March 15, 2021 - No. 20 In This Issue : 'Net zero aviation is the future': Aerospace manufacturing projects secure £90m in government backing : Airline Plans Electric Passenger Flights In 2026 : Hydrogen-powered planes: pie in the sky? : What future holds for Rolls-Royce post-pandemic : Northvolt Acquires Cuberg To Commercialize Lithium Metal Cells : KCAA receives go-ahead to charge for use of drones : G42 and Serco partner up to fast track digitalisation in the transport, healthcare and aviation sectors : Oman Air wins Skytrax 5-star rating for health & safety : Female Qantas pilot who claimed PTSD ended her 'dream career' is suing airline for $780,000 for allegedly not maintaining their planes properly after a mid-air engine failure : Marine Corps' Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum to Close Permanently : SpaceX sets new booster reuse mark with Starlink launch 'Net zero aviation is the future': Aerospace manufacturing projects secure £90m in government backing Aerospace R&D projects aimed at boosting efficiencies, creating jobs, and driving green innovation across the plane manufacturing sector are among successful bidders sharing £90m of new backing from the UK government, which claimed the funding would help the wider industry "build back greener" from the Covid-19 crisis. The government announced five projects on Friday which would share the new funding, as part of a package it claimed could secure 1,400 jobs across the stricken aerospace and aviation sector, which has been hit hard by the pandemic-related travel restrictions over the past year. The funding is being channelled through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, which aims to improve manufacturing within the industry by developing technology to make production lines quicker, more efficient, and cost-effective, according to the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). A particular focus of the latest funding announced on Friday is on creating lightweight materials and parts for planes that can help to reduce how much fuel is used, and which could potentially be adopted onto future hybrid and electric planes, it explained. "Net Zero aviation is the future and this cash injection will boost capabilities as we look to build back greener and make businesses sustainable in the future," said Aviation Minister Robert Courts. "We are committed to working closely with industry, including through the Jet Zero Council, to accelerate the development of new aviation technology and Sustainable Aviation Fuels to help us realise net zero flight." Among those securing funding are the Bristol-based ASCEND project - which stands for Aerospace and Automotive Supply Chain Enabled Development - which has secured a £19.6m grant matched by £20m from industry to develop technologies and tools for manufacturing lightweight composites for sustainable aircraft, cars and future mobility. The consortium's work, which is led by GKN Aerospace and includes manufacturers such as McLaren Automotive, could help support the rapid growth in low emission aircraft and automotive sectors as hybrid and electric aircraft concepts become mainstream, the government said. In addition, £24.4m of investment over four years - encompassing a £13.2m government grant match-funded by industry - has been offered to a Gloucestershire project which aims to develop a 3D metal printing machine to build larger aerospace components and mass produce smaller parts. The consortium leading the project - dubbed LAMDA - said it hoped the project would help to reduce manufacturing costs as well as helping produce smaller, lighter components to help contribute to the development of net zero aviation technologies. Minister for Small Business, Consumers, and Labour Markets Paul Scully said the multi-million-pound cash injection would "safeguard vital jobs and support the aerospace sector as it builds back stronger after the pandemic". "Manufacturing is at the very heart of UK industry, and innovative processes will ensure that the UK is at the forefront of global efforts as we develop technology that can power a green aviation revolution," he added. https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4028459/net-zero-aviation-future-aerospace-manufacturing-projects-secure-gbp90m-government-backing Airline Plans Electric Passenger Flights In 2026 Norwegian airline Wideroe says it will offer scheduled service using electric aircraft by 2026 and expects to be emissions-free on all domestic flights by 2040. The airline is working with Rolls-Royce and Tecnam to put the 11-seat P-volt to work on the numerous short-hop routes it flies in the rugged country. “Norway’s extensive network of short take-off and landing airports is ideal for zero emissions technologies,” Wideroe CEO Stein Nilsen told designboom.com. “This aircraft shows how quickly new technology can and will be developed, and that we are on track with our ambition of flying with zero emissions around 2025.” The P-volt is based on Tecnam’s P-2012 commuter airliner, which is powered by Lycoming TEO-540 engines. The P-volt is fully electric, including propulsion, heating, air conditioning and anti-ice systems and is designed for full power availability on quick turnarounds with its “dedicated battery technology.” The plane will also have lower operating costs and make a lot less noise than the piston alternatives. Tecnam hasn’t released specs for the P-volt but the piston version cruises at about 180 knots and stalls at 68 knots and is designed for short field operation. Many of Wideroe’s routes are 30 minutes or less of flight time and some are less than 10 minutes. