deicer

https://worldwarwings.com/footage-of-fairchilds-xc-120-packplane-shows-container-separation

Thought we could have a thread to deposit cool aviation related distractions. Here's one with 6 good videos of low level transitions.... https://www.avgeekery.com/watch-star-wars-canyon-has-never-looked-or-sounded-better/

Some pictures in the article. https://simpleflying.com/dash-8-cargo-plane/

The other song list to check out is this guy, how he reimagines songs is amazing...

Don't know if you know about them, but check out the catalogue of this group...

Globe Theatre streaming Romeo and Juliet until May 3rd... https://www.timeout.com/london/news/shakespeares-globe-is-streaming-romeo-and-juliet-for-free-for-the-next-fortnight-042120

This article foreshadows the unfortunate reality of the situation... https://viewfromthewing.com/united-airlines-to-employees-get-ready-to-be-fired-on-october-1/ United Airlines To Employees: Get Ready To Be Fired On October 1 by Gary Leff on April 16, 2020 In light of the government’s bail out of U.S. airlines, United Airlines cannot furlough any employees until October 1. They can put employees on voluntary leave. They can convince employees to take early retirement. And they can ensure that employees work contractual minimum hours. Employees can be terminated for cause. But layoffs are forbidden through September 30. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby want employees to know that many of them will probably be let go on October 1. In a letter to employees, the two executives opened by applauding government subsidies for the U.S. airline industry. They note that the bailout does not cover the airline’s full payroll expense, but this is misleading, The bail out more than covers the payroll expense for employees who would have otherwise been laid off. United isn’t denying that. All they’re actually claiming is that government grants don’t cover 100% of payroll for everyone from Munoz, the rest of the C-suite, and the most senior pilots down to rampers and gate agents. But it was never supposed to, since that wasn’t necessary to avoid layoffs. Munoz and Kirby point out that even with payroll covered they still have to pay for “airport rent, supplies and infrastructure.” Travel is down 97% on United. They’ve cut the May schedule down to 10% of what was previously planned. They haven’t fully cut the June schedule yet, but they will – and they expect the level of cuts to be similar. This means employees will work fewer hours. The airline doesn’t expect travel to return quickly. Travel will be depressed even into next year, which is a point I’ve been emphasizing over the last 6 weeks, As a result they expect United’s “overall workforce, to be smaller than it is today, starting as early as October 1.” (Empahsis mine.) If the point of the $25 billion in payroll grants was to keep people attached to their jobs until the crisis passed, it will not accomplish that. What United is saying here is true and exactly what we should have expected, indeed because it’s consistent with what they were telling everyone to expect even before the airline bailout was passed.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is joining in also!

GE now cutting it's 737 order... https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/ge-cuts-737-max-order-in-new-blow-to-boeing-s-best-selling-jet-1.1422993 General Electric Co.’s aircraft-leasing division scrapped orders for 69 undelivered 737 Max jets, dealing another blow to Boeing Co. amid a severe downturn in jetliner demand because of the coronavirus pandemic. The cancellations stem from an agreement with Boeing to “rebalance” the order book, GE Capital Aviation Services said in a statement Friday. Gecas already has 29 Max planes in its fleet and will maintain orders for 82 more of Boeing’s best-selling plane, which has been grounded for more than a year after two deadly crashes. The decision by one of the Max’s biggest customers deepens the pain for Boeing, which recently said it lost 150 orders for the beleaguered jet last month. Both Boeing and GE have announced cost cuts and curtailed operations amid the virus outbreak, which has upended economies and nearly eliminated demand for commercial air travel. Boeing said Thursday it would reopen its Seattle-area factories next week. The Gecas announcement didn’t specify the models of the Max, which range in list price from US$99.7 million to US$134.9 million. That means the canceled order is worth at least US$6.9 billion before typical customer discounts.

