New FAA Rule Prohibits Former Inspectors From Taking Jobs With Airlines For 2 Years

In a recent announcement the FAA confirmed that a new rule has been enacted which specifically prohibits any former FAA Safety Inspector from working for an airline which they had previously been responsible for inspecting. While this does begin to address the issue of close relationships between airlines and FAA inspectors, there is much more that needs to be done in order to fix the problems which have become prevalent in recent years. This rule has been developed in direct response to the lack of inspections done on Southwest Airlines fleet of aircraft.

In that particular situation it was determined that a close relationship between the Southwest safety official and the FAA inspector in charge of handling Southwest’s inspections resulted in a breakdown in the system. As safety inspections are a significant expense for any airline, the less frequently they are done the more money is saved. In this situation it was determined that if the inspections were done at appropriate intervals the problems with the Southwest 737s would have come to light before an in air incident. In this case Southwest Airlines had hired an individual who left his position with the FAA to work with Southwest. Because he had a close relationship with many of the managers and inspectors with the FAA he used this to persuade them to not carry out the necessary inspections. While the new rule is intended to prevent this type of situation, the fact remains that there is an obvious moral and ethical problem within the FAA to allow this to happen in the first place.

As an FAA Inspector, whether or not you have a close personal relationship with an individual working at an airline should not have an impact on your job. These individuals are in charge of the safety of millions of people every year and this is a tremendous responsibility. As such, there is an obvious degree of professionalism which should inherently come with the position. By adopting this new rule the FAA is basically stating that they cannot trust their employees to act in a professional manner and put personal relationships aside. This does not bode well for the FAA and is a sign of the poor overall management quality of the organization. It is interesting to note that the new rule only prohibits former inspectors from working for airlines which they directly worked with in their role with the FAA.

This essentially means that an individual who is a former inspector could work for any airline they did not oversee, before the so called “cooling off” period of 2 years. In this situation they would still have the close relationships with the individuals still working at the FAA and could attempt to use this to benefit their new employer. With this in mind it appears that this rule is nothing more than an attempt to establish a new meaningless regulation that makes it look as though they are taking the matter seriously. It is disheartening that an agency tasked with ensuring the safety of the flying public would even have to write a rule which discourages former employees from trying to leverage their past relationships in an attempt to forgo necessary inspections.

Another issue which was recently addressed by the FAA was the implementation of new safety guidelines regarding the mandatory installation and use of anti-icing devices. The new rule requires aircraft under 60,000 pounds to have ice sensors installed or require airlines operating these aircraft to remind pilots to switch on anti-icing controls much earlier than previously issued guidelines required. Members of the National Transportation Safety Board have been trying to get these rules enacted for years, but some are disappointed that the new regulation does not take further steps to prevent icing problems. As it stands the new rules only apply to aircraft operated by airlines and do not apply to aircraft which weigh more than 60,000 pounds. Safety officials with the NTSB state that these requirements should apply to all aircraft regardless of who owns them and who is operating them.

The new rule relating to FAA safety inspectors is an unfortunate sign of the times we currently live in and how corruption is around us everywhere. The situation involving the lack of inspections for Southwest Airlines fortunately did not result in any loss of life, but it surely could have been the case. The complete disregard for the public’s safety is an unspeakable act committed by the individuals at the FAA who allowed these aircraft to continue operating without having the necessary inspections completed. In fact, these inspectors were responsible for allowing some 60,000 flights to take place without the proper safety inspections. This is a blatant abuse of their position and should have resulted in immediate termination for the individuals involved. Whether or not this is the case cannot be determined as the FAA has not released the name of the individuals involved. The only thing we can do now is to look forward and hope that the current inspectors have learned a valuable lesson from this situation.

Boeing Gets The Nod From FAA For Its Largest Aircraft Ever, The 747-8

After countless delays and numerous cost overruns the Boeing 747-8 has finally received approval from the FAA. The project initially got underway in 2005 with the goal of finishing in 2009 and was bogged down from the beginning as engineers had to put more effort into the already lagging 787 Dreamliner project. In addition to this the design underwent numerous design changes after the test flights began. These changes resulted in even more delays and pushed the entire process way behind schedule. The initial plan for this cargo jet project was to simply stretch the layout of the existing 747-400 aircraft. This plan consisted of adding two extensions to the fuselage, with the wings and remaining structure unchanged. Boeing decided to utilize the 787 style engine on the new aircraft for increased fuel efficiency, but this required changes to the wing in order to perform as expected.