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/airline-plans-electric-passenger-flights-in-2026/ Hydrogen-powered planes: pie in the sky? The Apix fertiliser factory outside West Palm Beach, Florida was one of the great deceits of the cold war era. Built in the late 1950s, it was a front for the world’s largest liquefied hydrogen plant and part of a secret project to develop a hydrogen-powered spy plane. Two years after Project Suntan started, it shut down. The challenges of delivering a hydrogen-fuelled aircraft of the right size and range were too great. More than 60 years later, hydrogen is back on the aerospace agenda, even if many of the challenges faced by Project Suntan remain. This time the debate is spurred not by cold war rivalry but by the need to resolve one of commercial aviation’s most urgent challenges: how to radically reduce its role in global warming by 2050, when many countries are committed to net neutrality on carbon emissions under the Paris accord. “Hydrogen is one of the technologies to take us there,” said Grazia Vittadini chief technology officer at Airbus, which is planning to have a zero-emission, hydrogen-powered aircraft ready for service by 2035. The project is a flagship of the EU’s multibillion-euro Covid-19 stimulus package, aimed at greening the bloc’s economy. Yet not everyone shares Airbus’s confidence that the obstacles encountered by Project Suntan can be overcome by 2050. These remain its stability as an aviation fuel, as well as its transportation and storage. Rival Boeing takes a more cautious view. “Our belief is that it will take a while for all the technology and elements of hydrogen propulsion to be worked out before we can get to . . . commercial use,” said Sean Newsum, director of environmental strategy at Boeing Commercial. “Our belief is that sustainable aviation fuels are a higher near-term priority.” Aviation remains one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. Nothing propels a commercial aircraft as efficiently and economically as fossil fuel. Before the pandemic grounded the world’s passenger fleet, aviation accounted for about 2.4 per cent of global emissions. Including non-carbon effects such as nitrogen oxide and contrails — icy vapour trails left in an aircraft’s wake — aviation’s environmental impact rises to about 3.5 per cent, according to Manchester Metropolitan University’s Aviation and Climate Research group. As other sectors move more quickly to cut their carbon impact, aviation’s share will increase. Although CO2 emissions per passenger flight have fallen 54 per cent since 1990 thanks to better engines and improved operations, the total volume has jumped 34 per cent over the past five years because of rising air traffic. In that context hydrogen looks attractive. With three times the energy density of kerosene, it promises not just net carbon neutrality, but zero CO2 emissions. Hydrogen can also be used to create sustainable synthetic fuels, by combining with carbon captured from the air. Proving the technology is not the problem. A Russian Tupolev-155 flew on liquid hydrogen in 1988. KLM last month completed the first flight using synthetic fuel. Yet both forms have limitations that raise questions over their commercial viability. Liquid hydrogen, which is easier to store onboard than gas, has to be kept at -253C or it boils off. The tanks to contain it are not only heavier but four times the size of conventional fuel storage. This imposes constraints on range and capacity that commercial aviation may struggle to accept. Hydrogen fuel cell systems also have weight challenges. One aero-engine executive estimated that “you would have to remove 25 per cent of the passengers” from a conventional single-aisle aircraft to fit in fuel tanks. Even the keenest advocates admit hydrogen technology will initially be limited to smaller, shorter-range aircraft. “The crossover point is probably around the . . . 100-seat size ,” said Val Miftakhov, founder of ZeroAvia, a California-based start-up developing a hydrogen power-train system for aircraft. “Below that you can get away with existing aircraft design but with some mission constraints.” For example, an aircraft carrying 20 passengers might fly about 500 nautical miles, against the 1,000nm achieved with fossil fuels, he said. Roughly half of all flights are below 500nm, he adds. The result is that hydrogen — much like electric batteries — is not likely to serve the dirtiest segment of aviation in any substantial way before 2050, and not without a radical redesign of aircraft. Flights of more than 1,500km account for roughly 80 per cent of the sector’s carbon emissions, according to the industry’s Air Transport Action Group. “It is clear the long-range segment will not be able to fly on zero-emission fuel, said Airbus’s Vittadini, although she does not rule out that this