It just doesn't end. This from last night... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-08/boeing-finds-new-software-flaws-on-max-stands-by-midyear-return Boeing Finds New Software Flaws on 737 Max Boeing Co. has identified two new software problems with the grounded 737 Max that must be fixed before the jetliner can carry passengers again. The issues involve the flight-control computer and don’t affect the plane’s estimated return to service in mid-2020, Boeing said in an email Tuesday. The Max’s software has been undergoing a redesign after being linked to two fatal crashes that prompted a worldwide flying ban more than a year ago. he new flaws deepen the engineering challenge for Boeing as it tries to return its best-selling jet to the skies. One of the problems involves “hypothetical faults” in the computer’s microprocessor, which could lead the plane to climb or dive on its own, Boeing said. A safety system on the Max caused the jet to dive automatically in both accidents, but the problems aren’t related, Boeing said. The other newly revealed fault could potentially cause the autopilot to disengage as the aircraft prepares to land. Neither problem has been observed in flight, but the software changes will eliminate the possibility that they could occur, the company said. The modifications can be incorporated into the plane at the same time. In a separate statement, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it has been in contact with the company about the issues.

https://globalnews.ca/news/6605633/ill-passenger-removed-from-plane-at-winnipeg-airport/ Ill passenger removed from plane at Winnipeg airport with possible case of novel coronavirus A passenger has been removed from a plane at Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport with a possible case of COVID-19. Global News has learned the passenger, a middle-aged woman who had recently been in China, fell ill on WestJet flight 448 from Vancouver to Winnipeg Thursday afternoon. The airport was alerted about a medical emergency on board and Winnipeg Airports Authority spokesperson Tyler McAfee said first responders were mobilized. Sources told Global News the woman exhibited symptoms that led to primary screening for COVID-19. Passengers say paramedics in protective gear boarded the plane and removed the woman. “They told us that we just had to stay seated for a while, before that they told us that someone was ill on the plane and asked if there was any medical personnel,” said Joey Curry, who was on the plane along with her husband, Bob. “Nobody knew what was going on, so you can’t be too careful.” Curry said the remaining passengers were kept on the plane for about an hour-and-a-half after the plane landed in Winnipeg around 2:16 p.m. Fellow passenger Rose Barr from Winnipeg said she and others on the plane were concerned about COVID-19. “Everyone was wearing masks and you’re kind of thinking ‘should we be pulling out our masks?” Barr said near the luggage return at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport after passengers were allowed off the plane. It’s unclear if other passengers faced any additional screening. The Winnipeg Airports Authority has referred all medical questions to health authorities. In a statement, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living said it is aware of the situation but wouldn’t provide any specific information “as it could result in the release of personal health information.” “We can confirm that all appropriate precautions and procedures are being followed,” said a Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living spokesperson. The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service confirmed crews were called to the airport and took a woman to hospital from the plane.

Another inspection and repair required on all grounded Max aircraft before they can fly. Has to do with engine lightning protection to prevent double power loss. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/faa-directive-requires-boeing-to-inspect-and-fix-a-manufacturing-defect-on-all-737-maxs/ FAA orders inspections of all Boeing 737 MAXs to fix defect The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has prepared an airworthiness directive requiring all Boeing 737 MAXs to be inspected for a manufacturing defect the jet maker discovered in December. All MAXs found to have the defect will have to be fixed before they can fly again, although Boeing doesn’t expect this requirement to add further delay to the aircraft’s return to service. The FAA directive was posted to the Federal Register on Tuesday, a day ahead of formal publication. The manufacturing defect, which was reported by The Seattle Times and others in January, arose when mechanics working on the final finish of the airplanes, polishing the carbon composite engine pods at the end of the production process, ground away some underlying layers of metal foil in the upper part of the pod that are necessary for lightning protection. The error leaves the engine pods, called nacelles, vulnerable to a lightning strike, “which could potentially lead to a dual engine power loss event,” the FAA directive states. If not addressed, the condition could result in a forced landing away from an airport “due to loss of thrust control on both engines,” the FAA added. The work required to fix the issue is just 12 hours per airplane — five hours to do the inspection and a further seven hours if a fix is required, the FAA estimated. Boeing spokesman Bernard Choi said Tuesday that the company is “coordinating with our customers to complete the work prior to safe return to service.” He added that Boeing’s projection that the MAX should be cleared to fly by midsummer is not affected by this additional work, which can be done while the planes are on the ground awaiting approval of the design updates. “We’ve not changed our estimate for return to service,” Choi said. The fix for the defect requires replacement of two carbon composite fairing panels that cover the area where the engine pod hangs from the strut that connects it to the wing. Operators will also have to apply a sealant to establish a required electrical bond path to safely disperse any lightning strike. The FAA describes the defect as arising out of “excessive rework of the surface of the metallic (aluminum foil) inner layer of those panels (that) can result in cuts to that layer.” The metal foil serves as a shield against a surge of electrical current. Without it, the FAA’s directive states, lightning could “induce spurious signals onto the underlying airplane wiring, including wiring associated with the engine control systems,” which could cause a loss of thrust control to one or both engines. When Boeing discovered the manufacturing problem, it alerted airline operators in December that inspections of certain MAXs built in the past year should be completed within six months, and fixes made as required. The FAA, however, is insisting that all of the roughly 800 MAXs built so far be inspected, and where necessary fixed “before further flight.” Boeing will have to cover all the costs under warranty.

