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December 16, 2008

Google Lunar X Prize Announces Two New International Competitors

16 Teams In Hunt, Including Soon-To-Be-Revealed "Mystery Team"

Two new international teams in the Google Lunar X Prize -- a $30 million competition by the X Prize Foundation to land a vehicle on the Moon, travel 500 meters, and transmit a "Mooncast" back to Earth -- were announced Tuesday in a tele-press conference from Google Headquarters. The announcement was held as part of a Team Summit at Google Headquarters and NASA Ames.

Program Educates Youth About Aviation

Gulfstream Aerospace, in conjunction with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, recently hosted a "Look Up!" event in Savannah. "Look Up!" encourages elementary, middle and high school students to explore careers in aviation.

BTS: Ranks Down 5.7 Percent Over Last Year

US scheduled passenger airlines employed 5.7 percent fewer workers in October 2008 than in October 2007, the fourth consecutive decrease in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year and the largest year-to-year decrease since July 2006, the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported Tuesday.

Distress Signal Received En Route To Bahamas

Crews are searching in the waters off the Bahamas for signs of a missing Britton-Norman Islander. The twin-engine aircraft with 12 people onboard disappeared en route to a refueling stop in the Bahamas Monday afternoon.

Managing Risk, With 2008 National CFI of the Year Max Trescott

ANN Daily Touch N Go: 12.16.08 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program) ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 12.16.08 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program) ANN Special Feature -- Risk Management: 12.16.08 (ANN Special Report, with 2008 National CFI of the Year Max Trescott.)

ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 12.16.08

The FAA makes the DC ADIZ permanent.
Experts say more airline consolidation is likely in 2009.
And Delta will offer its workers another separation incentive.

ANN Daily Touch-And-Go: 12.16.08

The FAA makes the DC ADIZ permanent.
Experts say more airline consolidation is likely in 2009.
And Delta will offer its workers another separation incentive.

More AERO-Casts

ANN Special Feature: CFI Max Trescott, Risk Management - 12.16.08

ANN's Paul Plack talks with 2008 National CFI of the Year Max Trescott, who explains how the business concept of risk management has practical application every time we fly.

FMI:

More AERO-Casts

PIT Invests $600K To Promote New International Service

Delta's Paris Route Airport's First Trans-Atlantic Run Since 2004

Officials at Pittsburgh International Airport are wasting no time, and sparing no expense, in promoting the airport's first trans-Atlantic route in over four years.

June 29 Takeoff Crash At I58 Claimed Five

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its Probable Cause report on the June 29 takeoff downing of a Cessna U206F in Santa Rosa, NM... and while investigators say it's impossible to know for certain, there is evidence the pilot may have suffered a heart attack.

Sides Fail To Reach Agreement In Extended Talks

Talks between management and the union representing roughly 14,000 baggage and cargo handlers at American Airlines broke down recently, after both sides failed to reach a deal on a new contract.

Will Rollout Aircell's Gogo On Six Planes

Delta Air Lines marked the initial launch Tuesday of Gogo Inflight Internet service onboard six of the airline's aircraft, the first in a series of more than 300 Delta domestic mainline aircraft that will soon feature the new customer offering.

Azul Takes Off: Brazilian Airline Makes First Flight

Aims To Expand To 36 Planes By 2011

JetBlue founder David Neeleman launched his fourth airline Monday, days after Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras S.A. received its first airplane.

Company Has Announced 26 Sim Sales In FY2009

Training provider CAE has been awarded contracts to design and manufacture three full-flight simulators (FFSs) and associated training devices valued at more than C$40 million at list prices. The contracts are with Saudi Arabian Airlines and the Hua Ou Aviation Training Centre in Beijing, China. CAE has announced so far a total of 26 FFS sales in fiscal year 2009.

Response From Commerce Department Expected By End Of 2009

The Salina Airport Authority announced Monday it has applied for Foreign Trade Zone status to assist businesses at the Salina Airport and Airport Industrial Center in becoming more competitive. The application has been forwarded to the US Department of Commerce and a response is expected in about nine months.