Since this decision required the engineering team to totally redesign the wing it resulted in a much longer time frame than anticipated. The wingspan on the new 747-8 is a total of 225 feet which is 13 feet wider than the model used on the previous design. This ultimately resulted in some issues that were found on test flights. On the test flights it was discovered that there was excess vibration while operating at cruising speeds. While these vibrations were discovered to only be a nuisance, and nothing that compromised the safety of the aircraft, it was still another issue to be resolved. Another problem that was discovered during the many test flights was buffeting which occurred when the flaps were lowered during landing. However, this was a minor issue and was resolved by changing the settings of the flaps and did not require any structural alterations. The Boeing 747-8 was found to have much better handling at low speeds than expected, which helped with resolving the buffeting issue.

Test pilots who flew the 747-8 during the test phase of the project report that this model handles similar to the existing 747-400 models. Boeing reports that pilots who are certified to fly the 747-400 will only be required to have 3 days of training in order to fly the 747-8. While the new 747-8 was intended to have an advanced flight management computer system, problems in developing the new system resulted in the 747-8 being rolled out with the same flight management system as current 747 models. Boeing has plans to release an upgraded software package in the future which will add to the functionality of the current system.

With a total of $4 billion being spent thus far on developing the 747-8, Boeing is looking to recoup these costs as quickly as possible by increasing production of these models. They are currently producing approximately 1.5 units per month and they are planing to increase production to 2 units per month starting in early 2012. They have received a total of 78 orders for the 747-8 model and they are working on a separate model to accommodate passengers instead of freight.

GPS Based Aircraft Collision Avoidance System Being Developed At MIT

The FAA has tasked researchers at MIT with developing a GPS based system to prevent in air collisions between aircraft. While this is not as big of an issue with commercial airliners, it is more prominent among smaller aircraft and the system is being designed to work for both types of aircraft. The current systems being used rely upon ground radar systems which in some cases do not detect smaller aircraft flying at low altitudes. Because of this the FAA has put into place a ruling that will require all aircraft to use a GPS based system by the year 2020. This means that all aircraft, regardless of size, will need to have a system which transmits GPS positions between aircraft in order to prevent collisions. Researchers at MIT have been researching past collisions and near collisions in order to create algorithms which can be used by future systems to predict and avoid in air collisions.

They have found that over the last ten years there have been 112 incidents in which small planes have had collisions and there were thousands of close calls were a collision was narrowly avoided. These statistics are the driving force behind the need to develop a system that will reduce the number of collisions and close calls. While combing through years of data researchers also found that the majority of these collisions and close calls occurred in close proximity to an airport. They have used all of this data to help determine how the new system will work. They have also utilized much of the data in developing the algorithms that will control how the system operates and how it detects the probability of an in air collision.

One thing that they focused on when developing the new system is to reduce false alarms and increase the accuracy of the system. The thought process was that if a system were to produce numerous false alarms that over time users would simply ignore the system, thus making it fairly ineffective. The system they have come up with consists of a two tiered warning system which warns pilots of possible threats for in air collisions. This system has a moderate alert warning and a high alert warning which each have specific characteristics that are used to differentiate between them.

The moderate alert is used to warn pilots when their aircraft’s projected path is possibly intersecting with another aircraft. The high alert will sound if there is an extremely high risk of colliding with another aircraft, this would be in situations where two aircraft are approaching one another head on. With all of the technology that is used in modern aircraft it is quite surprising that it has taken this long for this project to be spearheaded. Nonetheless the researchers at MIT are certainly capable of producing a high quality system which will hopefully prevent any future mid air collisions between aircraft.

American Airlines Announces Massive Order For 460 New Aircraft

In an announcement to the press American Airlines confirmed that they have just placed a record order for 460 new aircraft. The aircraft air to be made by both Boeing and Airbus, with Airbus getting a slightly larger portion of the order. This will mark the first time in many years that American has bought an aircraft from Airbus, the last Airbus to be operated by American was pulled from service in 1998. The order will be for 260 planes from airbus and the remaining 200 to be manufactured by Boeing, with options in place for a few hundred more between both manufacturers. This marks a major shift in the model being followed by US airlines. On average the United States has some of the oldest aircraft throughout the world, which is likely to soon change because of this announcement.

As we have seen in the past, when it comes to the major airlines in the US when one makes a big move the rest are sure to follow. This is good news economically speaking as this order will likely speed up plans that American’s competitors have for replacing their aircraft. The other major airlines are likely to start scrambling to put together major orders for new aircraft. If they do not they will be at a major disadvantage in the future as American will then have a fleet of aircraft which will be far superior as compared to its competitors. The new aircraft will not feature increased fuel efficiency but also much improved interiors with superior in flight entertainment options and other improvements.