New software problem found on 737 Max... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-06/boeing-identifies-new-software-problem-on-grounded-737-max-jet Boeing Fixing New Software Bug on Max; Key Test Flight Nears Boeing Co. has discovered a new software problem on the grounded 737 Max, but the company said the flaw won’t set back the goal of returning the plane to service in mid-2020. The planemaker identified the issue during flight testing and notified the Federal Aviation Administration last month, according to an email Thursday from Boeing. The problem was that an indicator light, designed to warn of a malfunction by a system that helps raise and lower the plane’s nose, was turning on when it wasn’t supposed to, the company said. “We are incorporating a change to the 737 Max software prior to the fleet returning to service to ensure that this indicator light only illuminates as intended,” the company said. The new software problem complicates Boeing’s efforts to return the Max to service by mid-2020, even if it doesn’t derail the recently extended timetable. FAA chief Steve Dickson, told reporters in London that a certification flight for the grounded jet could occur in the next few weeks -- a key regulatory step in allowing the aircraft to start flying passengers again. Dickson said the FAA is evaluating the latest software issue. The stabilizer trim warning light “had been staying on for longer than a desired period,“ he said without providing more detail. Regulatory Alignment Boeing shares seesawed during Dickson’s remarks. They rose after Dickson’s comments on the timing of the certification flight, then pared gains following the disclosure by Bloomberg News of the new software problem. The stock then recovered, climbing 3.6% to $341.41 at 1:55 p.m. in New York -- the most on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Aviation regulators are closely aligned on design requirements for the Max, but may differ country-by-country on when the jet returns, Dickson said. The divergence is likely even though authorities agree more than they disagree on the measures needed for Boeing’s best-selling plane to resume flying after two fatal crashes, Dickson said The FAA has retained a strong working relationship with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and other regulators during the Max crisis, Dickson said. The debacle has spurred questions about whether the FAA’s oversight was too lax when it approved the plane’s software design, which has been linked to both crashes. The U.S agency will consult with other regulators on how to handle future approvals for enhancements to existing aircraft under the so-called changed-product rule, Dickson said. Updating an existing model, such as the 737, currently can be done without extensive scrutiny of aspects that don’t change. But following the crashes, critics have said regulators should conduct more thorough reviews. Any shift could affect certification of 777X, a re-engined, re-winged update of Boeing’s twin-aisle plane. The 777X, which has folding wing tips, took its first flight last month and is expected to debut commercially next year. No Timeline Asked about a likely date for a return to service for the Max, Dickson said it isn’t helpful to talk about timelines. Boeing needs to concentrate on making complete, quality submissions on its fixes for the plane, he said. The former Delta Air Lines Inc. pilot reiterated that he plans to fly the Max himself before it returns to the skies. The FAA may need to expand its budget to improve its capabilities to assess aircraft designs in the wake of missing safety issues on the Max, Dickson said. But he said the agency doesn’t need much to enhance its existing resources. The new software issue on the Max resulted from Boeing’s redesign of the two flight computers that control the 737 Max to make them more resilient to failure, according to people familiar with the matter. The problem involves an alert designed to warn when the so-called trim system, which helps raise and lower the plane’s nose, isn’t working properly, said the people, who asked not be named because they weren’t authorized to comment on it. One of the people confirmed Boeing’s assessment that the new flaw isn’t likely to change the plane’s projected return to service because the company had built padding into its schedule. Boeing last month announced it doesn’t expect the plane to fly again until the middle of the year. After months of missed deadlines and growing tension with the FAA, the Chicago-based company said it was estimating a timeline that included extra room in case new issues arose. eparately, the manufacturer was already at work on a software system called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. The MCAS system was involved in the two fatal crashes, which killed 346 people and led to the grounding on March 13.

