Tag: aircraft

NASA Deploys PC-12 for Advanced Air Mobility Trials

Aviation International News reports that NASA is “deploying a Pilatus PC-12 for test flights in the Cleveland area as part of its work to pave the way for the autonomous operations envisaged for the advanced air mobility sector.” The flights began Thursday and will run through June 25, with the agency’s pilots “following roadways over Cleveland, Lodi, Mansfield, and Medina in Ohio to test communications technology expected to be used by eVTOLs and other new air vehicles.” NASA’s PC-12 “has been fitted with monitors to measure cell tower signal strength at various altitudes in urban, suburban, and rural areas. It will fly no lower than 1,000 feet in populated areas and no lower than 500 feet outside towns.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

How Dangerous Are Bird Strikes to Planes?

The Washington Post reports that the Federal Aviation Administration maintains a database of airplane wildlife strikes, and 97% of the over 2,300 recorded in 2023 so far have been birds. The FAA website says, “Wildlife strikes with aircraft are increasing in the United States and elsewhere. Expanding wildlife populations, increases in number of aircraft movements, a trend toward faster and quieter aircraft, and outreach to the aviation community all have contributed to the observed increase in reported wildlife strikes.”
Full Story (Washington Post)

Used Parts Increasingly Sought to Keep North American Jets in ihe Air

Reuters reports that, amid rising costs and supply-chain shortages, North American airlines and aircraft repair shops increasingly using used and generic parts in keeping jets airworthy. Some brand-name parts makers, such as General Electric Co, “stand to benefit because they also sell used parts, known as used serviceable material,” as do some planemakers, such as Bombardier, which “uses a teardown venture to gain parts for its growing ‘aftermarket’ business.” Honeywell Aerospace Trading expects demand for its used parts “to continue through at least the first half of 2024, said Heath Patrick, president for the Americas aftermarket segment at Honeywell Aerospace.”

 

Airbus Is Hiring Thousands of Workers for Aircraft Production Increase

Reuters reports that Airbus is better prepared for the challenge of securing enough people to handle jet production increases than it was before the pandemic, a senior executive said. The European planemaker plans a two-thirds increase in production of best-selling A320neo-family single-aisle jets to 75 a month in 2026 from 45 now. In Germany, its second-largest base, Airbus plans to hire 3,500 staff for the second year in a row to handle the ramp-up and feed projects on decarbonization and industrial systems.
Full Story (Reuters)

Airbus and Boeing Seek High-Skill Talent in India

Bloomberg reports that The Boeing Company and Airbus “are increasingly looking to India for highly-skilled, low-cost engineers to meet a boom in demand for aircraft and expand their manufacturing presence in the world’s fifth-largest economy.” Airbus is looking to hire 1,000 people in India in 2023, out of 13,000 globally. Boeing already employs approximately 18,000 people in India, including its suppliers.
Full Story (Bloomberg)

Amazon Expands its Air Cargo Service in India

CNBC reports Amazon said Monday it is expanding its air cargo unit, Amazon Air, to India. The company “is using two Boeing 737-800 aircraft flown by Quikjet Cargo Airlines to ship packages across Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.” Amazon Air’s presence in the country “will enable the company to offer faster deliveries to customers in India, said Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, in a statement.” At the same time, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy “is undergoing a broad review of the company’s expenses as it stares down a worsening economic outlook and slowing retail sales.” The company began the largest set of layoffs in its history last week, which is expected to result in the elimination of 18,000 jobs.
Full Story (CNBC)

KF-21 Succeeds in Breaking Sound Barrier

Aviation Week reports that the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 test-flight program “has passed another milestone as the aircraft reached Mach 1 for the first time since taking to the skies in July 2022.” This marks the first time a South Korean-built aircraft has broken the sound barrier.
Full Story (Aviation Week)

World’s Largest Aircraft Flies Record Test Flight Carrying Hypersonic Talon-A

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that the world’s largest aircraft “with a 383-foot wingspan recently took to the skies over the Mojave Desert in California to complete a six-hour test flight for a new record.” The Stratolaunch Roc carrier plane “conducted its second test flight Friday morning while carrying the Talon-A separation test vehicle.” The flight is “a significant step for the company’s progress toward the separation test and its first hypersonic flight of TA-1 within the first half of 2023.” The primary objectives “for Friday’s flight, which is the craft’s ninth take off, included flight outside of the local Mojave area for the first time and evaluation of the separation environment.” Zachary Krevor, chief executive officer and president of Stratolaunch, said in a statement: “Our amazing team is continuing to make progress on our test timeline, and it is through their hard work that we grow closer than ever to safe separation and our first hypersonic flight tests.”
Full Story (Daily Mail)