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Update your awareness of available new and used aircraft – their performance & capabilities
News and updates covering Australia’s airline business & Military aviation sectors
News and updates covering Australia’s airports and aviation infrastructure
News covering safety and regulation issues across Australia
News and editorial from across the Australian general aviation industry
Last Friday (July 23) at about 4.30 pm, somebody slipped an envelope under the door of a Bankstown air operator. Soon afterwards, the operator received a telephone call advising that there was an envelope under his door. Despite the pathetic slapstick comedy of conducting official business in such ways, the message was an extremely serious one, being a CASA advice that the company’s two separate air operator certificates (AOC) were suspended with immediate effect.
Hawker Beechcraft is now reshaping strategies to heighten its Asia Pacific representation in response to the growing regional demand that is reflected in recent and expected deliveries. Hawker Beechcraft sales & demo pilot Gian Grasso says the plans provide full-time availability of demonstrator jets and turboprops which will reside in various areas including the Asia Pacific region as required.
An AviationAdvertiser study has revealed growing nationwide alarm over the future of provincial, rural and capital city secondary airports. Not only airport users, but also community figures are now becoming more conscious of the malpractices and neglect that threaten existing airports that form a vital part of the national transport infrastructure. Airport users blame departmental inertia, indifference, and in some cases negligence, along with political don’t-want-to-know-about-it attitudes, to the plight of these airports. Hearing aviation’s tales of woe from around the nation, we began documenting some of the worst examples, expanded on them in a brief analysis, and then lent our resources to coordinate an approach to Minister Albanese. Small groups or individuals at five selected locations then quickly collected over 1,000 signatures to a letter to the Minister calling on him to use existing laws and contracts to reverse the rot.
University students from our region can help shape the future of flight and try for a €30,000 prize in an Airbus Fly Your Ideas (FYI) global competition to be launched today by Airbus at the Farnborough International Airshow. FYI 2011 follows the success of the inaugural contest launched in October 2008. Some 2,350 students from over 80 countries took part with the multinational team COz from the University of Queensland judged eventual winners at Le Bourget 2009.
One of the world’s highest-achieving aeronautical engineers, former Boeing design engineer Joe Sutter, has been honored by the readers of the world’s top aviation magazine in a presentation at Farnborough International Airshow this week. Acknowledged as the ‘Father of Boeing 747,’ Mr Sutter was credited with leading the development of the iconic 747 jetliner from the point when Boeing decided in 1965 to develop the big widebody that launched a new era in international aviation.
Regional Express Holdings today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, the Wagga-based Australian Airline Pilot Academy (AAPA), will provide pilot training services in cooperation with Boeing-owned Jeppesen in Australia. The Singapore-owned AAPA will train future airline pilots for Jeppesen’s client companies all over the world to the standard required for Australian and international commercial pilot licences.
Airbus Industrie turned lots of heads at Farnborough’s International Airshow yesterday when it unveiled its “engineers’ dream” concept of what air transport might look like in 2050 – or even 2030 if advances in existing technologies continue apace. Airbus drew on its in-house experts for ideas, including specialists in aircraft materials, aerodynamics, structures, cabins and engines.
We previewed it in April last year but Airborne Technologies and Tecnam waited until today to announce it at Farnborough. With a fanfare at the world’s favourite airshow, Austria based Airborne Technologies, active in the field of airborne surveillance, presented a smart & efficient twin engine Tecnam P2006T specially modified for observation, law enforcement, mapping and sensing missions.
Jetstar’s international operations will be the first Qantas Group unit to fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliners – a B787-8 series aircraft – in mid-2012. The planned deliveries have been brought forward by an agreement reached with Boeing to accelerate the delivery of eight of the group’s 50 B787-8s by about two years. Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the Group had firm orders for 50 B787s in place, and remained the second largest airline customer for the Dreamliner.
It probably wouldn’t be among the finalists in any aviation Concourse d’elegance, but after all every aircraft design is something of a compromise. Boeing’s Phantom Eye, unveiled only yesterday, is expected to deliver about a 150 knot true airspeed, and carry a 450 kg payload – the equivalent of four passengers and their golf clubs – well above the weather at 65.000 feet.
New Zealand’s Auditor-General Office (OAG) has delivered a scathing report on the way the NZ Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) meets its safety oversight roles. Controller and Auditor-General Lyn Provost says that her office has carried out four audits since 1997 of the CAA’s certification and surveillance functions for civil aviation operators, the most recent of which examined compliance with earlier reports and recommendations.