I guess they figure people really are that easily distracted... https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/boeing-told-to-rename-max-to-allay-concerns-once-flight-resumes-1.1376504 Boeing told to rename Max to allay concerns once flight resumes Boeing Co. should rename its 737 Max to help deflect travellers’ safety concerns once the grounded jet returns to the skies, plane leasing-industry veteran Steven Udvar-Hazy said. The Max brand is damaged following two fatal crashes last year, and there’s no reason for Boeing to retain it, Udvar-Hazy, the founder and chairman of Air Lease Corp., said Monday at a conference in Dublin. “We’ve asked Boeing to get rid of that word Max,” Udvar-Hazy said. “I think that word Max should go down in the history books as a bad name for an aircraft.” Since there’s no reference to the Max brand as such in Boeing documentation submitted to regulators, the company can instead simply market the model according to the numeric variant, such as the 737-8 or 737-10, he said. Renaming the Max will help address public reluctance to fly on the plane, especially in more superstitious markets, according to Udvar-Hazy. He said airlines are working to understand what sort of customer reluctance or defections to other models and carriers they might face, and for how long. “Is it going to be for two months, six months, is it going to be different in different parts of the world?” he said. “Will people in the U.S. after a few months forget about the accidents and say, ‘Oh, it’s just another 737?’ Are there going to be parts of the world where people are maybe more superstitious and will take longer for them to erase that stigma?” Boeing is working with the Federal Aviation Authority and airline regulators around the world to re-certify the plane. Airlines generally expect commercial flights to begin around mid-year. Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s former chief executive officer, said in June that he saw no need to drop the Max brand. That was after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter in April that in Boeing’s shoes he’d rename the plane. Muilenburg was replaced as chief by David Calhoun, a General Electric Co. veteran, effective Jan. 13.

