New A320 full-flight simulator at Airbus Training Center, Miami

New A320 full-flight simulator at Airbus Training Center, Miami

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Published on Thursday, 30 October 2014 10:26

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Airbus Training Center (ATC) in Miami has integrated a new A320 full-flight simulator. Produced by FlightSafety International, provider of aviation training, simulation equipment and software, the A320 simulator received Level D qualification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is ready to provide training on CFM and IAE engines as well as the Honeywell Flight Management Guidance Computer (FMGC).

This is the Miami Training Center’s first FlightSafety simulator and complements two A330/A340 and three A320 full-flight simulators.

To enhance its single-aisle flight training offering in Miami, the new full-flight A320 simulator is equipped with a 60-inch electric motion and electric control loading and FlightSafety’s VITAL 1100 Visual System and provides 60 x 200 degree Field of View and continuous high-resolution global satellite imagery capable of distinguishing environmental conditions experienced during all phases of flight, from taxi and takeoff to landing.

“With the A320 Family being the world’s best-selling single-aisle product line, it is no surprise that demand for single-aisle full-flight simulator training is expected to reach nearly 700,000 hours by 2017,” said Joe Houghton, Airbus Vice President of Training & Flight Operations Support. “FlightSafety’s new A320 simulator will help Airbus continue to deliver innovative training services to meet the growing demands for quality flight and maintenance training.”

Source and image: Airbus

Virgin Galactic crash: SpaceShipTwo probe 'may take year'

The investigation into the Virgin Galactic spacecraft crash in California's Mojave Desert could take about a year, the head of the US transport safety agency has said.

Christopher Hart said Virgin Galactic would be able conduct further test flights while the investigation took place.
SpaceShipTwo broke up in mid-air during a test flight on Friday.
One of the pilots was killed and the other injured.
Virgin chief Sir Richard Branson says he is "determined to find out what went wrong" and learn from the tragedy.
The US National Transportation Safety Board team had completed its first full day of investigation, Mr Hart said, and would be examining evidence at the scene for four to seven days.
He said the craft's debris was spread over an area measuring five miles from end to end.
He told a news conference the test flight had been "heavily documented" and his team would have to trawl through "extensive data", which was why the full investigation could take "about 12 months or so".
He said there were six cameras on the craft itself, with another three on its launcher, an aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo, although it was unclear whether SpaceShipTwo's cameras had been found.



The pilot who died was named as Mike Alsbury

Police secured the crash site in the Mojave Desert amid fears that some of the debris could be explosive

The co-pilot who died when SpaceShipTwo disintegrated shortly after take-off was named as 39-year-old Michael Alsbury.
The pilot who survived was identified as Peter Siebold. Scaled Composites, the company both pilots worked for, said Mr Siebold, 43, was "alert and talking with his family and doctors".
Mr Hart said his team were waiting for doctors to allow them to interview Mr Siebold.

The pilots

Peter Siebold, left, survived the incident but his co-pilot, Michael Alsbury, died

Michael Alsbury

• Aged 39
• Married with two children
• 15 years of flying experience
• First flew in SpaceShipTwo in 2010
• Flew craft's first rocket-powered run in April 2013

Peter Siebold

• Aged 43
• Married with two children
• Received pilot's licence when just 16
• Started working for Scaled Composites in 1996
• Had spent 2,000 hours in 35 different fixed-wing aircraft

Will crash set back space tourism?

'A massive setback'
Speaking earlier at the at the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the craft was being developed, Sir Richard said "nobody underestimates the risks involved in space travel".
Virgin Galactic had hoped to launch commercially in 2015. It has already taken more than 700 flight bookings at $250,000 (£156,000) each, with Sir Richard pledging to travel on the first flight.
"It's a horrible day for Virgin Galactic and for commercial space travel. It's a massive setback," Sir Richard told the BBC.
He said the company had to pick itself up, find out what went wrong and see whether they can fix it.
"I'm hopeful we'll be able to overcome the problems," he added.

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Sir Richard Branson: "It's a massive setback"

The spacecraft was flying its first test flight for nine months when it crashed near the town of Bakersfield.
Virgin Galactic said SpaceShipTwo had experienced "a serious anomaly" after it separated from WhiteKnightTwo.
The space craft was using a new type of rocket fuel never before used in flight, although officials said it had undergone extensive ground testing.

