LEONARDO'S AUSTRALIAN AW139 FLEET GROWS

Leonardo has announced further growth in presence of the AW139 intermediate twin engine helicopter in Australia with orders for a total of six aircraft by three different prime operators: Babcock Australasia, RACQ CQ Rescue and StarFlight Australia. All six aircraft will be delivered from Leonardo's Vergiate final assembly line facility in Italy during 2024.

GRAVITY SUCKS

Well, I always wanted to talk about this thing called gravity.

EMIRATES SELECTS DIAMOND AIRCRAFT DA42-VI FOR FLIGHT TRAINING

Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA), operated by Emirates airline, is bolstering its current fleet with an order for three state-of-the-art twin engine training aircraft DA42-VI and its corresponding flight simulator from Diamond Aircraft.

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW AT AVALON AIRPORT

The AMDA Foundation Limited is an Australian not-for-profit corporation established to promote the development of aviation and Australia's industrial, manufacturing and information / communications technology resources in the fields of aviation, aerospace, maritime, defence and security. AMDA achieves this goal by delivering Australia's most prominent and respected world-class biennial industry expositions as platforms for interaction between industry, defence, government and academia.

THE LUFTHA SA HEIST

Within hours, the men would flee, having committed one of the largest cash robberies in the United States, prompting an investigation which would span decades and would go on to be called the ‘Lufthansa Heist ’.

HUMAN FACTORS: WHOSE FAULT, REALLY?

It was a pretty little thing, the Cherokee. Liquidly gloss white, with two-toned red stripes on the wings, fuselage and tail its gear wrapped in wheel pants. It had been owned by one man for the previous 20 years without incident and yet, nine months after its sale to a new owner, the Cherokee was a crumpled pile of junk lying in a ditch off the end of Runway 24 at Oswego County Airport (KFZY) in Fulton, New York.

POISONLESS PERFORMANCE UNLEADED AVGAS APPROVED AMIDST SAN JOSE CONTROVERSY

Heavy lead fills the air with power and poison and a ban on 100 Low Lead fuel sales all year at two California airports sparked outrage that burned through decades of red tape. High performance piston fuel that does not cause brain damage was approved by the FAA on 1 September and the US Environmental Protection Agency started the process with a hearing on 1 November.

NAMESTO REMEMBER Amy Johnson (1903-1941) was a pioneering British aviator

\"The silence,\" she wrote in an article on gliding, \"broken only by the soft swish of the wind in my hair, is rapture after the deafening roar to which I have been accustomed for so many years.\"

PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS

Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for much of the 20th century. It was the first airline to fly worldwide and pioneered numerous innovations of the modern airline industry such as jumbo jets, and computerised reservation systems. Until its dissolution in 1991, Pan Am 'epitomised the luxury and glamour of intercontinental travel' and it remains a cultural icon of the 20th century, identified by its blue globe logo ('The Blue Meatball') the use of the word 'Clipper' in its aircraft names and call signs and the white uniform caps of its pilots.

BEST OF THE BEST FRANK WHITTLE INVENTOR OF THE JET ENGINE

Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAES was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for a similar invention which was technically unfeasible at the time. Whittle's jet engines were developed some years earlier than those of Germany's Hans von Ohain, who designed the first-to-fly (but never operational) turbojet engine.

THE QUEEN OF THE SKIES FINALLY RETIRES

The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am requested an airliner that would be at least two and a half time larger than the 707 in order to reduce the cost of flying.

DOT's ICAD AIRSHOW AND AVIATION YOUTH DEVELOPMENT EVENT AT HEIDELBERG

Our team of photographers, Charlie and Fiona Hugo, Paul Ludick, Christine and I all attended the Department of Transport's (DoT) and South African Civil Aviation's (SACAA) International Civil Aviation Day (ICAD) at the Heidelberg airfield on Saturday 3 December 2022.

AERO CLUB OF SOUTH AFRICA AWARDS 2022

Due to my timeshare commitment at Mabula at this time of the year, I was not in a position to attend the AeCSA awards on Saturday 26 November. Like last year the awards ceremony was held at Rand airport in the beautifully decorated Springbok Flying Safaris hangar belonging to Captain Flippie Vermeulen and his family.

EXERCISE VUK'UHLOME 2022 LOHATLA 2022

The South African Defence Force (SANDF) has a very privileged position within the worlds military. The large expanse of South Africa allows our military to have huge training bases where large scale exercises and testing of military doctrine can be tried, tested, reevaluated and honed to perfection. There are ten such bases worldwide and the SANDF's Lohatla Combat Training Centre (CTC) in the Northern Cape is one of two such in the Southern Hemisphere.

BELL TEXTRON's VALOR WINS US ARMY'S FLRAA COMPETITION A TO REPLACE BLACK HAWK

The award is worth up to $1.3 billion, but a follow-on production contract could place the programme in the range of $70 billion over its lifetime.

DELIVERY OF FIRST BELL 505 TO ANGOLA

Bell Textron company, announced the delivery of the first Bell 505 to Angolan aviation company, BESTFLY. The aircraft was handed over during a ceremony in Mirabel, Canada.

