Flight Training News

‘Diamond Lil’ suffers hydraulic malfunction

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:50:01 +0000

The Commemorative Air Force’s B-24, "Diamond Lil," experienced a hydraulic malfunction during a scheduled passenger flight at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday, May 26. The crew followed all safety protocols and took every precaution to ensure the safety of everyone on board, CAF officials said, noting there were no injuries to the passengers or crew and minimal damage to the aircraft. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on May 28th, 2012 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2012.

Reno Air Races a go

Mon, 28 May 2012 20:44:39 +0000

The Reno Air Races will be a go, according to a report at EAA.org, which notes that the Reno Air Racing Association has secured a $100 million insurance policy for the races, which will be held Sept. 12-16 at Stead Airport. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on May 28th, 2012 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2012.

'When I was told to list the three jobs I wanted, I said: "Pilot, pilot or pilot"': Meet the first Latina to fly planes for the US military - Daily Mail

Mon, 28 May 2012 20:11:00 +0000

And her determination paid off: more than 30 years ago, she became the first ever Latina to complete U.S. Air Force military pilot training and now encourages others to do the same. She also became the first female instructor at Laughlin Air Force Base ...

BIA gets grant to upgrade general aviation area

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:08:40 +0000

Work will soon begin on a $4.9 million renovation of the general aviation area at Bangor International Airport (BIA). According to a report in the Bangor Daily News, the work is expected to be complete by October, weather permitting. The $4,913,126 grant will be used to renovate the general aviation apron . Continue Reading »

===> Posted on May 28th, 2012 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2012.

Tempest introduces spark plug anti-seize

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:59:16 +0000

Tempest has introduced a newly formulated T556 Spark Plug Thread Lube Anti-Seize. Tempest officials note that various forms of spark plug thread lube anti-seize have been around for years, but many experience the same application problem: They ball up and are very difficult to spread evenly across the threads. “After… Read More

AOPA offers free membership to military

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:50:40 +0000

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is offering active-duty military a complimentary one-year membership in AOPA. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on May 28th, 2012 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2012.

Destination…Bahamas June 2

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:54:46 +0000

Northeast Florida Regional Airport will host the 2nd annual Destination...Bahamas Air and Sea Expo June 2. The free event is designed to highlight the ease of travel to the Islands of the Bahamas for general aviation pilots, as well as others. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on May 28th, 2012 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2012.

New book, ‘WeatherWise,’ published

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:54:41 +0000

A new book, “WeatherWise — Forecasting and Nowcasting for General Aviation Pilots,” is now available. Published by TSGPress, the book focuses on ensuring general aviation pilots have a better understanding of the dynamic forces that generate the various forms of weather they must cope with as an aviator, according to… Read More

Traffic quadruples at DPA during NATO

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:44:25 +0000

Traffic at DuPage Airport (DPA) in Chicago quadrupled May 21 as a result of Temporary Flight Restrictions over the city of Chicago during the NATO conference. Officials at the general aviation facility said the of traffic "far exceeded" their expectations. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on May 28th, 2012 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2012.

Air Zoo to host international art exhibit

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:41:20 +0000

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — On June 3 the Air Zoo will unveil the 2012 American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA) International Aerospace Art Exhibit. The exhibit will feature more than 50 pieces of aviation and space artwork, ranging from photographs, to paintings and sculptures. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on May 28th, 2012 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2012.

Virgin America Opens New Flight Simulator Pilot Training Center - The First of its Kind in Northern California - Yahoo Finance

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:55:01 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the only major domestic airline headquartered in California, today marked the opening of a new flight training facility with a state-of-the-art Required Navigational Performance (RNP ...

Runway closed as DFW Airport fights grass fire

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:59:40 +0000

This from DFW Airport public affairs as of 3:30 p.m.

There has been no impact to flight operations as DFW Airport Department of Public Safety (DPS) fire units are responding to a grass fire on the Airport's far east side.
Units from DFW Airport DPS are working alongside the Irving Fire Department to contain the grass fire.

The grass fire was reported just before 3:00 PM Friday afternoon in the vicinity of Valley View Lane and Carbon Road, just north of Walnut Hill Lane. The fire has covered an area that includes portions of northwest Irving as well as DFW Airport property.

As a precaution, the FAA has closed Runway 17-Left, which is one of DFW's seven runways, while responding crews work to control the fire.