The new aircraft will allow American Airlines to better cater to the business class of travelers, which are generally viewed as the most profitable segment of travelers. There had been rumors that American was going to be placing a substantial order for aircraft but no one predicted it would be this big of an order. This will allow the airline to replace its aging fleet of fuel hungry MD-80s with more fuel efficient modern designs. With the current high cost of fuel and no relief in sight, American decided that now was the time to take action. For the first time in the history of the company fuel costs are now greater than labor costs, which helped them to make this decision.

There are some who question this move by American and think it is illogical to undertake such an expensive capital investment project in a time of such dismal results. Those who question the decision think that the business model for American needs to be updated, not the aircraft. It will be some time until we see how this all plays out, but in the short term this has definitely gotten the attention of the other major airlines in the US. It is also good news for Boeing and Airbus as both manufacturers are likely to see more business as a result of this move. This move is also likely to bring much needed business to American, as the public will be more likely to book a flight with an airline that has better aircraft. The first of the aircraft in this order are slated to be delivered as early as 2013 from both manufacturers. This short turn around time means that American will only have to wait just over a year until they start to see how well this benefits the company.

ASTM International Approves Biofuel For Airlines

ASTM International announced on July 1st that they have approved the use of biofuel in all aircraft used by commercial airlines. ASTM International is a regulatory body which is responsible for setting industry wide standards for a number of industries including that of commercial airlines. This recent announcement is expected to have a huge impact on the airline and fuel industries. The approval of biofuel use in commercial aircraft will likely result in a multitude of investments being made by corporations in the form of production facilities and transportation networks for the finished product. The ASTM approval essentially paves the way for airlines to use biofuel made from a variety of material including algae, wood chips, and a variety of inedible plants.

The biggest issue that biofuel now faces is how quickly fuel companies can build the facilities necessary to produce the fuel in the large quantities needed by the airlines. Many of the companies that have been investing substantial resources into researching biofuel are now reassured that there will be enough demand for their product. This will mean that these companies can now move into full production mode as they will now have more demand than they could possibly keep up with. With major energy companies such as Exxon and BP pouring money into building new plants for producing the fuel, there should be a slowly increasing supply of different types of biofuel. Each company is taking a slightly different approach to producing biofuel and they have each been using a different source to produce the fuel. With Exxon utilizing algae as a base for the fuel and BP using biobutanol, the two major energy companies have gone in entirely different directions with their efforts.

Both Boeing and Airbus are also getting into the mix with efforts of their own to produce biofuel as economically and cheaply as possible. In fact Boeing is already investing in building a complete network that will handle all aspects of producing, storing, and transporting biofuel. They are investing in resources located in South America where they plan to grow the material used for the fuel and then produce the finished product as close as possible to the location where it is grown. For Airbus, the location they have chosen is India. The reason for choosing India is that the climate there is ideal for growing jatropha, which they plan to use as the primary plant ingredient for the fuel. This location is also ideal as the region is expected to experience rapid growth in air travel demand over the next few decades.

There are also a handful of smaller energy companies that are getting into the mix to capitalize on the fact that the demand for biofuel is expected to severely outpace the supply over the next few years. It is expected to take around 5 years or more until production levels are high enough to even come close to meeting the demand for biofuel used by airlines. In just a few decades from now it is predicted that biofuel production will provide around 1/3 of the fuel used by all airlines. Many of the smaller energy companies are trying to get a piece of this action by developing a formula that is both cost effective and reliable. Many of these smaller companies will probably be bought out by the larger energy companies, especially those smaller companies that are able to produce biofuel more efficiently than others. This industry is wide open for growth right now and will likely end up creating thousands of jobs over the next several years.

Paramount Signs MOU to Recruit Crews for Korean Air

Crew-leasing companies partner to provide Captains and First Officers to Korean airline Alexandria, Virginia – July 25, 2011 –Paramount Aviation Resources Group , a global provider of flight crew personnel, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Total Aviation Service (TAS), a Los Angeles based flight crew procurement agency, to recruit crew members for Korean Air. The MOU between Paramount Aviation Resources Group and TAS outlines a joint, multi-year arrangement to recruit crew members for South Korea’s flagship airline.

“I look forward to working with TAS on this joint effort. Korean Air continues to expand and requires the addition of many highly-qualified, professional pilots. The collaboration between TAS and Paramount will enable Korean Air to satisfy its demand for pilots,” said Michael W. Johnson Paramount Aviation Resources Group President and CEO. “Paramount has had a lot of success recruiting for the Asian market, and we look forward to finding Korean Air some of the best pilots in the business.”

