A little sunlight, at the perfect angle

A little sunlight, at the perfect angle, can make things look a little unnerving! Amazing!

Dubai Airports approved for $32bn expansion

Dubai Airports today welcomed the announcement by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai endorsing the AED120bn (US$ 32bn) expansion of Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) which will ultimately accommodate more than 200 million passengers a year.

The development is anticipated to be the biggest airport project in the world and will be built in two phases. The first phase includes two satellite buildings with a collectively capacity of 120 million passengers annually, accommodate 100 A380 aircraft at any one time and will take between six and eight years to complete. The entire development will cover an area of 56 square kilometres.

More than its size, the new airport’s uniqueness lies in a radically new approach to ensure that the latest technology and efficient processes will cut the time spent completing travel formalities and reduce walking distances, enabling passengers to make fast and efficient connections between hundreds of destinations worldwide.

The decision follows months of planning by the key stakeholders in the aviation sector, including Dubai Airports, Dubai Airports Engineering Projects, Emirates airline and dnata, to ensure that a design was selected that facilitates the future growth of Dubai’s aviation industry.

With passenger traffic expected to reach almost 100 million at Dubai International by the end of 2020, the further development of DWC will be a vital step towards providing the necessary facilities to accommodate passenger and cargo growth in the decades ahead and pave the way for Emirates to relocate their intercontinental hub operations to DWC by the mid-2020s.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, thanked Sheikh Mohammed for his visionary support of the project, and described the new airport as a vital investment in the future of Dubai. He confirmed that the aviation sector was projected to remain a cornerstone of Dubai’s economy, and was expected to support more than 322,000 jobs and contribute 28 per cent of Dubai’s GDP by 2020.

“Our future lies at DWC. The announcement of this AED120bn development of DWC is both timely and a strong endorsement of Dubai’s aviation industry. With limited options for further growth at Dubai International, we are taking that next step to securing our future by building a brand new airport that will not only create the capacity we will need in the coming decades but also provide state of the art facilities that revolutionise the airport experience on an unprecedented scale,” said Griffiths.

Source and image: Dubai Airports

Aircell rebrands as Gogo business aviation

Gogo Inc., a global aero-communications service provider, announces that Aircell, the company’s business aviationdivision, has rebranded as Gogo Business Aviation.

The Aircell brand can be traced back 23 years to the company’s original founding in 1991. Gogo Business Aviation will build on the Aircell tradition using the same people, passion and culture of innovation that made it business aviation’s most trusted in-flight connectivity brand. The only company to offer all three of business aviation’s most popular network technologies – Gogo Biz®, SwiftBroadband and Iridium – the company offers solutions to fulfill any customer need, aircraft type or geography.

As Gogo continues to expand its leadership position, its business and commercial aviation divisions now share a single, global brand. Operationally, the divisions will continue exchanging expertise and technologies while remaining solely focused on their respective markets.

“Gogo’s mission is to advance aviation by connecting every aircraft with the most trusted communications services on and above our planet. Having our commercial and business aviation divisions share a brand will make more people aware of the full breadth of our business,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO. “The rebranding will also help travelers recognize their favorite Gogo services, whether they’re aboard an airline, corporate, fractional or charter aircraft – anywhere in the world,” concluded Small.

“We’re thrilled to introduce Gogo Business Aviation as the next evolution of our brand,” said John Wade, Gogo Business Aviation’s executive vice president and general manager. “The past five years has seen a remarkable menu of in-flight capabilities emerge for business aircraft operators, including Internet, e-mail, voice, texting, personal smartphone usage, movies, TV episodes, news, weather, cockpit data and more. And at the same time, the onboard equipment has become orders-of-magnitude smaller, lighter and more affordable. These truly are exciting times.”

Source and image: Gogo Inc.

Military plane crashes in Gulu, pilot ejects to safety

GULU – One person on-board a military aircraft escaped with his life after the plane he was flying crashed in the northern Ugandan district of Gulu on Thursday.

 

Colonel Joseph Balikuddembe, the Uganda People’s Defense Forces 4th Division Second-in-Command, said the plane crashed shortly after take-off from the 4th Division’s airbase.

 

The white L39 jet owned by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces was being flown by a trainee pilot, Emmaneul Sajjabi, who ejected the plane when it developed problems, in flight. 

 

“We use the plane for training purposes and routinely test our pilots on the same craft,” said Balikuddembe. 

 

The incident occurred in Patek Parish, Bobi subcounty.

 

The pilot sustained minor injuries and was moments after the crash taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, Lacor in Gulu Municipality.

 

Ambrose Otema who witnessed the air mishap said smoke billowed from the aircraft at around 12.30pm before going down.

Tanker fleet used to deal with massive fires in California

Fixed wing air tanker and helicopter operators are helping firefighters get the upper hand on a massive fire which has been burning for the past month in the Klamath National Forest along the California-Oregon border. Known as the Happy Camp Complex fire, the lightning-sparked conflagration has torched nearly 100,000 acres and is currently just 30 percent contained.

“Of our 10 tankers working right now throughout California and Oregon, seven are in southern Oregon or northern California,” said Dan Snyder, Chief Operating Officer of Missoula, Montana-based Neptune Aviation Services. “All seven have been deployed at different times on the Happy Camp Complex fire throughout the past month. In fact, we have had as many as five tankers working on that fire simultaneously since it started in mid-August.”

The tanker fleet, Snyder reported, is a combination of BAe 146 regional airliners, recently modified as aerial tankers, and the company’s legacy P2V Neptunes. Those operating on the Happy Camp Complex fire have been flying out of Medford, Oregon. Each aircraft is supported by two flight crew members, and two mechanics. The fixed wing tankers are operated under US Forest Service (USFS) exclusive use contracts.

