Seawind Saga: Pilot who crashed in Lake Michigan had 7 crashes in 7 days

Dennis Collier, a licensed Traverse City pilot, paid $110,000 for the 2010 Seawind on a Saturday, ended up in the drink a week later, and on the way crashed — by his own account — seven times, in seven days in four states. (www.record-eagle.com) More...

Airbus officially confirms the A350F

FRANKFURT, GERMANY — European planemaker Airbus now targets one of Boeing’s most profitable strongholds with plans for a freighter version of its A350 passenger jet.Airbus, today, officially announced the upcoming freighter version of its new-generation passenger jet Airbus A350. “We believe we have a very promising aircraft,” Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said after unveiling better-than-expected half-year results. (www.airlinerwatch.com) More...

149 Kg Concorde RC Model - Simply Amazing!

I hope this isn’t inappropriate for this forum but I can’t think of an audience more likely to be inclined to appreciate it. Just when you think you’ve seen it all... (youtube.com) More...

Aviation Stats Update: July 30, 2021

"Europe's commercial airline traffic surged 171% in the past three months, starting with an average of 6,667 airline flights in a day (the week of April 20), then soaring this week to an average of 18,041 airline flights in a day. " (blog.flightaware.com) More...

Aviation enthusiast potentially saves pilot's life after seeing sparks coming from his plane

Photographer and aviation enthusiast Ian Simpson has lived in the East Anglia region of England all his life, and one of his favorite things to do is photograph planes at Royal Air Force bases in the area. But on the morning of July 13, he realized something wasn't quite right as he watched jets taking off at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, about 70 miles northeast of London. The base is run by the US Air Force and is home to the 48th Fighter Wing, the only US Air Force F-15 fighter wing in… (www.cnn.com) More...

A 200 hp Turboprop For Homebuilts

Looking for a little more ramp appeal in your homebuilt? Is AvGas hard to come by at your home field? Or have you just always longed to be the one throwing the fuel to a turbine instead of just listening to the whine from afar as a turboprop comes to life? TurbAero is on site at AirVenture with a turboprop in development that might just give popular four- and six-cylinder homebuilt engines a run for their money. (www.planeandpilotmag.com) More...

Startup Avelo Airlines Adds 4 New Routes From Los Angeles

Burbank Airport-based Avelo Airlines is launching four new routes from the airport this fall. Over September and October, Avelo will begin nonstop flights to Monterey, CA, Fort Collins-Loveland, CO, and Provo and St. George, UT. The new flights will see Avelo flying to 12 destinations from Burbank over the coming months. (simpleflying.com) More...

American Air to Buy JetSmart Stake, Expand South America Flying

American Airlines Group Inc. agreed to buy a stake in JetSmart Airlines SpA, a privately held, low-cost carrier based in Chile, and establish a partnership that the larger carrier hinted could open the door to additional deals with other discounters operated by Indigo Partners LLC. American will spend an undisclosed amount for an unspecified minority stake in JetSmart, one of several airlines owned by Bill Franke’s Indigo, the carriers said Thursday. Terms of a letter of intent are being worked… (www.yahoo.com) More...

Alaska Airlines pioneers A.I. to plan flight routes, saving fuel and time

One morning last week, Alaska Airlines flight 1380 thundered down the runway of the Seattle-Tacoma Airport and ascended into clear blue skies, bound for San Diego. The flight pushed back from the gate five minutes ahead of its 6:10 a.m. scheduled departure time. But its journey really began several hours earlier, about a mile away from the airport, on the sixth floor of Alaska Airlines’ new steel and glass headquarters building, known as “The Hub.” (fortune.com) More...

A Non-Pilot Spouse’s Perspective on Oshkosh

It has been more than 15 years since my husband, Jack, started attending EAA AirVenture Oshkosh — the largest air show in the world! He always had more vacation than me, and he used his extra time to drive from Winnipeg to Wisconsin with friends, who were also pilots, and take in the event. When he returned home he had tales of more than 10,000 airplanes, three-quarter of a million people coming through the gates, and concerts put on by groups such as the Beach Boys and the Lt. Dan Band. He went… (inspire.eaa.org) More...

Caught on camera: 5 men arrested after disturbance over mask mandate at Fort Lauderdale airport

Five people were told to leave a Spirit Airlines flight out of Fort Lauderdale Friday night after they refused to wear masks inside the plane, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office. After they left the plane, the disruption continued to spill over inside Terminal 4 when BSO deputies arrived. That’s when two of the men were arrested after reportedly shoving deputies and the other three also taken into custody. Spirit Airlines personnel had reportedly asked the men identified as William J.… (www.local10.com) More...