IAG Cargo, €236m revenue in 3Q, 2014

IAG Cargo today announces its Q3 results from July 1 to October 31, 2014, reporting commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of €236m versus €256m for the same period last year. On a like for like basis, adjusting the prior year’s figures to reflect a directly comparable freighter operation, commercial revenue increased 7.6 per cent versus last year.

Volumes of 1,331 million cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs) on a like for like basis for the quarter represent an increase of 12.0 per cent compared to Q3 2013, while capacity increased by 4.1 per cent. Overall yield (commercial revenue per CTK) for the quarter was down 3.0 per cent at constant exchange rates.

Steve Gunning, CEO at IAG Cargo, commented: “While we have seen a decrease in yield, this is primarily due to flying increased sector lengths. More generally, while trading is good, there are still fundamental issues with the market in terms of excess capacity.”

Source and image: IAG Cargo

King Air crashes at FlighSafety building, 4 dead

Wichita public safety officials have confirmed four people are dead after a Beechcraft King Air 200 crashed into the top of the Flight Safety Building at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport just before 10 am on Thursday, Oct.30. City of Wichita officials have confirmed four victims. Five people have been transported to local hospitals with serious injuries. Officials are still trying to locate four of the approximately 100 people who were reportedly in the building at the time of the crash.

A Beechcraft King Air 200 struck the top of the building but the cause of the crash is unknown at this time. The names and ages of the victims have not been released

The victims have not been removed due to structural concerns with the building. Earlier today, a structural engineer arrived at the scene to help assess the structural integrity of the building and to provide guidance to emergency responders. Additional equipment will arrive by Friday to help remove portions of the building. The cause of the crash is still unknown.

Responding agencies included the Wichita Fire Department, Wichita Police Department, Mid-Continent Public Safety Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and the FBI. Fire officials report the crash resulted in a two-alarm fire that is ongoing. Firefighters have been evacuated from the building which has been declared unstable.

Source and image: Wichita Mid-Continent Airport

FL Technics Jets becomes an Authorized Rockwell Collins Dealer

FL Technics Jets, a global provider of tailor-made maintenance, repair and overhaul services for business aviation, is delighted to announce the start of a new relationship with Rockwell Collins under which the company is being appointed as an Authorized Business and Regional Systems (BRS) Dealer.

FL Technics Jets is to provide Rockwell Collins avionics sales and support solutions for various business and regional aircraft operators and MROs worldwide.

According to the terms of the 4 year-long agreement, Rockwell Collins BRS has authorized FL Technics Jets to promote and sell a wide range of its products, including Pro Line 21™, Pro Line 4™, Venue™ and other avionics system solutions, in target regions. The extensive inventory range of the U.S. manufacturer covers avionics equipment for almost every type of currently operated business and regional jets, including Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier CRJ, Bombardier Challenger and other.

„We are very delighted at the prospect of cooperating with one of the industry’s leaders in the area of innovative communication and aviation electronic solutions. We hope that our long-standing experience and deep understanding of business specifics in the region will help Rockwell Collins to efficiently expand the geography of their products, particularly in Eastern Europe and the CIS. We are confident that the partnership will be beneficial for both companies,’ commented the CEO of FL Technics Jets Darius Saluga.

Source and image: FL Technics Jets

AFI KLM loses 416m euros in revenues due to pilot strikes

Third Quarter 2014 for AFI KLM was strongly affected by 14 days of strike by Air France pilots, which had an estimated negative impact of 330 million euros on the operating result. Total revenues were reduced by an estimated 416 million euros, partly offset by 86 million euros of net savings on costs. The strike led to the cancellation of an estimated 4,249 million ASKs (18% of September ASKs) and 213 million ATKs (16% of September ATKs) resulting in an equivalent cancellation of 4.75 billion EASKs (Equivalent Available Seat Kilometer).

Total revenues amounted to 6,695 million euros versus 7,175 million euros in 2013, down 6.7%, but up +0.2% on a constant currency basis and adjusted for the Air France pilot strike (“like-for-like”). Currencies had a negative 78 million euro impact on revenues.

Operating costs were 1.3% lower year-on-year and 0.7% lower on a constant currency basis. Ex-fuel, they increased by 0.7% and by 0.8% on a like-for-like basis. Unit cost per EASK1 was reduced by 1.2%, on a constant currency, fuel price, pension expense and strike adjusted basis, against capacity measured in EASK up by 2.0%, corrected for the strike. The fuel bill amounted to 1,737 million euros, down 6.4%, but slightly up (+0.4%) on a constant currency and strike adjusted basis. Total employee costs including temporary staff were down 1.6% to 1,871 million euros, and by 1.7% on a constant currency basis. On a constant pension expense and adjusted for the strike, they declined by9 million euros.

