Boeing 737 MAX 9 awarded FAA certification

Boeing has announced that the 737 MAX 9 has received an amended type certificate (ATC) from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), officially certifying the aircraft for commercial service.

The certification marks the culmination of a successful flight test programme  that began in March 2017 with two Boeing flight test aircraft. The FAA certification affirms that the airplane's handling, systems and overall performance all comply with required aviation regulations.

"Our teams built superior capabilities into the MAX 9 and proved them all the way through flight test. We're looking forward to bringing this airplane to market for our valued customers," said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager of the 737 MAX program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "I am proud of the entire team for helping us reach another important development milestone."

Boeing is now in the final stages of preparing the MAX 9 for its first delivery to launch customer Lion Air Group.

The 737 MAX 9 is designed for a capacity of up to 220 passengers and a maximum range of 3,550 nautical miles. With three additional seat rows compared to the 737 MAX 8, this airplane provides operators added capacity while maximizing profitability within their network.

The 737 MAX incorporates the latest CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, Boeing Sky Interior, large flight deck displays and other features to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market

Garmin introduces the GFC 600H helicopter flight control system

Garmin has launched the GFCTM 600H flight control system for helicopter owners and operators – a breakthrough in cost-effective technology that reduces pilot workload and improves mission effectiveness.

This attitude-based (AHRS-derived) flight control system has a number of helicopter- tailored safety features, including stability augmentation system (SAS), Garmin Helicopter Electronic Stability and Protection (H-ESPTM), dedicated return-to-level (LVL) mode, hover assist, as well as overspeed and low speed protection. The GFC 600H can operate as a full-featured standalone flight control system, but also offers integration with compatible flight displays, including the Garmin G500H and G500H TXi flight displays, instruments and navigation sources.

“Garmin designed the GFC 600H to significantly reduce inflight workload, fatigue and stress levels for helicopter pilots who are often faced with complicated missions in adverse weather conditions or degraded visual environments,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “The GFC 600H combines our industry-leading flight control capabilities with our helicopter experience and aviation safety technology expertise to deliver a system that ultimately allows pilots to focus more attention on accomplishing the multitude of missions they face while trusting their helicopter flight to us.”

With its advanced AHRS technology and redundant, cross-checking sensors, the GFC 600H was designed for smooth handling. The GFC 600H includes SAS that provides inputs to help stabilise the helicopter while hand-flying. The corrections provided by SAS serve to improve the helicopter’s basic handling characteristics by maintaining a commanded attitude. Designed with the pilot in mind, its cyclic-mounted trim controls allows for seamless interactions without taking a hand off of the helicopter flight controls during basic operations, including system initialization of the SAS in attitude mode, adjustments of the pitch and roll trim, and much more. While flying with SAS, pilots can easily “fly through” the flight control inputs for smooth maneuvers beyond the preset trim condition.

Thanks to the hover assist mode, the system will also automatically detect a hover condition and provide flight control inputs to help maintain position over the ground. When equipped with the optional yaw axis control, the GFC 600H will also hold heading in hover.

As a standard feature, Garmin H-ESP helps the pilot remain within a safe envelope when hand-flying the helicopter. Should the pilot exceed pre-determined pitch, roll or airspeed limitations, H-ESP provides a corrective force on the flight controls proportionate to the exceedance. H-ESP works in all modes – even when the pilot is hand-flying the aircraft with the system not engaged – and can be manually disabled to allow for maneuvering flight as needed. In potentially disorienting situations, the GFC 600H features a dedicated LVL mode that can be engaged by the pilot to automatically initiate recovery from unusual attitudes and return the aircraft to straight-and-level flight, helping to avoid a potential loss-of-control scenario.

The flight director can be displayed on an optional G500H or G500H TXi flight display to help guide the pilot’s hand-flown inputs toward the desired flight path, including heading, altitude, vertical speed, and airspeed modes. For enroute and approach navigation, the system uses guidance from a compatible Garmin navigator, such as the GTNTM 750/650 series, to automatically fly approaches and search and rescue patterns.

Additional vertical and lateral modes include altitude hold, altitude select, vertical speed, indicated airspeed and heading select.

The GFC 600H features a stack-width mode controller with push-button controls and a night vision goggle (NVG) compatible display. Its robust architecture allows for both 2-axis and 3-axis configurations to provide the features and handling characteristics needed for a helicopter. Integrated “smart” servos provide pitch and roll inputs as commanded by the system, and the available third servo and collective sensor provide yaw axis control capability and smooth flight control adjustments when the pilot moves the collective. Digitally controlled, high-torque servos allow for faster, crisper, more powerful response, which enables the GFC 600H to perform with smooth efficiency and advanced capability.