WHEN THE CHALLENGE IS MET

On 2 November 2021 at 09h25Z, a pilot and a passenger on-board a Bell 206L helicopter with registration ZS-HDX were engaged in a repositioning flight operation from Rand Airport (FAGM) in Gauteng province to Buffels Mine near Klerksdorp in the North West province.

LUXAVIATION

There are several stages involved in purchasing an aircraft. Though the potential gravity of each step can make the process appear daunting, buying or selling an aeroplane does not have to be complex.

HARTZELL AVIATION FORMED

Hartzell, the storied and inveterate American manufacturer of aircraft propeller systems, has been reorganised under the auspices of Tailwind Technologies Inc. The emergent entity, Hartzell Aviation, encompasses a growing number of brands to include: Hartzell Propeller, Hartzell Aerospace Welding, and Hartzell Engine Tech.

BOMBARDIER TO BEGIN MODIFYING GLOBAL 6000 FOR GERMAN MILITARY

Bombardier Defence celebrated the arrival of a Global 6000 aircraft in Wichita, Kansas as part of the next phase of the company's contract to support Lufthansa Technik's participation in the German armed forces' Hensoldt-led Pegasus programme. Since the aircraft's 2020 selection to the programme, Bombardier has delivered three Global 6000 jets to Lufthansa Technik.

UNITED AIRLINES UNVEILS HISTORIC ORDER TO PURCHASE UP TO 200 NEW BOEING WIDEBODY AIRLINERS

On 12 December United Airlines announced the largest widebody order by a US carrier in commercial aviation history: 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options to purchase 100 more. This historic purchase is the next chapter in the ambitious United Next plan and will bolster the airline's leadership role in global travel for years to come.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR COMMERCIAL AIRLINE AVIATION?

As the pandemic seemed to end, or at least the world found a way to live with the virus, it looked like the aviation industry had managed to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

AIR ARABIA's GROWING CONSTELLATION OF AIRLINES IS ABOUT TO BECOME LARGER

The Middle East is one of the main players in global commercial aviation, with the region's three major full-service carriers, the so-called 'MEB3', Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, garnering a great deal of attention.

US LAWMAKERS DENY KEY EXTENSION FOR BOEING 737 MAX

After declining to add a deadline extension for Boeing to fit new safety systems on the 737 MAX-7 and MAX-10 to the latest annual spending bill, United States lawmakers have squashed the manufacturer's hopes of continuing with certification of the aircraft type.

PATHWAY TO THE US GREEN CARD AS A PILOT

Founded in 1992 by Jean Francois Harvey, Harvey Law Group has evolved into a leading multinational law firm with specialisations in immigration and business. With office in more than 20 countries, including South Africa, alongside 30+ years of experience Harvey Law Group aims towards one goal, your success. Through different residency, citizenship, citizenship by ancestry, visa and retirement programmes Harvey Law Group has been ensuring its clients a smooth transition whichever program they so choose. As of 2021 Harvey Law Group has been helping pilots through the process of acquiring their green cards via the EB-2 NIW pilot programme, allowing them to stay, work and live in the United States with their dependents.

MORE EFFICIENT TO BUILD NEW BOEING 787s THAN TO RESTORE THEM

Following the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to temporarily stop certification of newly built Boeing 787s between May 2021 and August 2022, it is more efficient for Boeing to build new aircraft rather than to restore the stored inventory from that period, analysts have said.

TAMARACK AND PROSPECTIVE PARTNERS EXPLORING A320 UPGRADES

Founded to provide advancements in aerospace efficiency technology, Sandpoint, Idaho-based Tamarack Aerospace Group is currently engaged in serious and confidential talks with single-aisle aircraft manufacturing organizations, carriers, lessors and service organisations at the Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) show.

Best of the best Robinson Helicopter founder Frank Robinson

Frank Robinson passed away on 12 November at his Rolling Hills, California home. Robinson feigned insult when asked about his possible retirement at a packed 2009 Heli-Expo press conference. Why?” he shot back with a grin when asked about it. You know what the late comedian Jack Benny said when they asked him what he was going to do with all that money when he died? He said, If cannot take it with me, won’t go.’ He didn’t need a retirement and I think don’t, either.”

80% of people have a fear of flying

The fear of flight has been a well-existing phenomenon that many fliers suffer from, especially the first-timers. The comfortable ride through the clouds can be a memorable journey for many, but few are in a hurry to make a landing and feel the solid surface and fresh air.

101 ways to kill your instructor

On 26 February 2022 at approximately 0645Z, an instructor and a student pilot on-board a Jabiru J430 aircraft with registration ZU-IKG took off from Runway 27 at Rhino Park Aerodrome with the intention to land back at the same aerodrome. The purpose of the flight was to conduct circuit training towards a conversion to a Jabiru J430 aircraft. The flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions VMC) by day and under the provisions of Part 141 of the Civil Aviation Regulations CAR) 2011 as amended.