Boeing 777s Retired: Delta Air Lines’ Widebody Development

With all Boeing 777s retired, Delta has six widebody types this year. Having overtaken the B767-300ER, the A330-300 is now number-one. We explore Delta’s widebody development and look at all six types in turn. (simpleflying.com) More...

Why Titanium Makes Russia A Key Country For Airbus

Titanium is a vital element in regard to the production of planes across the globe. It can be found all across different parts of an airliner. With this in mind, Airbus has to ensure that it has the right supply of this metal for its operations. (simpleflying.com) More...

In Photos: Inside Russia’s New Narrowbody Jet: The MC-21-300

I had reported on the MC-21 several times before I was invited to have a look inside the aircraft. Therefore, I was already familiar with the specifications. For instance, Rostec, the powerhouse behind the designers of the build, has been keen to highlight the jet’s high bypass ratio and improved aerodynamics due to its high aspect ratio wings that are made of composite materials for the first time on a plane of this class. (simpleflying.com) More...

5 United Airlines Customers Win Free Flights For A Year

On Thursday, United Airlines announced the lucky winners in its ‘Your shot to fly’ sweepstakes. As an incentive for people to get vaccinated in hopes of restarting travel sooner, the carrier put a full year of free air travel to any of its global destinations up for grabs for five of its MileagePlus loyalty members willing to get the jab. (simpleflying.com) More...

Nevada (Reno - Tahoe) airport faces flight delays from jet fuel shortage

While more than just one factor, seems article implies lack of fuel delivery due to truck driver shortages. I truly wonder how that could be and that there is not more to the story not being told.... (www.yahoo.com) More...

The FAA Changed Its Definition of 'Astronaut' on the Same Day Jeff Bezos Went to Space

Jeff Bezos is a lot of things. A tax-dodging megalomaniac. A Dr. Evil lookalike. A weirdly horny cowboy hat enthusiast. The one thing he isn’t—at least as far as the Federal Aviation Administration is concerned—is an astronaut. (gizmodo.com) More...

Aircraft reactivation: has how we store aircraft changed?

The operational ecosystem of a commercial aircraft relies on its near-continual use. The average lifetime of a jet can span anywhere between 20 to 30 years, where it will experience up to 50000 flight hours and approximately 75000 pressurization cycles before operational fatigue begins and the aircraft is eventually retired. (www.aerotime.aero) More...

JetBlue Already Feels The Impact Of Transatlantic Travel Ban

JetBlue’s recent earnings call revealed changes to its planned London schedule from September, in light of the continuation of the US travel ban from the UK. Flights will begin as planned with a daily rotation between JFK and London Heathrow, but will scale back to four flights per week from September. (simpleflying.com) More...

New aircraft for Condor: Airbus A330-900neo as of autumn 2022

The 2-litre aircraft is ready for take-off: Germany's most popular leisure carrier Condor has decided to order 16 Airbus A330-900neo of the latest generation. The Supervisory Board has already agreed. As the German launch customer for the Airbus A330neo, Condor is thus focusing on latest technology, maximum efficiency and the highest level of customer comfort. Fuel consumption per passenger per 100 kilometers will be 2.1 liters, which makes Condor the European frontrunner on long-haul… (condor-newsroom.condor.com) More...

New York and Boston are finally getting a seaplane link with 75 minute flights and fares starting at $395 one way

Tailwind Air is launching seaplane service between New York City and Boston starting August 3. Flights are only 75 minutes long and flyers can show up as late as 10 minutes before departure. Fares start at $395 and as many as four daily flights will be offered starting August 21. New Yorkers and Bostonians will have yet another link as an airline is finally launching seaplane flights between the two cities. (www.yahoo.com) More...

LAX pilot spots another jet pack in the sky

An airline pilot near LAX may have spotted a jet pack on Wednesday night, a report said, as the mysterious sightings in the area’s skies continue. The potential sighting of an object “resembling a jet pack” at about 5,000 feet was made by a Boeing 747 pilot about 15 miles east of the airport, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson told CBSLA in a statement. (nypost.com) More...

Gentle Reminder : Flying Drones In Canada

Just a Gentle Reminder, please follow the url above, for current regulations about flying drones in Canada, also please bear in mind, a missing sign near an airport fence, does not constitute, permission to fly a drone, without permission for blogging or film purposes. Thank you. (tc.canada.ca) More...

Viking has transformed the Canadair into a multi-role aircraft

Video showing the how Viking modernized the Canadair 415. (www.youtube.com) More...