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December 09, 2022

Airborne 12.09.22: Aura eTowPlane, B-21 Rollout Clues, False Pilot

Also: Volato HondaJet Order, F-16 Goof, Modifying Global 6000s, Savback Helicopters

Aura Aero has obtained the approval of the French Gliding Federationfor their purchase of an electric INTEGRAL. The Federation will use their new aircraft as a glider tow for a local club. The electric operation will help to minimize sound pollution, carbon emissions. While such reductions are dandy, the most important aspect to young students and cash-strapped gliding enthusiasts is the cost of electric operation over avgas-powered tow planes. On 02 December 2022, the United States Air Force rolled out its new, long-range, intercontinental, stealth, strategic bomber during a nighttime ceremony contrived to obfuscate details of the aircraft’s design and capabilities. Northrop Grumman’

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China Eastern Airlines Takes Delivery of World’s First C919

Something Borrowed …

On 09 December 2022, the world's first C919 aircraft, registration number B-919A, was delivered to China Eastern Airlines (CEA), the type’s launch customer. The delivery ceremony was highlighted by a maiden flight of the inaugural C919 crewed by three senior CEA pilots who repositioned the aircraft from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), where it passed through a water gate before being officially inducted into the CEA fleet.

Journey’s End

Fifty-four years after the first 747, dubbed The City of Everett, astonished a world still acclimating to the Jet Age, the 1,574th and final specimen of the aircraft on behalf of which the term Jumbo-Jet was coined has left Boeing's sprawling and storied Everett, Washington, wide-body plant for flight testing.

High Fashion

NASA has awarded a delivery order contract to Collins Aerospace to produce a spacewalking system—read space-suit—for potential use outside the International Space Station. The 92.7-million award—the second under NASA’s Exploration EVA Services contract—tasks the renowned Raytheon subsidiary with the design and development of a next-generation space-suit and support systems appropriate to such.

Targeting the Electric Archer

The Centre Technologique en Aérospatiale (CTA)—a Canadian technological concern dedicated to the application of aerospace technologies—in cooperation with the École Nationale d'Aérotechnique (ÉNA) of Cégep Édouard-Montpetit—the largest college-level institution for aviation technology in North America—are making ready to convert a Piper Archer aircraft to electric power. The project is headed up by CAE—the Canadian technology company with which every pilot who’s ever sweated out long hours in a level-C or level-D simulator is deepl

French Gliding Federation Eyes Integral for Affordable, Sustainable Support Operation

French Sport plane manufacturer Aura Aero has obtained the approval of the French Gliding Federation (Fédération Française de Vol en Planeur, or the FFVP), with their purchase of an electric INTEGRAL. The Federation will use their new aircraft as a glider tow for a local club, making them the first to operate an all-electric towing aircraft in France. The electric operation will help to minimize sound pollution, carbon emissions. While such reductions are dandy, the most important aspect to young students and cash-strapped gliding enthusiasts is the cost of electric operation over avgas-powered tow planes.

Savback Helicopters Buys Mayman

Order for 25 High-Speed Cargo UAV Planned with Savback LOI

Savback Helicopters, a multi use helicopter and fixed-wing sales specialist, has signed a letter of intent with Mayman Aerospace, signifying their interest in buying 25 of the firm's Speeder. The Air Utility Vehicle is a compact, small-footprint, high-speed VTOL aircraft, designed to be a kind of logistical "swiss army knife". The Speeder is expected to provide "incredible maneuverability, high-speed, and heavy payload capabilities that will prove popular to military customers throughout the mountainous regions of Europe.

Parcel Courier Aims for Performance with Enclosed Payload, Fixed Wings, and Tilting Rotors

Blueflite's patent for their "advanced logistics drone platform" was accepted by the US Patent and Trademark Office this month, covering the "revolutionary" design of the delivery UAV. The now-patented aircraft sports 2 pairs of fixed wings and 8 electric propellers mounted on swiveling arms. The central pod, unlike other delivery-oriented drones in the running, carries its cargo in the main fuselage of the UAV, breaking from conventional underslung payloads.

Successful Hydrogen Test with Regional Turboprop Engine Shows Promise

Rolls-Royce and EasyJet have finished the first battery of ground tests using an early demonstrator for a hydrogen propulsion system for narrowbody airliners. The design is based on a modified Rolls-Royce AE 2100 A turboprop burning "green" hydrogen created from local wind and tidal power. The testing at the United Kingdom's Boscombe Down defense research facility has paved the way for full-scale ground tests in a similar vein using the company's Pearl 15 turbofan engine.

The Airplane Never Became Airborne, And Instead Veered Left

On November 15, 2022, at 1530 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built DA-2 airplane, N4307Q, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Oak Hill, Florida. The student pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A witness, who was the seller of the accident airplane stated that he purchased the airplane 2 years before, and that he had only about 3 hours of flight experience in the airplane. He further stated that the airplane’s flight controls were “very sensitive”.

Aero Linx: The Arizona Pilot’s Association (APA) The Arizona Pilot’s Association (APA) was organized in 1978 to give Arizona’s general aviation community a voice in aviation matters. Our mission remains much the same today as we continue to promote general aviation through advocacy at various levels of state and federal government, as well as through partnering with other aviation organizations in advocating our common interests: promoting aviation safety, pilot education, and public understanding of general aviation; preserving, maintaining, and even re-opening Arizona’s backcountry and recreational airstrips; broadcasting Arizona aviation news; and connecting Arizona pilots

North Atlantic High Level Airspace (NAT HLA) That volume of airspace (as defined in ICAO Document 7030) between FL 285 and FL 420 within the Oceanic Control Areas of Bodo Oceanic, Gander Oceanic, New York Oceanic East, Reykjavik, Santa Maria, and Shanwick, excluding the Shannon and Brest Ocean Transition Areas. ICAO Doc 007 North Atlantic Operations and Airspace Manual provides detailed information on related aircraft and operational requirements.

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (12.09.22)

“We are very happy to announce this partnership and to launch the tow-plane version of INTEGRAL. The trust that the FFVP places in us demonstrates the growing will of the aeronautical world to move towards an aviation concerned with its environmental impact. With this partnership, the AURA AERO family extends, taking one more step towards a decarbonized light aviation..." Source: Jérémy Caussade, president of Aura Aero, celebrating the approval of the French Gliding Federation (Fédération Française de Vol en Planeur, or the FFVP), with their purchase of an electric INTEGRAL.