Issues at Boeing everywhere... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-17/boeing-s-calhoun-warned-by-air-force-that-it-s-not-happy-either Air Force Warns Boeing’s New CEO That It’s Not Happy Either The Air Force’s top military officer has sent Boeing Co.’s new CEO a blunt reminder that the ill-fated 737 Max passenger jet isn’t the only troubled project he has to rescue. There’s also the company’s failure to provide a combat-ready refueling tanker, nine years after Boeing won a competition for the $44 billion project. “We require your attention and improved focus on the KC-46” tanker, General David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, warned in a letter four days before Dave Calhoun took over as chief executive officer of the company. “The Air Force continues to accept deliveries of a tanker incapable of performing its primary operational mission.” Calhoun has been entrusted with turning around a company that is reeling from a pair of crashes of the Max that killed 346 people and resulted in the grounding of its best selling jet, sent its stock into a swoon and raised questions about its commitment to safety. “As one of your largest military customers, we also rely on a relationship of trust and confidence in not only Boeing’s products” but also the long-term sustainment effort needed for equipment that “our warfighters require,” Goldfein said in the Jan. 9 letter made available to Bloomberg News. Calhoun is leading a once-proud company whose reputation for engineering prowess is now in tatters. On top of the grounding of its best-selling plane, Boeing has suffered delays to its 777X jetliner and an embarrassing mishap that caused its new space capsule to miss a rendezvous with the International Space Station. The letter got Calhoun’s attention: He met with Goldfein on Wednesday, according to a Boeing official familiar with the issue. The same day at the White House signing ceremony for the initial trade agreement with China, President Donald Trump singled out Calhoun, quipping that “he’s got a very easy company to run. He just took over Boeing.” The president added, “Let me tell you, it’s not your fault, you just got there.” Larry Chambers, a spokesman for Chicago-based Boeing, declined to comment on the meeting with Goldfein or the letter. “Boeing is fully committed to addressing the Air Force concerns with the KC-46 program and devoting resources required to make the KC-46 fully mission capable,” he said. Brigadier General Ed Thomas, a spokesman for Goldfein, said “at this point the chief intends for any communications with our industry partners to be between himself and them.” Multiple Cameras In the letter, Goldfein expressed concern about the tanker’s crucial “Remote Vision System” and “additional unmet requirements.” The plane has multiple cameras used by an airman sitting at a console behind the cockpit to guide a 59-foot-long extended boom to connect with a plane needing fuel and then to monitor the procedure. Shadows or the glare of the sun can hamper the cameras’ view on occasion, possibly resulting in scraping the plane being refueled or difficulty in performing the operation, according to the Air Force. Boeing officials have said they’ve deployed a software solution expected to overcome the main hurdle. Despite agreement on a plan to repair the Remote Vision System, Goldfein said in the letter, “to date, progress has been unsatisfactory. More than a year has elapsed and Boeing has yet to provide” a design “that instills confidence in the way forward.” “None of the timelines” in the agreement “has been met,” he said, “and Boeing’s latest proposal slips delivery of the final fix to the warfighter by over two years,” which he called unacceptable. Thirty Tankers The Air Force has taken delivery of 30 tankers to start aircrew and logistics training even as Boeing continues to work on fixes. The service last year started to withhold a percentage of final payment per aircraft that’s now at about $800 million, according to Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek. “If we elect to continue accepting aircraft deliveries at the current rate” the service will possess 70 “partially mission-capable” tankers by next year, Goldfein wrote. The tanker also has started combat testing conducted by Pentagon evaluators and so far “over 500 deficiencies have been tracked to date and we’ve only just begun” that evaluation, Goldfein wrote. A Boeing official said none of the deficiencies are of the most serious category. Goldfein told Calhoun he expects lawmakers to question during fiscal 2021 budget hearings why the Air Force continues to take delivery of an aircraft “not meeting multiple key performance parameters and a host of other requirements.” Without a change in course, Goldfein wrote, “we will not be able to answer positively and we will have to acknowledge our serious concerns in two areas -- trust and safety.”

Shouldn't this be: 1) Illegal, and 2) enough to let passengers know that they are stupid enough to be paying their own compensation? https://globalnews.ca/news/6421608/swoop-airlines-passenger-rights/ Swoop Airlines introduces $2.56 surcharge to offset cost of new passenger rights rules Swoop airlines is charging a new $2.56 fee on every flight to offset the cost of new federal regulations intended to protect air passengers. In a statement, the airline said the Passenger Protection Regulation (APPR) Surcharge was introduced to maintain Swoop’s ability to provide “unbundled, ultra-low fares.” The airline says the fee was introduced on Jan. 9. READ MORE: Airlines want new rules about compensating passengers suspended, pending court appeal “The surcharge provides compensation funds for travellers experiencing irregular operations that are within the airline’s control and not related to safety under the APPR,” a spokesman said. Gábor Lukács, an air passenger rights advocate, said the airline is trying to send a political message with regards to the new federal rules. “Swoop could have simply raised its fares without identifying the increase as an APPR surcharge. But for some reason, Swoop wants to publicly declare that it is passing on the costs to passengers.” The second phase of the new air passengers’ rights protections took effect last month. The regulations set compensation standards for passengers who face delays and outlines where children can be seated on planes. READ MORE: Swoop adds flights in Atlantic Canada, seeking to lure Air Canada customers If flight cancellations or delays are within the airline’s control and not related to safety, the airline will be required to compensate inconvenienced passengers. Delays resulting from weather or mechanical issues are exempted. The amount a passenger will be compensated is based on the length of the delay the passenger endured before they reached their destination, and it depends on whether the flight in question was on a large or small airline. In mid-July, regulators enacted the first phase, which focused primarily on remedying travel mishaps like tarmac delays, lost baggage and overbooking. Story continues below advertisement The office of Transport Minister Marc Garneau says the objective of the rules was to enhance “passenger experience” without undue additional costs for airlines and travellers. “By taking this balanced approach, we believe that airlines can meet their obligations to passengers with little to no increases in fares,” said spokesperson Amy Butcher. “Swoop is a private corporation and we don’t … have jurisdiction over surcharges charged by airlines.” READ MORE: Changes to air passengers’ rights are now in effect. Here’s what you should know Swoop said the surcharge amount is consistent with a cost-benefit analysis completed by the Canadian Transportation Agency. The airline, which is owned by WestJet, began offering flights in 2018. Swoop flies out of cities including Victoria, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ont., and Halifax.