Paramount Aviation Resources Group has been recruiting pilots in the Asian market since 2008. In that time, Paramount Aviation Resources Group has placed dozens of pilots with airlines such as IndiGo, Shenzhen Airlines and Hainan Airlines.

“We are very pleased to work in partnership with Paramount,” said Bruce Philips Total Aviation Service’s General Manager. “Paramount has a proven track record for recruiting reputable and professional pilots. We are looking forward to working together to fulfill Korean Air’s present and future expat cockpit crew manning requirements.”

Paramount Aviation Resources Group is currently recruiting Captains and First Officers for Korean Air on Boeing B-747-400, Boeing B-777, Boeing B-737NG and Airbus A-330 aircraft. Korean Air is hiring rated and unrated pilots; therefore, both are encouraged to apply. Interested pilots should contact Paramount Aviation Resources Group Vice President of Recruitment Services, Mr. Ayman Jarrah at ayman.jarrah@paramountarg.com.

In addition to winning numerous awards in 2010 for its commercial service, Korean Air was also ranked as the number one global cargo airline by IATA for the sixth consecutive year. On June 17, 2011 Korean Air flew its inaugural Airbus A380 commercial flight from Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Korean Air has ordered ten A380 aircraft with the first five to be delivered by the end of 2011 and the remaining five by 2014.

About Paramount Aviation Resources Group
Founded in 2006, Paramount Aviation Resources Group is quickly becoming the most-trusted provider of leased flight crew personnel in the world. With a commitment to aviation safety, reducing operating costs, and providing impeccable service, Paramount Aviation Resources Group is helping air operators achieve long-term viability. Paramount Aviation Resources Group was formed by airline professionals with thousands of flight hours and decades of experience as line pilots, instructors, and managers at international Part 121 air carriers. Visit Paramount Aviation Resources Group on the web at www.paramountarg.com or on Twitter @ParamountARG.

About Total Aviation Service
TAS was created in early 2010, by senior level airline management, as the newest flight crew leasing agency provider to Korean Air. The company’s management team has a combined 45 years of accumulated experience and expertise in the flight crew leasing and airline business in the Asian marketplace. The company’s goal is to become one of the preeminent flight crew providers in the years to come by offering a fluid process from the initial application procedure, through the selection process, initial training and the term of their crews’ assignment to the airline. TAS is committed to the philosophy that the cornerstone of its success will involve professional, transparent and continual open and honest communication with its assigned flight crewmembers. Visit TAS on the web at www.flytas.com.

Boeing 777 Commercial Airliner

The Boeing 777 is a long range, wide body aircraft which features massive twin engines with seating for over 300 people. Manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the 777 uses the world’s largest diameter turbofan which is over 9 feet in diameter on most models. The size of many of the aircraft’s components is simply astounding and cannot truly be appreciated until you are standing beside it. Another unique feature of the 777 is that it uses the largest tires of any aircraft on its landing gear. Each tire can support a load of just under 60,000 pounds. The landing gear consists of two sets with six wheels in each set, which makes for a simply massive landing gear system. The Boeing 777 was developed by utilizing input from 8 major airlines and turning this information into an aircraft that would fill the gap between the existing 767 and 747. This was also the first fly by wire aircraft to be designed and built by Boeing as well as being the first commercial aircraft to be entirely designed using computers. Several variations of the 777 have been built over the years with the main difference being a difference in range or the number of passengers that can be accommodated. There have been 923 of the Boeing 777s built to date (2011), since the beginning of production in 1993.

Design
The Boeing 777 is widely known as the first commercial aircraft to be designed during the “computer age” and it features a lot of technological components that were not featured on previous models. To begin with the 777 featured a fly by wire control system which was a first for any Boeing Commercial Airplanes product, as well as utilizing a computer system which relied on a total fiber optic cable network to handle the processing of all avionic data and information. This really was a giant leap into the digital age for Boeing. The 777 was also one of the first Boeing aircraft to be factory made with glass cockpit instrument displays which featured LCD screen which were manufactured by Honeywell. While the aircraft was a fly by wire model Boeing decided to retain the conventional yoke control system as opposed to a side mounted control stick which is found in most cockpits of fly by wire aircraft. The 777, in keeping with the theme of being totally unique, featured a twin engine design as opposed to a quad or triple engine design which is generally used in such large aircraft. The result was that the 777 uses two massive engines that are the largest diameter engine on any aircraft in operation, with a truly astounding diameter of over 9 feet.

