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April 13, 2012

Global Airline Capacity Grows For 11th Consecutive Month

Analyst: Beijing Is Set To Oust Atlanta As World's Busiest Airport

This month's analysis of the OAG schedules database indicates that airlines worldwide will operate 1% more flights in April 2012, compared to April 2011. The total number of scheduled flights operating in April 2012 is 2,553,480 with an overall seat offering of 328,335,126 an increase of 3% as compared to April 2011. This marks the eleventh consecutive month of growth.

Requirements For The New Airplane Are Being Developed At The Pentagon

The Army is looking to replace its fleet of 117 C-12 aircraft with something called a "Future Fixed Wing Utility Aircraft." The C-12 Huron, based on a Beechcraft Super King Air airframe, is used by the Army for personnel transport, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, as well as carrying cargo.

Contract Administered Through The U.S. Army Aviation And Missile Command

AgustaWestland North America, Inc. has delivered AW139 aircraft to the Egyptian Air Force via its contract with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Contracting Center for Foreign Military Sales. "We're fully aware of the team it takes to put these aircraft into the hands of our international partners," said Jeffrey Young, director of the Security Assistance Management Directorate at the recent delivery ceremony.

PPG Aerospace Donates Coatings For The Reconstructed Amphibious Airplane

The Air Rescue Museum, which is restoring a Grumman HU-16 Albatross search-and-rescue amphibian aircraft which it plans to bring to airshows as a "flying museum," has received a donation of primer and topcoats for repainting the aircraft from PPG industries.

Lancer Fleet To Receive New Ring Laser Gyro System

Boeing has received a $55.3 million production contract from the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the B-1 Lancer navigation system. The upgrade will replace the original navigation hardware with a new ring laser gyro system.

Elementary And Junior High Kids Devised Ways For ISS Crews Demonstrate Basic Scientific Principals

Three school student teams in the fifth through eighth grades have been selected as the winners of NASA's second annual Spaced Out Sports challenge. The students designed science-based games that will be played by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The games illustrate and apply Newton's laws of motion by showing the differences between Earth's gravity and the microgravity environment of the space station.

Bel Air Takes Delivery Of Its 2nd AW139 Helicopter

Several More Of The Helicopters On Order For Offshore Missions

Bel Air of Denmark has taken delivery of its second AW139 medium twin helicopter from AgustaWestland. The 12-seat configured aircraft will perform offshore transport operations and joins the first helicopter, named “Spirit of Agusta”. A number of additional AW139s are expected to enter service with Bel Air in the future.

USS Hornet Museum, Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum Pay Tribute To General James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle

In conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the historic World War II aerial attack on Tokyo, a day-long tribute to Alameda-born and UC Berkeley graduate Gen. Jimmy Doolittle will take place at the USS Hornet Museum on May 5. The commemoration is a joint effort between the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda and The Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum in Fairfield, CA.

FAA Honors Company's Centennial, CO, Facility

The FAA has recognized Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC)'s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Business Area with the FAA's "Aviation Maintenance Technician Employer Diamond Award of Excellence," the highest honor an aviation-related company can receive for its maintenance technician training programs.

AD NUMBER: 2012-06-24

PRODUCT: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) Model S-92A helicopters

AD NUMBER: 2012-03-04

PRODUCT: Certain Airbus Model A310 series airplanes

AD NUMBER: 2012-07-07

PRODUCT: All The Boeing Company Model 747 airplanes

Airborne 04.13.12: MV-22 Down, NTSB Reno Recommendations, and AEA2012 Wraps

Also: AMCC, NTSB, Dassault, F/A-18, UAVs, Test Pilot School, Kitfox, and Ryanair Strips Down!

It was yet another busy week in the Aero-News biz. NTSB Chair Deborah A.P. Hersman held a news conference in Reno Tuesday to announce recommended changes in how air races are conducted in an effort to improve safety. We're still recovering from last week's AEA convention, which is maybe understandable after nearly 1,500 avionics manufacturers, dealers, installers and other general aviation professionals gathered for the convention in Washington, D.C. A rule published last month in the Federal Register means that pilots who have been provided with a Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate no longer have to carry that letter with them when they fly. As predicted

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Airborne 04.13.12: MV-22 Down, NTSB Reno Recommendations, and AEA2012 Wraps

Also: AMCC, NTSB, Dassault, F/A-18, UAVs, Test Pilot School, Kitfox, and Ryanair Strips Down!

BTS Reports Mishandled Baggage At All-Time Low, No Tarmac Delays That Exceed Federal Guidelines

The nation’s largest airlines posted an on-time arrival rate of 86.2 percent in February, up from both the 74.5 percent on-time rate of February 2011 and from January 2012’s 83.7 percent rate, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report released Thursday. The on-time arrival performance during February 2012 was the highest February percentage on record since comparable on-time data was first reported in 1995.

Expresses Strong Support For Aviation In Rural Areas Of The Country

The Alliance for Aviation Across America released a letter from Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter to President Obama asking the administration to recognize the vital importance of general aviation for the economy and communities across the state of Idaho and country. Governor Otter specifically highlighted the need to protect this industry against burdensome taxes that would harm the general aviation industry and negatively impact the economy.

Teal Group Releases 2012 UAV Market Profile And Forecast

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) continue as the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry this decade, report Teal analysts in their latest integrated market analysis. Teal Group's 2012 market study estimates that UAV spending will almost double over the next decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $6.6 billion annually to $11.4 billion, totaling just over $89 billion in the next ten years.

Athletes, Agriculturalists And Musicians Are Among The Top 100 Teams Advancing To The 10th Annual Final Flyoff

With the exception of a shared passion for science, math and engineering, the 100 teams that will compete in the tenth anniversary Team America Rocketry Challenge national finals this year show a stunning diversity of backgrounds and interests.

Orlando Attracts National Aviators For Safety Conference

Mitsubishi Proficiency Program Geared Towards MU-2 Pilots, Operators

National aviators are gathering in Orlando this weekend in the second of four cities that will host the 2012 every-other-year Pilot Review of Proficiency (PROP) program. This program is credited with being an aviation industry innovator resulting in a safer flying experience for owners and operators of the MU-2 turboprop.

Fantasy Of Flight's Collection Of Real WWII Bombers Provides Compelling Backdrop For Part Three Of 2012 "Legends & Legacies" Symposium April 13-14

On Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14, Fantasy of Flight in central Florida once again brings the general public the opportunity to do just that as its Legends & Legacies Symposium Series continues with "Unspoken Valor: The Bomber Crews of World War II."

Don't Force It, Klyde, Get A Bigger Hammer ...

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

"For all states, including Idaho, general aviation represents a critical connection to economic opportunity and global markets. What’s more, general aviation plays a crucial public role every day through crop protection, disaster response, law enforcement, or critically needed services such as blood, organ or patient transportation." Source: Excerpt from a letter written by Idaho Governor "Butch" Otter to President Obama.

Any change in mode or system status initiated by the system, rather than by a deliberate mode change action taken by the pilot.

NASA's Puffin Personal Aircraft

The Puffin is an airplane concept conjured up by the mind of aerospace engineer Mark Moore. The unusual looking, vertical take-off and landing tailsitter is only an idea, but you'd never know that from the attention the Puffin has gotten on the Internet.