could change as technology progresses. But even for the shorter-range aircraft, hydrogen’s deployment would require billions of dollars of investment in infrastructure, transport and storage. Airlines could also face increased operational complexities and higher costs from mixed fleets. “Switching to direct hydrogen adds decades into the transition,” said David Joffe, of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, the advisory body to the government. Synthetic fuels are not straightforward either. The creation of so-called power-to-liquid or e-fuels requires huge amounts of green electricity, which makes them very expensive — and massive investment is needed in both renewable energy and fuel production to cut the cost. Synthetic fuels also emit carbon, although only what has been taken from the atmosphere. “The cost of these e-fuels in the 2030s could be as low as today’s low-cost biofuels,” said Daniel Riefer, aviation partner at consultants McKinsey. “But you cannot scale up right away.” E-fuels have one big advantage. Like clean biofuel, they can be dropped into the tanks of today’s aircraft and use existing fuel infrastructure. “The benefit of sustainable aviation fuel is that we don’t have to change very much,” said Russ Dunn, CTO at GKN Aerospace. GKN is working on hydrogen propulsion and sustainable fuel technologies. Dunn said a variety of solutions will be needed to keep the global fleet flying. “There will be conventional aircraft flying for decades. If we can enable those to burn sustainable fuel rather than fossil fuel that has got to be a good thing.” Roland Gerhards, head of Germany’s ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research, said more work was needed to establish the true costs — both financial and environmental — of sustainable fuels vs hydrogen-powered flight. Hydrogen propulsion may not emit carbon but it will expel more water vapour than kerosene, perhaps contributing to contrails. Nor does hydrogen completely eliminate nitrogen oxide. “We are at the very beginning of understanding these technologies,” said Gerhards. “We are doing the research. We have to be honest and say we don’t have the answers.” Paul Stein, CTO at Rolls-Royce, said vested interests are driving the debate about hydrogen versus sustainable fuel. “Many people would like to preserve the status quo and there are others who see a whole new industry in which they can participate,” he said. The answer would not be one or the other, but a mix, he added. Airlines are watching the debate closely. David Morgan, director of flight operations at easyJet, said the low-cost carrier would be at the front of the queue when hydrogen aircraft finally come to market. With the majority of European routes coming in at less than 1,500km, hydrogen could be viable. “I would like to think by 2035 easyJet has ordered its first batch of zero-emissions, short-haul aircraft,” Morgan said. “Ultimately the goal should be to strive towards zero environmental emissions.” But Britain’s CCC is not counting on the technology to make a big difference by 2050. “We are not that bullish on hydrogen in aviation,” Joffe said. “In emissions terms it’s the longer-distance flights that are much more important.” In private, aerospace executives agreed. But they also know that with so much government funding for hydrogen, there is a risk outsiders will disrupt the business models that have defined global aerospace for decades. “There is a new way of thinking about the propulsion system as a whole,” said one senior French aerospace executive. “Using a cryogenic [ultra-low temperature] fuel onboard an aircraft is somehow a game changer.” Paul Eremenko, former CTO at Airbus and United Technologies and founder of logistics start-up Universal Hydrogen, wants to be one of those disrupters. “It is very difficult to get the industry to do this from the inside because there is a mindset of incrementalism,” he said. “This requires a paradigm shift, a disruptive change, and it is easier to do that as an external disrupter than to do it from the inside.” Nevertheless, even incumbents agreed that in the longer term hydrogen will find its place in commercial aviation. “Somewhere there is likely to be a role for hydrogen and we will be ready,” said Michael Winter, senior fellow for advanced technology at US aero-engine group Pratt & Whitney. “But hydrogen will be really hard. Not insurmountable, but really hard.” https://www.ft.com/content/7099d84c-07b8-4970-b826-ac28b4e59841 What future holds for Rolls-Royce post-pandemic Engineering giant Rolls-Royce is feeling the pain of the pandemic. The aerospace manufacturer has plunged to a loss of £4bn in the last financial year as air travel restrictions remain in place across the globe. Chief executive Warren East said 2020 was "unprecedented", with the impact of Covid "felt most acutely" by the firm's civil aerospace business. The company, which has UK bases in Derby, in the East Midlands, and Filton, near Bristol, is undergoing a huge restructure in a bid to cut costs and future-proof the business. Last year, Rolls-Royce announced plans to shed 9,000 jobs from its global workforce of 52,000. Then, in November, it said it was cutting another 1,400 roles, including 950 jobs in