Hamas Tried Similar Scheme Four Years Ago

Cheap, crude, "improvised explosive devices" are one of the big innovations to come of age in the war against terrorism. Now, model aircraft technology is apparently providing would-be terrorists with a airborne equivalent to IEDs.

Group Calls For 'Swift Changes' As Crisis Continues At NAFI

ANN broke the story about problems within the hallowed ranks of the National Association of Flight Instructors two months ago and the news has been coming fast and furious since then.

More Videos

AN Aero-TV Interview With Rich Stowell -- NAFI: Working Through Turbulent Times

Group Calls For 'Swift Changes' As Crisis Continues At NAFI

ANN broke the story about problems within the hallowed ranks of the National Association of Flight Instructors two months ago and the news has been coming fast and furious since then.

Delta Offers Severance Packages To Entire Workforce

75K Employees Offered Early-Out Ahead Of Probable Layoffs

Delta Air Lines says it needs fewer people to run the company in 2009, after planned cuts of six-to-eight percent take effect. In order to minimize involuntary firings, the company says it will offer most of its 75,000 employees voluntary separation packages, looking to get an unspecified number of takers.

US And Foreign Mergers Held Back By US Ownership Laws

With excess capacity and increased competition already taking a toll on air carriers, industry experts agree global economic conditions are conducive to more airline mergers in the coming year.

Cites Carrier's 'Mismanagement Of Critical Immunity Provisions'

Chalk up another airline that will no longer participate in the FAA's Aviation Safety Action Program. The US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA) announced Monday it has allowed their contract of participation in ASAP to expire, citing alleged cases of retribution against pilots.

Q3 2008 Results Are In, And They're Not Good

The six largest network airlines, as a group, reported an operating loss margin of 5.8 percent in the third quarter of 2008, the fourth consecutive quarterly loss margin since the group reported a profit margin in the third quarter of 2007, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the US Department of Transportation reported Monday in a release of preliminary data.

Army's Golden Knights Will Also Perform May 9-10

It's a promising start for a brand-new commercial airport. Days after announcing their first scheduled airline carrier, Branson Airport officials announced Monday the United States Air Force Demonstration Squadron -- better known as the Thunderbirds -- will perform at the first ever Branson Air Show, May 9 & 10, 2009.

Reported Autopilot Problems Before Loss Of Contact

The pilot of a Beechcraft King Air C90A was killed when his plane crashed in central Texas Sunday.

Sweden Gains Its First Mega-Airport

Country Touts Environmental Aspects Of Stockholm Airport City

Sweden's first "airport city," the state-of-the-art Stockholm Airport City, is currently being built in the Stockholm region. The supersized airport project includes a 650-room hotel, meeting center, and offices.

Enceladus Puts On A Show For Cassini Probe

The closer scientists look at Saturn's small moon Enceladus, the more they find evidence of an active world, according to a NASA update.

Company's First Flight Cheetah System Sold In 1998

True Flight noted this week its first Flight Cheetah system was sold 10 years ago Monday. The Flight Cheetah was the first GPS Moving Map system to provide satellite data link weather system for general aviation.

Aero-Linx!

This site is devoted to the various systems used by the US military aviation to designate all types of equipment. They try to provide thorough explanations of the designation systems, while avoiding all the "red tape" included in the official standards documents, which tends to obscure the details relevant to the aviation enthusiast.

Aero-Terms!

Airport Acceptance Rate or Airport Arrival Rate. The number of arrivals an airport is capable of accepting each hour.

"Although immunity provisions are a safety industry standard adopted by such lauded programs as the NASA Safety Reporting System, USAPA believes US Airways' insistence on diluting these provisions has rendered them effectively useless. The program was originally scheduled to lapse in early 2008 but had been extended repeatedly by USAPA in an attempt to reconcile disagreements regarding the diluted immunity provision."

Source: From a statement by the US Airline Pilots Association, announcing that pilots at US Airways will no longer participate in the FAA's Aviation Safety Action Program.