Australian Aviation organisations have slammed a $22 million fuel tax hike that starts today. Independent Chair of the Australian Aviation Associations Forum (AAAF), Chris Manning, warned that industry would have to look closely at passing on the new charge to the travelling public as the estimated cost to industry was in about $22 million per year: “The surprise announcement of a 25% increase in fuel tax in the budget has perplexed an industry that is committed to safety but which must keep a close control on any additional costs.”
Kiwis love air shows as least as much as Aussies. Possibly more, now that they have two biennial events in alternative years – on at Wairarapa on the North Island and the South Island’s (until now) better-known Wings Over Wanaka. Now being billed as one of Australasia’s biggest and fastest-growing air shows, New Zealand’s Wings Over Wairarapa 2011, is expected in its 11th year to see this popular event really come of age.
Flying yourself in and out of Canberra might now be about to get as easy and pleasant as it used to be when the world’s most modest GA pilot won his PPL there in 1960. We were even allowed – in fact encouraged – to land and take off on the grass between the runways, and not to waste a lot of radio energy unless we were turning base or wanted to cross a runway that was occupied (or about to be) by a Vickers Viscount or some other now aeronautical fossil.
Was Little Rock’s ground-breaking plan inspired by the Australian government’s seizure and sale of other people’s hangars? The aviators of Little Rock, Arkansas are left wondering who to throw little rocks at. The following article from the USA’s AOPA journal shows how Australia’s leadership in promoting government-enabled robbery has quickly spread to foreign shores.
Hong Kong is piling up further credentials as a prime and growing international air cargo hub. Cathay Pacific has won a new franchise from the Airport Authority of Hong Kong (AAHK) to invest in, design, construct and operate a new air cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport (“HKIA”). And in the same week Cathay Pacific announced a new round-the-world scheduled cargo flight to begin 9 July.
Dubai based Emirates Airline has signed a staggering order for a further 32 A380s from Airbus, taking its total firm orders for the type to 90 aircraft. The order has a list price of US$ 11.5 billion. The agreement was signed in a ceremony on June 8 at the Berlin Air Show.
Rolls-Royce has passed another milestone with its successful running of the latest core engine build in its E3E (efficiency, environment, economy) two-shaft research programme. E3E is developing advanced technologies which increase engine temperature, pressure ratio and component efficiencies, together with a 25 per cent-plus increase in thrust to weight ratios
European aerospace giant EADS has showcased what it says are the world’s first flights of an aircraft powered by pure biofuel made from algae. The development is being welcomed by forward-looking general aviation operators seeking better operating economies, long-term environmental credibility, and a clear strategic future in terms of fuel availability.
The new light sport aircraft category has spawned a wealth of innovation, produced some amazing flying capabilities, and brought new vigour to entry-level aviation. Piper has now entered the market by taking an already-developed LSA, enhancing it with some Piper-devised improvements, and marketing it globally as the Piper Sport.
Airbus Industrie’s thirtieth A380 was delivered today to Emirates Airline, one of the launch customers of the big Airbus double-decker. This is the tenth A380 Emirates has received out of the Dubai carrier’s total firm order for 58 aircraft. This aircraft and Lufthansa’s recently delivered first A380 will be on display at the ILA Berlin Air Show which is taking place from June 8th to 13th.
The company that was set up to convert about half of Bankstown airport to non-aviation commercial property following privatisation has collapsed, leaving a trail of confusion that airport tenants describe as “unhelpful.” Prime creditor CBA has appointed liquidation practitioners Korda Mentha as Receivers and Managers for the debt-laden BAC Devco Pty Limited……
The ATSB has released its final report on the “hard landing” accident to a Qantaslink Boeing 717 at Darwin on February 7, 2008. Although the landing resulted in a recorded vertical force of 3.6g and caused severe damage which resulted in the event being classified as an accident, no injuries were reported and the crew taxied to the terminal without further incident.
We’d hate to see any of our classdified advertisers “burnt” by foreign scammers, so just keep the following in mind. Brian Sorfleet, one of our aircraft classified advertisers, has identified a scam you probably should know about if you’ve posted an aircraft for sale with AviationAdvertiser – or anywhere else for that matter.