its civil aerospace division worldwide, including in the UK, and a further 420 across its global facilities. But it is not the first time in its history Rolls-Royce has been under significant financial strain. Fifty years ago the business went bankrupt. In the lead up to its 1971 collapse, Rolls-Royce racked up huge losses developing the RB211 turbofan engine for US aerospace company Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s new L-1011 TriStar - a medium-to-long-range trijet airliner. According to Dr Steve Wright, an aerospace expert at the University of the West of England, who worked at Rolls-Royce in the late 1980s, the company was attempting to use a new manufacturing technique that didn’t work. The business was forced to liquidate and was later bailed out by Prime Minister Edward Heath’s Conservative government after politicians called it a "major national tragedy". The business remained nationalised until 1987. But, 50 years on from its bankruptcy, what does the future hold for Rolls-Royce? Dr Wright believes the company’s prospects are “much more sanguine” today. “You can hang on by your fingernails because nothing happens quickly in the aerospace industry. Every 10 or 12 years the world airline industry is hit by some major shock [but] the aviation economy always catches back up. “I don’t think the current crisis is an existential threat. We’re halfway through two years of pain and it’s hurting.” One of the reasons Rolls-Royce is particularly vulnerable to the switching off of air travel, according to Dr Wright, is because it leases its engines to airlines, which pay a fee for every hour they are in the air. “So if planes aren’t flying [Rolls-Royce] isn’t getting paid,” he explained. “When this spigot of cash gets turned back on, they are quite well positioned to take it up quickly as they are closely tied into the airline market. It crashed quickly and it will climb out quickly as well.” Rolls-Royce appears to be investing heavily in green technology too. But will the aerospace giant be shifting its focus to concentrate its operations in this area in the longer term? The company has already announced its technology will be used to power a drone-like all-electric ‘flying taxi’ that is being developed in Bristol. And, earlier this month, it said the world’s fastest all-electric plane was a matter of weeks from taking to the air for the first time. According to Dr Wright, Rolls-Royce’s foray into electric technologies is a “probing exercise”. “It’s decades away before [that type of technology] becomes bigger than gas turbines, which is what is used for our current engines. “It’s not easy for a company of Rolls-Royce’s size to manoeuvre. The announcements around electric is the company’s way of declaring its intent about spreading its bets for the future. “The electric story is interesting - it’s novel and it has the capability to change the way we live our lives, but it’s going to take 10 years to play out at least. Rolls-Royce just needs to hang in there for now.” https://www.business-live.co.uk/manufacturing/what-future-holds-rolls-royce-20102912 Northvolt Acquires Cuberg To Commercialize Lithium Metal Cells Northvolt recently announced the acquisition of the U.S.-based battery technology company Cuberg founded in 2015 as a spin out of Stanford University. Financial details of the transaction were not released. Cuberg is engaged in the development of next-generation lithium-ion battery cells that combines a new "groundbreaking liquid electrolyte" with a lithium metal anode. According to the press release, those new cells will offer high energy density, lower price point, better performance and increased safety. An important thing from a commercialization standpoint is that Northvolt expects to produce those new cells using existing lithium-ion manufacturing lines for electromobility solutions. The plan is to start with electric aviation and then move to electric vehicles. "Critically, Cuberg’s technology addresses the biggest challenge with emerging battery technologies, which is effective manufacturing scale-up. Cuberg has already demonstrated compatibility of its technology with the existing lithium-ion manufacturing ecosystem, which minimizes time to market and enables rapid commercial deployment in the electromobility market. The new technology will be deployed at scale in electromobility markets within three years, beginning with electric aviation." The energy density of the Cuberg cells is described as 70% higher than "comparable lithium-ion cells designed for high-rate electric aviation applications.". The production version is expected to offer more than 1,000 Wh/L in 2025. On the company's website, we found some additional numbers - from an independent testing and verification process conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy - like 369 Wh/kg and an output of 2,000 W/kg, which are really good results. However, the cycle life is just 370 at C/2 current, which is a rather low load (for electric cars). "Cuberg’s batteries, based on its breakthrough electrolyte technology for lithium metal anode, are optimally designed for commercialization. Validated by trusted third parties the cells deliver more than 70 percent increased range and capacity