Ethiopian becomes Africa’s first A350 full-flight simulator operator

Ethiopian Airlines has achieved yet another milestone, becoming the first A350 XWB Simulator Operator in Africa and among the few in the world.

The machine is fitted with a full electrical motion system which delivers improved performance while providing energy savings and environmental benefits.

Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, said: “The introduction of the A350 XWB Full-Flight Simulator is a continuation of our pioneering role in African aviation Technology. It is part of our Vision 2025 strategic roadmap to be fully self-sufficient in the provision of pilot training in all the aircraft type we operate. It complements the other full-flight simulators we are already operating such as the B787, B-777, B737, B757, B767 and Q400.

“All in all, we have invested over 125 million $ in the last 7 years to expand and upgrade all the facets of our training capabilities. These investments are meant to bridge the aviation skill gap in Africa and to avail well trained and qualified aviation professionals in the continent. Education is the biggest Equaliser of our time and our aim is to make Africa self-sufficient in aviation professionals.”

The Pilot Training School of the airline has trained pilots from over 52 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe for close to 50 years.

Iran plane crashes into mountain killing all passengers on board

An Iranian passenger plane has crashed into the country’s Zagros mountains with more than 50 people on board, the head of the country’s emergency services told local media on Sunday.

“This plane has crashed in the Semirom area and all emergency forces are on alert. The plane had 50 to 60 passengers,” Pir Hossein Koolivand told the Fars news agency.

The plane was reportedly travelling from Tehran to the small town of Yasuj in Isfahan province.

Semirom lies in the mountainous southwestern region of Iran, around 480 kilometres (300 miles) south of the capital.

“An ATR aircraft of Aseman Airlines with 60 passengers and about six crew disappeared from radar this morning,” Aladin Borujerdi, head of parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

“Observation by people (in the area) indicates a crash,” he said, adding that he was still awaiting confirmation.
Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the national emergency services, told the semi-official ISNA news agency that a helicopter had been sent to the area.

Kenya Airways becomes first airline to offer a non-stop flight between East Africa and USA

Kenya Airways starts ticket sales for its non-stop daily flight to New York Kenya Airways.

Kenya Airways today marks a milestone with the launch of a non-stop flight from Nairobi to New York.

The national carrier starts selling today tickets for the inaugural flight which is scheduled for October 28th this year.

The airline already serves Africa, Europe, Middle-East, Indian sub-continent and Asia. The opening of the US destination completes an essential piece for Kenya Airways’ network, cementing its position as one of the leading African carriers. 

“This is an exciting moment for us. It fits within our strategy to attract corporate and high-end tourism traffic from the world to Kenya and Africa. We are honored to contribute to the economic growth of Kenya and East Africa,” said Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO Sebastian Mikosz.

RJ - second most punctual airline in the Middle East and Africa

Royal Jordanian ranked second in terms of punctuality among Middle East and African airlines with 80.67% on-time performance rate last year, according to OAG's 2018 Punctuality League study, released earlier this year.

The Punctuality League report is based on 57 million flight records; it uses full-year data from 2017 to rank the world’s airlines and airports best on-time performance (OTP).

OTP characterizes flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival/ departure times.

RJ’s President/CEO Stefan Pichler commented: “Let me congratulate our operations team for this outstanding performance. Punctuality is a must for any world-class airline.”

The airlines and airports that qualified for inclusion in the Punctuality League have flight status data for at least 80% of all scheduled flights operated by the airline or for the airport.

Five regional categories rank the best airlines, mainline and LCC, which are operating in groupings of IATA-defined global regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa (where RJ ranked second), Latin America and North America.

In each category, airlines must be ranked among the Top 250 operators globally in terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs) and must have operated a minimum of 18,000 scheduled flights in 2017 to qualify for inclusion.

According to oag.com, OAG is the leading global provider of digital flight information. It provides accurate, timely and actionable information and applications across the travel sector to the world. Headquartered in the UK, OAG has global operations in the US, Singapore, Japan and China.

Kenya Airways becomes first airline to offer a non-stop flight between East Africa and USA

Kenya Airways starts ticket sales for its non-stop daily flight to New York Kenya Airways.

Kenya Airways today marks a milestone with the launch of a non-stop flight from Nairobi to New York.

The national carrier starts selling today tickets for the inaugural flight which is scheduled for October 28th this year.

The airline already serves Africa, Europe, Middle-East, Indian sub-continent and Asia. The opening of the US destination completes an essential piece for Kenya Airways’ network, cementing its position as one of the leading African carriers. 

“This is an exciting moment for us. It fits within our strategy to attract corporate and high-end tourism traffic from the world to Kenya and Africa. We are honored to contribute to the economic growth of Kenya and East Africa,” said Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO Sebastian Mikosz.