https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-muilenburg-payout-same-time-thousands-layoffs-2020-1 Boeing's fired CEO got his $62 million payout confirmed the same day 2,800 people in the 737 Max supply chain were laid off Dennis Muilenburg, the recently-ousted CEO of Boeing, is leaving with a $62 million payout, the company said Friday. The substantial award comes despite being fired for poor handling of the fatal crashes, aftermath, and continued suspension from service of the 737 Max. Also on Friday other workers lost their jobs because of the 737 Max: 2,800 employees of Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems. Spirit said the workers had to go because there was no work for them in light of Boeing suspending production of the 737 Max while it is grounded. Unlike Muilenburg, they did not get large exit packages, and will instead receive 60 days' pay. Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories. The recently-fired CEO of Boeing is leaving the company with a package worth $62 million, the company said Friday — just hours after 2,800 workers lost their jobs over the 737 Max disaster. Payout details for Dennis Muilenburg, who was ousted from Boeing in late December, were made public in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Muilenburg lost his job over Boeing's disastrous handling of two fatal crashes by the 737 Max in which 346 people died. The jet was grounded ten months ago, in March 2019. It has no firm date to return to service and Boeing has stopped building new ones. Rows of part-built Boeing 737 Max planes at the Wichita, Kansas, facility of Spirit AeroSystems. Reuters On his departure, Boeing stripped him of his bonus, any severance pay, and other incentives worth nearly $15 million. However, that still left him with a parting package of $62 million made up of Boeing stock, pension payments, and other deferred contributions. Meanwhile, rank-and-file aviation workers in Boeing's supply chain were cut lose without anything like that kind of compensation. Earlier on Friday, Spirit AeroSystems, a Kansas-based manufacturer, which gets more than half its revenue from the 737 Max, announced layoffs for 2,800 workers at its Wichita facility. Muilenburg responds to intense questioning from the US House Transportation Committee at a hearing on the Boeing 737 Max in October 2019. Getty Images When Boeing froze the 737 Max production line, it promised not to lay off any of its own staff. But the loss of work proved devastating for suppliers like Spirit, which said in a statement that the grounding and production freeze left them little. "Spirit is taking this action because of the 737 MAX production suspension and ongoing uncertainty regarding the timing of when production will resume and the level of production when it does resume," the statement said. Spirit said it plans to lay off an unspecified number of workers at two plants in Oklahoma, and may also have to shed more workers at its Wichita base if 737 Max production does not recommence. The laid off are due to receive 60 days' pay, Spirit said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51058929 "This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys."

On a humourous note, maybe Boeing just wants to be more.....'environmentally friendly'???

First AC A220 rolls out of paint shop.... https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/the-first-a220-for-air-canada-rolls-out-of-the-painting-hangar/

Beijing's new Daxing airport? It was the Chinese under the FIPA agreement that wanted the pipeline, so it improves connectivity if they can fly from Calgary.

Every fix uncovers another fault. Doesn't that say something about this latest iteration of the aircraft? Time to just scrap it and start with a clean sheet with room to grow.

Having been in the presence of the An-225, I'd love to see this bird in person! Will be fascinating to see it do the first rocket launch as well!