versus comparable lithium-ion cells designed for high-rate electric aviation applications. Building on this foundation, Northvolt and Cuberg will mature its automotive and industrial product portfolio with the ambition to industrialize cells in 2025 that exceed 1,000 Wh/L, while meeting the full spectrum of automotive customer requirements." Anyway, the company already has multiple investors and financial backers including Boeing HorizonX Ventures, Activate.org, the California Energy Commission, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the TomKat Center at Stanford, while the list of customers (for a small series of special cells, we believe) include Boeing, BETA Technologies, Ampaire and VoltAero. Based on the Cuberg acquisition, Northvolt will now establish an advanced technology center in Silicon Valley (they are actively hiring by the way) to accelerate the lithium metal cell development and optimize the technology for automotive applications. https://insideevs.com/news/494003/northvolt-cuberg-commercialize-lithium-metal-cells/ KCAA receives go-ahead to charge for use of drones The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has received the go-ahead to operationalise the Civil Aviation (Regulatory Fees and Charges for Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Regulations, 2020, after they were acceded to by the National Assembly on March 6. The proposed charges had been gazetted by the CS for Transport James Macharia, under Legal Notice No. 4 of 2021 on January 22, 2021. The approval of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2020 paves the way for full implementation of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) regulatory framework in Kenya. These charges are a reduction from the revoked rates under the Kenya Civil Aviation (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems)Regulations, 2017. Under the new cost structure, Kenyans and entities wishing to own and operate Unmanned Aircraft Systems popularly known as drones, will now pay a Sh3,000 registration fee. Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Director General, Gilbert Kibe, said the gazettement of the Regulations heralded a new era in the country’s aviation ecosystem by opening up the sector to innovations. “Innovation in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) has been accelerating at such an exponential rate. The capabilities of this technology are limitless –from the positives such as filming movies, documentaries, sports, weddings and delivering medicines," Kibe said Individuals or entities that have already imported UAS are encouraged to apply to the KCAA for registration and approval to lawfully engage in safe and secure drone operations of all types. The operations could include precision agriculture, wildlife management, inspection of power grid, building, dams, solar inspection, research, crop spraying and data collection, forest management, road traffic monitoring and surveillance and aerial mapping. The Civil Aviation (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Regulations, 2020 categorises drones based on the risks posed by their operations, from low risks to high risks under categories A, B and C. The purpose of the UAS, and risk to public safety and security form the basis for consideration by the Authority in registering, issuing of approvals and authorizations for operations. In an era where privacy of persons and property is an important issue, the regulations have made provisions that ensure such discretion is respected as provided in the constitution and other national laws. Additionally, KCAA will be undertaking public sensitisation on the application and implication of the regulations. In Kenya, only citizens, residents, businesses and governments are eligible to own a drone. This excludes foreign tourists and the only option left is to rent a drone locally. However, the law also provides for a 30-day temporary permit that may be suitable for travelers. https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2021-03-15-kcaa-receives-go-ahead-to-charge-for-use-of-drones/ G42 and Serco partner up to fast track digitalisation in the transport, healthcare and aviation sectors UAE based AI and cloud computing specialist Group 42 is set to team up with Serco to fast track the digitalisation across the region and sharpen the focus on harnessing the full power of big data. The pair will target government clients across the aviation, smart city and healthcare sectors, with Serco leveraging G42’s cloud computing infrastructure and expertise in the field of artificial intelligence. “We are committed to growing our business in the region and working with local partners to bridge capability gaps," Phil Malem, CEO of Serco Middle East, told reporters from The National newspaper. "As a technology led business enabled by people, we immediately saw a strategic fit with G42.” The pair will combine their resources to target a number clients across a range of industries. Serco Middle East already has a strong presence in the UAE, Qatar, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and will look to consolidate its position in the region through its collaboration with G42. “Companies across industries need