The 777 features wings which are swept back at 31.6 degrees and also have an airfoil design which are both intended for sustained cruising at Mach .83. The wings were also made with a greater thickness and length than previous models which allowed it superior take off performance and the ability to fly at higher altitudes. The airframe on the 777 utilized composite materials in a number of areas including the cabin floor and the rudder. This was again, one of the first Boeing aircraft to feature the widespread use of composite materials and around 9% of the total weight is from composites. Given that composite material is much lighter than traditional materials this means that the 777 contains a large amount of composite material. This aircraft also featured the massive landing gear mentioned earlier which relied upon a triple redundant hydraulic system to ensure that the gear is always in an operational state.

Development
The Boeing 777 was developed in response to the fact that the airlines were disappointed with Boeing’s previously proposed 767-X. The airlines had asked Boeing to design an aircraft which would be between the 767 and 747, to which they responded with the 767-X. This design was essentially a 767 with a stretched fuselage and it shared the tail, nose and many other characteristics of the 767. The airlines were unhappy with this and requested an entirely new design for this aircraft. Boeing listened to their customers and went back to the drawing board to develop an aircraft that would take all of the airline’s suggestions and roll it into one aircraft. This was the first time that any manufacturer had taken the input from airlines and used it to design an aircraft. In fact there were representatives from 8 major airlines that worked closely with Boeing employees throughout the entire project, thus ensuring that they all ended up with an aircraft to suit their needs. The group of representatives from the airlines became such a consistent presence during the design phase that they became known within Boeing as the “Working Together” group. Boeing also became the first company to use a computer aided design (CAD) for all phases of the 777 project. This allowed them to shorten development times drastically as they could test components virtually to ensure they would work and fit with other parts. This allowed them to save a lot of time and money during the design phase. This project was completed in a very short time, considering the standards for large scale commercial airlines. The design phase started in 1990 and by 1993 they had begun to assemble the Boeing 777. The first flight occurred on June 12, 1994 which was just about 4 ½ years after design efforts got underway. This was a truly astounding success for Boeing and its partners as they had designed an entirely new aircraft from the ground up in under 5 years.

Beech 2000a Starship 1 Images

The Beechcraft Starship is a twin-turboprop aircraft capable of carrying six- to eight-passengers in a pressurized hull. The Beechcraft Starship is produced by Beech Aircraft Corporation. The last starship, NC-53 was produced in 1995. The Beechcraft company eventually determined that the small fleet of aircraft were cost prohibitive and decided to scrap the aurcraft remaining under it’s control.

Photos of the Beech 2000a Starship 1

Northwest Airlines Flight Timetable

Have you ever rushed to get to the airport only to discover that your flight had been delayed? How annoying! Don’t get stuck waiting around at the airport due to those inevitable delays. Make your next trip less hectic and stressful by using Northwest Airline timetable to avoid unnecessary delays at the airport. There are, of course, several ways to obtain the Northwest Airlines Flight Timetable information you need. Here are the most common:

• Email: Northwest Airlines will email everything you need to know about your upcoming flight to your laptop, cell phone or Blackberry simply by sending them a request to do so at flights@nwa.com.
• Downloadable Timetables: in the event you know you will not have access to the internet while travelling, be sure to download at the Northwest Airlines Flight Timetable onto you laptop or other handheld devise via their website to have access to all of the information needed regarding your flight.
• Flight Alerts: one of the fastest and easiest ways to keep up with changes in your flight’s schedule is to sign up for email or text flight alerts when buying your tickets. That way, you will be sure to get the message when your flight is delayed via your phone, computer or other electronic device.

Getting stuck at the airport doesn’t have to ruin an otherwise good trip. Be sure to avoid annoying delays by keeping up to date with your flight’s status using one of the tracking options listed above.

Cheaper Days to Fly

Before you plan your next trip, you may want to consider what day of the week you fly. Believe it or not, there are actually cheaper days to fly. There are three things that drive airline pricing: competition, demand and inventory. When it comes to finding cheaper days to fly, you will want to concentrate on demand. The less demand there is for airline seats, the less expensive they will be. Here are some tips to consider when looking for cheap flight seats:

• Book flights on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Saturdays for the best deals. Be sure to book a Saturday night stay-over for the absolute cheapest tickets.
• Always fly in the early morning.
• Look to see which days are the least travelled days in and out of specific areas. Stay away from busy days when everyone else wants to book their flight.
• The cheapest airfares are found in the spring and summer months when business travel is down and more seats are available.

Finding the absolute best deals on airfare requires doing a little research to determine cheaper days to fly which means figuring out when everyone else wants to get out of town, and book your flight on another day.

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