The net result, group share stood at 100 million euros against 148 million euros a year ago. It includes the non current result of the Amadeus transaction (187 million euros), mainly offset by the change in value of the fuel hedging portfolio (-172 million euros). On an adjusted basis4, the net result, group share stood at 111 million euros against 372 million euros in Q3 2013, a 261 million euro decrease.

In the first Nine Months of 2014, total revenues stood at 18,7 billion euros versus 19,4 billion euros in 2013, down 3.6%, but up +0.4% on a like-for-like basis. Currencies had a negative 365 million euro impact on revenues.

The net result, group share stood at -514 million euros against -651 million euros a year ago. It includes the non-current result of the Amadeus transaction (187 million euros), the change in value of the fuel hedging portfolio (-146 million euros), foreign exchange losses (including the adjustment in the value of the cash held by the Group in Venezuela), and the impairment charges related to the Cargo business. On an adjusted basis, the net result, group share stood at -231 million euros against-314 million in the first nine months of 2013, an 83 million euro improvement.

Source and image: AFI KLM

Recycling voodoo: your TV was an aircraft

Voodoo practices are based on the belief that there is a great transition from one life to another. Just like with voodoo, a perished plane may find a chance for second life and reincarnate not only as parts of other planes, but also within your Blackberry, Samsung or iPhone. Smartphone’s are made from at least 50% recycled content, including the aircraft that was in the air just 10 years ago.

As the aviation becomes more eco-friendly, it is not only sustainability that leads to the dismantling of an aircraft, but also the cost of materials. For instance, companies recover aluminium, fibber composites, steel and textiles from recycling old aircraft. AFRA (Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association) estimates that over the next 20 years, 12,000 airplanes worth $1.3 trillion will be at the end of service life. The voodoo process for many aircraft begins in the boneyard, where retired airplanes are parked.

Reincarnation process

The process of reincarnation takes time. The recycling of composites is normally a two-step procedure: first, a mechanical process, during which composites are separated from other aircraft materials; the second process recovers materials of sufficient quality, allowing them to be reintroduced to industry.

Massive machines are used to demolish the airplane. Afterwards, dismantled parts travel to a processing plant, where a powerful magnet separates components used as raw materials to produce circuit boards for phones, computers and TVs. AFRA member companies each year scrap and disassemble a third of approximately 400 to 450 globally retired aircraft, producing up to 30,000 tons of aluminium and 1,800 tons of other specialty alloy metals.

Aircraft zombies

Haitian folklore believes that voodoo helps a soul to come back to the body; in cases, when the soul cannot meet the new body, the raised corpse is literally called zombie in Haitian French. One of this “zombies” is serving as a hotel in Costa Rica. Stunning views of the Pacific Ocean can be seen from the windows of Costa Verde, while the wild life of monkeys can be observed from the wing of the airplane. The Boeing 727 had its airframe salvaged from its airport-resting place in San Jose.

Another aircraft voodoo “practitioner”, Bruce Campbell, the creator of AirplaneHome.com, has converted a Boeing 727-200 aircraft and resurrected the fuselage as his new home. Bruce has adapted his daily life to live onboard an airplane. 64-years-old engineer bought an old Boeing for around $100,000 and spent decade transforming it. Bruce Campbell’s ideas do not stop with simple housing, as he plans to re-transform planes into crucial tsunami lifeboats for the local community in Japan. According to Campbell, fuel tanks (primarily the wings) are especially well sealed and highly durable floating canisters. With proper tethering which allows not only substantial horizontal drift, but also a vertical rise and flexibility, they make a reliable and superb lifeboat. Furthermore, this can be accomplished on budget, using a readily available resources discarded as garbage.

Invading the body

There is one god in voodoo, yet many spirits, which are eager to invade the body. The Voodoo doll is used to represent the spirit’s transformation to a specific object. Similarly, an aircraft wingtip can become a table. MotoArt is a California-based company, creating furniture from salvaged aircraft parts: Jacobs Radial engine coffee table, 747 Jet Liner bed, 707 cowling mirrors. Many other plane parts are represented as pieces of furniture in this futuristic and modern affair.

So be careful not to crack your new coffee table, as somewhere an aircraft or an electronic device may have an unusual reaction to it...