to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives,” Peng Xiao, chief executive of G42, said. “We are confident that with our unique AI expertise and secure cloud computing infrastructure, we will be able, together with Serco, to provide customers with data-driven insights to make better business decisions, streamline efficiencies, foster innovation and drive value,” he added. https://www.itp.net/infrastructure/cloud/96548-g42-and-serco-partner-up-to-fast-track-digitalisation-in-the-transport-healthcare-and-aviation-sectors Oman Air wins Skytrax 5-star rating for health & safety Oman Air, the national carrier of Oman, continues to ensure the highest levels of guest and staff safety with ongoing precautionary measures at airports and on-board its aircraft. In recognition of these efforts, Skytrax, a UK-based consultancy that runs an airline and airport review and ranking site, has certified the airline with its 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating and its 5-Star COVID-19 Lounge Safety Rating at Muscat International Airport. Abdulaziz Al-Raisi, CEO of Oman Air, said: “With COVID-19 a persisting reality for global aviation, we continue to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests and employees at all times. Earning 5-star certification in two separate Skytrax categories highlights the importance we place — and have always placed — on health and safety, and reiterates our responsibility to make flying as safe as possible for our guests and crew throughout the pandemic and beyond.” The COVID-19 safety audit was conducted in January, evaluating a mixture of long haul and regional flights, including the COVID-19 safety standards of the service and facilities at the home base of Muscat International Airport. During February, Oman Air made additional improvements to its COVID-19 procedures to meet the required 5-star rating standards. Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, said: “Oman Air had an enforced break from flying during 2020 and used this time to effectively map out safe travel systems for both customers and staff. The range and quality of measures observed during the recent COVID-19 audit is commendable for not only facilitating appropriate coronavirus protection measures, but doing this in a way that retains a good customer experience in terms of both product and service standards.” The all-encompassing measures were implemented to optimize safety both on the ground and in the air, with careful attention placed on strict social distancing and minimal interactions from start to finish. Entry to Muscat International Airport is monitored by thermal scanners, and temperature checks are mandatory for all guests and employees. Protective barriers maintain safe interaction distances between guests and check-in staff, and floor signage around the airport, including waiting areas, reminds guests and staff to maintain a safe distance at all times. Masks are mandatory for all guests throughout their journey, and for all staff at all times. In the air, food and beverages continue to be offered in the form of bento-style boxes to reduce contact between guests and crew during meal service. Carry-on items are limited to laptop, handbag, briefcase and baby items; all other items must be checked. To further reduce the risk of contact spread, magazines and other printed material are temporarily unavailable and guests can rest assured that only fully sanitized headsets, headrest covers, pillow covers, and blankets are handed out on their flight. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1825431/corporate-news Female Qantas pilot who claimed PTSD ended her 'dream career' is suing airline for $780,000 for allegedly not maintaining their planes properly after a mid-air engine failure A female pilot is suing Qantas for nearly $800,000 claiming they 'breached their duty of care' after suffering a post-traumatic stress disorder when a plane experienced a midflight engine failure. Jacinda Cottee, 43, was the first officer aboard a Boeing 717 aircraft travelling from Alice Springs to Brisbane in March of 2018 when one of the aircraft's engines failed. The plane was safely landed in the Queensland capital an hour later but in documents lodged in court Ms Cottee alleges QantasLink have 'poor maintenance practices' and have ended her 'dream career', The Australian reported. Ms Cottee, who is recognised as the first woman of colour to be a Qantas pilot, was the lead officer for Cobham ¬Aviation aboard flight QF1799 from Alice Springs on Saturday March 18, 2018 when one of the vehicle's engines failed about 550 kilometres north of its destination Brisbane. The flight was delayed an hour and 20 minutes from when it was scheduled to depart. Passengers onboard the flight reported hearing a loud banging noise before the plane began to shake. The flight crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Brisbane Airport an hour after the failure, with inspections on the ground revealing damage to the compressor blades of the engine. It was the second incident Ms Cottee had experienced involving aircraft engine issues after also being onboard a QantasLink flight from Hobart to Melbourne that encountered similar problems. The 43-year-old says she has developed PTSD from the second incident and alleged in court that QantasLink had 'overlooked safety'. 