On September 5, CHI Aviation moved a Bell 205 helicopter, along with a pilot, mechanic and fuel truck driver, to the Happy Camp Complex fire, according to Larry Kelley, the company’s Boise, Idaho-based Director of Fire Operations. The Bell 205 had been at Trinity, California, from which it had been deployed on fires in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest since June. Kelley said that two additional helicopters, a Bell 205 at Salmon, Idaho, and a Bell 212 at Hood River, Oregon, are available for dispatch to the fire, if needed by the USFS. All three are under exclusive use contracts.

“The helicopter is being tasked with whatever the Forest Service requires it to do, for as long as it’s needed,” said Kelley. “That includes water drops, and transportation of firefighters and supplies.”

Source and image: AHSAFA

Airbus opens training center in Monterrey

VivaAerobus, the low cost carrier serving Mexico, has chosen “Training By Airbus” to provide simulator trainingand courses for pilots, maintenance personnel, flight operations engineers and cabin crews in Miami and Monterrey, Mexico. The 10-year agreement includes more than 25,000 flight training hours for approximately 750 pilots. VivaAerobus, which is in the process of converting to an all-Airbus operator, has ordered a total of 52 A320 Family aircraft.

Full-flight training for VivaAerobus pilots has been ongoing at the Airbus Training Center in Miami, and by early 2016 VivaAerobus will start training at a new satellite training operation in Monterrey’s North International Airport located on the campus of the University of Nuevo León.

This will be the second Airbus Training Center in Mexico housing an Airbus A320 simulator. In June, Airbus announced that it would open a training center in Mexico City by 2015. 
“As a low cost carrier, getting the best quality training for our staff is important to maintaining world class safety standards," said Juan Carlos Zuazua, CEO of VivaAerobus. “Having Airbus train our crews locally in Monterrey supports our ability to keep costs down and continue to deliver the lowest possible fares for our customers."

“The State of Nuevo León is proud that Airbus has chosen Monterrey as a location for their next training center,” said Dr. Jesús Ancer Rodríguez, Chancellor of the University of Nuevo León. “Airbus and its customers will surely benefit from Monterrey’s highly qualified aviation industry, and the University of Nuevo León is the perfect location to foster such skilled professionals.” 
“The Airbus Training Center in Monterrey will build on Miami’s success by bringing our state-of-the-art training services and experienced instructors directly to VivaAerobus, consequently supporting their growth by increasing the productivity of their pilots, engineers, maintenance and cabin crews," said Rafael Alonso, President of Airbus Latin America and the Caribbean.

Source and image: Airbus

IT in aviation training: a call for evolution

major aircraft manufacturers sharing a backlog of over 10 000 aircraft, MRO providers worldwide are finding themselves under increasing pressure to introduce new means designed to meet the demand for appropriate support of the rapidly growing global fleet. Meanwhile, as a large portion of services in the industry is still heavily reliant on human labour, a peaking demand for appropriate technical training is not expected to drop any time soon. In such an environment, the introduction of innovative IT-solutions can not only improve some of the training-related processes but also enable service providers to significantly cut costs.

During the last decade or so IT has truly changed the wayairlines conduct business. According to SITA, the level of IT operational spending by carriers worldwide topped $10.8 billion in 2013. The majority of carriers anticipate another increase in the airlines’ IT budget in 2014. However, the implementation of informational technologies in maintenance operations, let alone technical training, is definitely lagging behind. Meanwhile, as costs related to maintenance typically make up to 17% of all operating costs, it is the area in which technology can be used to optimize operations and boost profits.

“There is a set of major factors currently contributing to the increased IT spending within the aviation industry, including higher airline profitability, next-generation aircraft and engines, as well as cloud computing, mobility and advanced analytics,” shares Kestutis Volungevicius, the Head of FL Technics Training. “Moreover, as changes in the aviation industry are happening at an increasingly rapid pace, the demand for faster training solutions rises accordingly.”

According to FL Technics Training, the retiring current generation of technicians along with the on-going fleet renewals might drive the aviation industry to the point when the lack of qualified aviation specialists will eventually interfere with its expansion plans. Data by AWIN indicates the overall rate of technical personnel eligible for retirement should reach 9.6% this year, followed by 11.3% in 2015 and 13.3% in 2016. “Add the need to support new sophisticated solutions implemented in new generation aircraft, and you will find yourself in a highly competitive business environment with a booming demand for relevant specialists and training services. As a result, training providers are in constant search for innovations which would enhance and facilitate the training process with quality, flexibility and cost effectiveness in mind,” says Kestutis Volungevicius.

Normally, the duration of a typical technical training-related trip is at least 4 days. Considering the fact that an individual specialist usually requires approximately 3 training courses per year to maintain and raise his qualification, this adds up to over 280 hours or almost 35 working days, which an average MRO professional currently spends in training-related travels on a yearly basis. Meanwhile, the approximate average expenses on a trip with a two-night stay may reach up to $800-$1 400. Needless to say, in an economic environment which presupposes cost cutting and maximized efficiency this is not something an MRO provider can really afford.

“As the costs of training are constantly rising, more and more distance training solutions, such as online courses, are emerging worldwide to aid both individuals and organizations in reducing their course-related travel costs and allowing to avoid the need for lengthy trips to the training facilities,” comments Kestutis Volungevicius. “In an industry where every second and every dollar matters, the decision to opt for such services and implement the modern technologies alongside regular training solutions might actually might become the critical aspect in gaining the much-needed competitive edge,” concludes the Head of FL Technics Training.

Source and image: Avia Solutions Group / Fl Technics Training