Aero-News Network: The aviation and aerospace world's daily/real-time news and information service

Pipistrel Completes Pacific Crossing In Circumnavigation Attempt

Matevž Lenarcic Has Arrived Safely In New Zealand

Matevž Lenarcic has safely completed his flight over the Pacific Ocean in his attempt to circumnavigate the globe solo flying a Pipistrel Virus SW 914, made by Pipistrel Slovenia.

China Southern Airlines Commits To Purchase Of 10 777-300ERs

Agreement Needs Final Approval From Chinese Government

China Southern Airlines has agreed to buy 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, as the airline plans to expand its capacity to meet growing demand in Asia-Pacific and China.

Unmanned Surveillance Makes New NIMBYs

Firing Missiles Elsewhere OK, But No Peeking At Home!

The prospect of civilian law enforcement using spy drones is producing an interesting paradox in public opinion. A Rasmussen poll finds a majority of Americans are fine with Predators being used for spying or even armed attacks in other countries, but surveillance of their own back yards is a no-no.

APA Files Lawsuit With Bankruptcy Court “To Clarify Legal Gray Area”

Union Has Questions About Railway Labor Act

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents the 10,000 pilots of American Airlines, filed an action for declaratory judgment Tuesday with the bankruptcy court asking the judge to clarify how the Railway Labor Act and Section 1113 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code interrelate.

United Express Flight Lands Without Nose Gear

Hydraulic Issue Blamed, No Injuries Reported At Newark

There were some tense moments aboard United Express Flight 5124 Monday evening as it approached Newark Liberty Airport on a flight from Atlanta. The pilot reported he couldn't confirm the nose gear was down. After a go-around and delay to allow time to have the runways foamed and responders standing by, the crew made a successful emergency landing on just the mains about 6:20pm.

Abort Motor Prepped For 2014 Test Flight Of NASA's Orion Capsule

Conversion Of Inert System Underway At ATK Facility In Utah

The conversion of the main abort motor for NASA's first Exploration Flight Test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, slated for 2014 from Kennedy Space Center, is underway in Salt Lake City, UT. The inert system was recently returned to ATK's facility in Salt Lake City from Lockheed Martin's Waterton facility in Denver, where the system successfully completed a series of rigorous acoustic and modal tests.

New Eight-Week Flight Training Course Available Online

Bob Miller Flight Training Re-Vamps PPL/Refresher Curriculum

Bob Miller Flight Training - Online will be conducting a totally revamped 8-Week Private Pilot/Refresher Webinar Course beginning on Tuesday, March 20 and will run every Tuesday evening from 7pm to 9pm EST through May 8, 2012.

Chinese Students Arrival At MSU Delayed

Situation Highlights Lack Of Chinese GA Infrastructure

There are not enough airports, aircraft and airspace in China to train the needed number of pilots. So Minnesota State University was ready to take on Chinese helicopter students at its Mankato campus. Ironically, the training has now been delayed for lack of enough Chinese airport capacity to allow practice when the students return home.

Engine Sputter Preceded M20 Crash

Plane Hit Terrain During Last Radio Transmission

A single-engine Mooney M20 crashed Sunday about two minutes after takeoff from Stinson Municipal Airport (KSSF), six miles south of San Antonio, Texas. Witnesses reported hearing the engine sputter, and mysanantonio.com reports a transmission from the pilot to the tower was cut short by the impact with the ground.

Tempest Has New Magneto Kits For Bendix

Two Levels Of Kits For Inspections, Overhauls

Tempest has announced the availability of 12 new repair kits for Bendix magnetos. The new offerings include six repair kits and six deluxe repair kits. A repair kit is generally used for 500 hour inspections, a deluxe repair kit for major repairs and overhauls.

IAI Presents New Landing, Take-Off Solutions For UAS

Demonstrations With Panther UAS At Annual Conference On Aerospace Sciences

New methods for take off and landing of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), implemented in the Panther UAS, will be presented by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) at the 52nd Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences. The Conference on Aerospace Sciences is held every year by the Israel society of aerospace sciences.

Virgin Galactic Selects NanoRacks For Suborbital Research

Will Develop Rack System To Fly Experiments Aboard SpaceShipTwo

Virgin Galactic, has selected NanoRacks to construct a rack system to allow research payloads to fly to space aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2). With these new racks, SS2 will allow researchers to conduct experiments during several minutes of microgravity using a mounting system also employed on the International Space Station (ISS).

Aero-TV: WAI 2011 NextGen Panel: How Will NextGen Affect Our Airports?

From WAI2011: A Fascinating Look At The World Of NextGen And Its Affect On Airports

One of the high points of our year is our annual trek to the Women in Aviation gathering. Unfortunately; due to commitments overseas, we're going to miss most of the event this year but for those of you with the ability, we can't recommend a visit highly enough... no matter what gender you represent. This year's rendition takes place in Dallas (which we visited a few days ago for the 2012 HeliExpo). The 23rd Annual International Women in Aviation Conference will be held from Thursday, March 8 through Saturday, March 10, 2012. This year's Conference will take place at the Hilton Ana

FAA To Increase Efficiency, Reduce Emissions In Atlanta, Charlotte Airspace

Initiative Is Part Of NextGen Air Traffic Control Modernization Program

Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta and aviation partners kicked off a collaborative effort Wednesday to make air traffic control more efficient, help airlines improve on-time performance, and reduce emissions generated by aircraft flying in and out of airports in the Atlanta and Charlotte, NC, areas.

LightSquared CEO Resigns Amid Questions About Political Connections

Sanjiv Ahuja Had Ties To The White House

The CEO of LightSquared has stepped down from his post at the start-up broadband company under a cloud of questions about his political ties to the White House.

Senator Schumer Re-Introduces, Expands Helicopter Noise Legislation

Latest Effort Is An Amendment To The Highway Trust Fund Bill

Having failed to get helicopter noise legislation into the compromise FAA authorization bill, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has broadened the scope of his proposal and is now trying to attach it to the highway trust fund authorization bill currently being debated on Capitol Hill.

National General Aviation Award Winners Named For 2012

Indivuals Honored By The GA Awards Program In Conjunction With The FAA

In each of the past 49 years, the General Aviation Awards program and the FAA have recognized a small group of aviation professionals in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance, avionics, and safety for their contributions to aviation, education, and flight safety.

Boeing Receives Official Certificates For 787 World Records

Recognized For Longest Flight In Class, Fastest Circumnavigation

Jonathan Gaffney, president and CEO of the National Aeronautic Association, presented Boeing with two certificates confirming the official status of the two world records earned by the 787 Dreamliner in late 2011. The airplane earned records for completing the longest flight for an airplane in its weight class (440,924 to 551,155 lbs.) with a 10,336 nmi flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh.

United Flight Attendants Ratify Contract

AFA Official Says Deal Is Good For Both The Airline And The Union

Flight Attendants at United Airlines, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), have ratified a contract covering the 15,000 pre-merger United Flight Attendants. An overwhelming majority of Flight Attendants, 88.5 percent, participated in the vote and 70.4 percent solidly cast their ballots in favor of the agreement.

NE Florida NIMBYS Seek To Block Aerobatic Practice Area

Permit Up For Renewal Near Amelia Island Airport (KFHB)

A group of local residents in Amelia Island, FL are working to block the re-authorization of a permit for an aerobatic practice area near the community's airport. The permit has been requested by Keoki Gray of Amelia Island Aerobatics. The practice area is over unpopulated areas of Crane Island and the Amelia River.