'The claimant says that the maintenance when the accident occurred was largely performed in Canberra (and) due to poor maintenance practices with the 717 aircraft, the maintenance was ultimately moved from Canberra to Singapore,' Slater and Gordon Lawyers acting on behalf of Ms Cottee said in a statement of claim. 'Further, the 717 aircraft was removed from service on the Hobart route due to ongoing issues with maintenance.' 'QantasLink breached their duty of care by failing to perform proper maintenance on the Boeing 717 aircraft,' Principal lawyer Kavita Maharaj said in the statement. 'By overlooking safety, they put their pilot, crew and passengers at risk. Ms Cottee has been left with a psychological injury, leaving her unable to fly and pursue her dream career.' Ms Cottee is seeking $783,811 in damages and costs from QantasLink for loss of past and future earnings. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Qantas said they intend to defend the claims and say the engine malfunction was determined to be a manufacturing fault from Rolls Royce. 'The cause of the engine issue from the flight in March 2018 was investigated and Rolls-Royce determined it was a manufacturing fault and not related to maintenance,' a Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'All Qantas aircraft are maintained to the highest safety standards, and our fleet of Boeing 717 aircraft have a 99.99% reliability rate. This is the only engine shut down on QantasLink’s B717 fleet over a five-year period.' 'Like all pilots, the first officer had been trained on how to respond in the event of an engine power failure.' Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Ms Cottee for comment. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9362091/Qantas-pilot-suing-Qantas-suffering-PTSD-midflight-engine-failure.html Marine Corps' Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum to Close Permanently The Marine Corps will permanently close its only museum devoted solely to aviation on March 28 -- a decision the institution's foundation and volunteers have worked for the past decade to avoid. The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, attracts more than 35,000 visitors each year. Its collection of 48 aircraft includes the CH-46E Sea Knight that evacuated the U.S. ambassador from the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon in 1975, an OV-10 Bronco observation plane and a World War II PBJ-IJ medium bomber. The museum is run jointly by the Marine Corps and the Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation. But in an era of tight budgets, the service determined it can no longer contribute the $460,000 it has provided annually to pay five employees and cover the costs of maintenance and utilities. Miramar commander Col. Charles Dockery made the decision to close the museum earlier this year, according to Capt. Matthew Gregory, director of communications for the base "The $460,000 is not a one-time purchase but a year-over-year cost that now equates upward of $8 million in monies over the last two decades," Gregory said. "This is just the amount necessary to maintain the status quo, including facilities that are well beyond their service life. And unfortunately, the status quo is not acceptable for the long term." In addition to housing and restoring aircraft, the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum holds more than 30,000 artifacts, including aviation art and equipment. But according to retired Brig. Gen. Michael Aguilar, president of the foundation, the facility is more than a collection of relics; it attracts school field trips, serves as an event venue -- provided at no cost -- to veterans organizations and community groups, and is a popular destination for Marine Corps recruiters to bring poolees. "This free museum is an important part of a strong community outreach program. That's now going to be lost," Aguilar said. The museum was founded in 1989 on the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as the Jay W. Hubbard Aviation Museum. Until 2003, much of the cost for running it was covered by non-appropriated funds -- money raised from sources other than federal appropriations, mainly sales and services at military exchanges and recreational facilities. But that year, a decision was made that NAF accounts couldn't be used to operate the museum, and it fell to the base's operations department. From 2008 to 2017, the foundation and the Corps went back and forth on proposals to construct a new building and plans for the foundation to take over the museum's operations and financing. Last year, the House version of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act carried a provision that would have allowed the foundation to assume a no-cost lease for the land the museum currently occupies. But the Senate bill did not contain the measure, and it never became law. Under federal law, the foundation must pay fair market value to lease the acreage if it wants to assume operations and management -- "a substantial and recurring amount [the foundation has] acknowledged would be beyond their ability to fund," Gregory said. Gregory