share this link with other pilots you know. Email any questions or concerns to Mayur Deo and Dr. Brandon Pitts at nhance@purdue.edu." Back to Top Graduate Research Survey (1) Stress and Wellbeing for Global Aviation Professionals Dear colleagues, I am inviting you to participate in a research project on wellbeing in the aviation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation has affected aviation professionals around the world, and this research seeks to identify wellbeing strategies that work across professions, employers, families, and nations. All responses to this survey are anonymous. The findings of this research will inform future work by the USC Aviation Safety and Security Program and the Flight Safety Foundation to improve wellbeing for aviation professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Please click or copy the link below to access the survey, and please share it with any interested colleagues. https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cC2nlWEAazl22TX This research will support a treatise towards a Master of Science in Applied Psychology degree at the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. The researcher is also on the staff of the USC Aviation Safety and Security Program. Thank you, and please contact us with any questions, Daniel Scalese - Researcher scalese@usc.edu Michael Nguyen - Faculty Advisor nguyenmv@usc.edu Curt Lewis