said the Marine Corps will not immediately recoup the annual funding because the employees will need to stay on for a few years to manage the relocation or disposal of the museum's artifacts. He said two museums are primarily responsible for the artifacts -- the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia, and the National Navy Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. But other museums have expressed interest in acquiring several aircraft, including the U.S.S. Midway Museum in San Diego, the San Diego Air and Space Museum, and the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona. "We firmly believe that working with these organizations and museums around the country will help get the aircraft to people who might otherwise not travel to Miramar or even San Diego," Gregory said. Aguilar said he understands Dockery's decision but added that his organization is still working to come up with a solution to save the museum. "We all understand that the priority is to take care of the warfighter. We get that. We are really trying to continue to work with him and the Marine Corps to come up with a solution that is a win-win for the Corps and the museum," he said. David Zekert, volunteer coordinator at the museum, said he hopes the foundation can reach an agreement with the Corps because he believes the facility, which helps connect former service members and their aircraft to members of the community, is invaluable. "It gets people inspired a little bit, a little bit of that feeling of being American, you know -- the red, white and blue. I don't see that happen very much anymore," Zekert said. The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is one of three command museums in the Corps; the others are at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, and MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina. The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a joint effort between the Corps and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. It falls under the command of Marine Corps University. SpaceX sets new booster reuse mark with Starlink launch WASHINGTON — A Falcon 9 launched another set of Starlink satellites March 14, with the rocket’s first stage setting a record with its ninth launch and landing. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 6:01 a.m. Eastern. The upper stage deployed its payload of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit 65 minutes later, bringing the size of the broadband internet constellation to 1,260 satellites. The launch was the eighth for the Falcon 9 this year, and took place a little more than 72 hours after another Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites. Six of the eight Falcon 9 launches this year have been dedicated to Starlink, and one of the other two, the Transporter-1 dedicated rideshare flight, also carried 10 Starlink satellites. The rocket’s first stage landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean eight and a half minutes after liftoff. That booster was on its ninth flight, a record for the Falcon 9. The rocket, which first launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the uncrewed Demo-1 mission in March 2019, later launched the Radarsat Constellation Mission and the SXM-7 satellite for SiriusXM. It launched five Starlink missions before this one, including the booster’s previous flight Jan. 20. The booster is now approaching the goal SpaceX set of being able to fly 10 times. However, one company official recently said it may be possible to exceed that goal. “We’re learning a lot about refurbishment and we’re learning where the areas are where we need to pay attention to,” said Hans Koenigsmann, senior adviser for build and flight reliability at SpaceX, during a panel discussion at the 47th Spaceport Summit last month. Those areas that require special attention include the booster’s heat shield and engine components. “We’ve been learning with every single landing.” Some of those lessons have been hard ones. One booster failed to land after a Feb. 15 launch, breaking a streak of successful landings lasting nearly a year. The company later said an engine shut down during flight when hot gas got through a hole in an engine cover that was a “life leader” in the Falcon 9 fleet, with more launches than any others in the Falcon 9 fleet. The shutdown meant the booster did not have enough thrust for a landing on a droneship. “The more you fly, the more you learn,” Benji Reed, senior director for human spaceflight programs at SpaceX, said of the failed landing at a March 1 briefing about the upcoming NASA Crew-2 commercial crew mission. “That’s a great lesson that we learned from these very long life leader components and vehicles.” Those lessons, he said, included revised plans to inspect and replace components Once a booster reaches the milestone of 10 flights, “we will continue to look at that booster and make an assessment whether we can move forward with it,” Koenigsmann said. He suggested the booster may be able to continue to operate, perhaps after replacing some components that wear out. “I don’t think the number 10 is a magic number.” https://spacenews.com/spacex-sets-new-booster-reuse-mark-with-starlink-launch/ Curt Lewis