All flight operations have been moved to DFW's six available and open runways, and there have been no flight delays reported.

DFW Public Affairs will have further updates as warranted.

Final arguments wrap up in American Airlines case on contract rejections

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:52:11 +0000

UPDATE: American Airlines and its labor groups finishedup their cases Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.

American's counsel, Jack Gallagher, and Jack Butler, counsel for the unsecured creditors committee, spoke in favor of American's motion to reject its labor contracts, under Section 1113 of the federal bankruptcy code.

Objecting were Ed James, counsel for the Allied Pilots Association; Carmen Parcelli, Association of Professional Flight Attendants counsel; and Transport Workers Union counsel Sharon Levine.

We'll have details in the Dallas Morning News tomorrow. But summing up, Gallagher and Butler argued that the airline has met the standards of Section 1113, the section of the bankruptcy code that allows companies to reject collective bargaining agreement.

On the other side, we can sum up the unions'arguments: American's request is too much and too soon.

Translated, James and Parcelli have argued that American had required concessions that were more than American needed, based on earnings targets that were too high.

And US Airways has played a big part in their arguments as James and Parcelli said that a decision based on American's standalone plan is premature since a merger with US Airways would change the situation.

"We can't come back and say 'What they told you was necessary is no longer necessary,'" James said.

He urged the judge to consider the possibility of a US Airways merger or some other deal that changes the depth of the cuts needed on labor.

"You can't go into a bankruptcy case and put on blinders. ... Once they put it on us, it's a permanent hit," while other stakeholders like creditors can see their deal improve later on in the case, James said.

"It's very important that we not be used as the bait," Levine said. A decision on the Section 1113 "is not subject to a do-over."

Gallagher told the judge that he shouldn't base his decision on the Section 1113 motions based on the potential of a merger.

American "is strong as a standalone company," Gallagher said. "American Airlines does not meet a merger. It needs a competitive cost structure. And with a competitive cost structure it can live and thrive successfully."

American and the unsecured creditors committee agreed to a "protocol" in which the company and committee will look at strategic alternatives including mergers.

He called the protocol "simply a reflection of the agreement between the company and the UCC on an appropriate schedule of due diligence, the kinds of due diligence that has to be done in every case where the company will have a stand-alone plan, share it with the creditors, fully evaluate it, achieve it, but then take all the steps necessary to achieve it and then will explore whether there are any other options available now in real-time that will achieve better value for the creditors, better benefits and viability for the estate.

"That's it. It doesn't say they will or they won't, where they ends up because that has yet to be determined," Gallagher said.

Butler disagreed with Gallagher's assessment that the protocol - the details of which have not been made public - wasn't that important.

"We think it's extraordinarily important and there's a lot more to talk about than that," Butler said, "but not in this 1113 proceeding."

Appearance techs approve eight-year contract with Southwest Airlines

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:14:53 +0000

Southwest Airlines announced Friday that its appearance techs approved a tentative agreement with the company. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents the group, said there were 237 members eligible to vote.

AMFA said that 172 members, or 83.5 percent of those who cast ballots, voted in favor of the deal, while 34, or 16.5 percent, voted against the agreement.

The contract becomes amendable in February 2017, replacing the previous contract that became amendable in February 2009.

$3B in training deals for European firms - United Press International

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:08:26 +0000

LONDON, May 25 (UPI) -- Military pilot training and training aircraft were in the news this week, with European companies reaping more than $3 billion in contracts. BAE Systems in Britain reported more than $2.5 billion of that total for ...

Southwest Airlines to start Austin-Washington service on July 8

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:02:10 +0000

Southwest Airlines will beat its Sept. 8 deadline to begin service between Austin and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by two months.

The carrier announced Friday it will begin Austin-Washington service on July 8. It began selling the once-a-day flight, with fares as low as $149 one way, with the cheapest fares available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sale fares must be purchased by end of day Monday, May 28.

It appears its cheapest fares on the other days is $215 each way. The unrestricted fare each way is $523, going up to $545 for business select.

Southwest's flight leaves Austin at 12:25 p.m. and arrives in Washington at 4:40 p.m. Its Washington-Austin flight leaves at 5:15 p.m. and arrives back in Austin at 7:35 p.m.

APA asks bankruptcy judge to consider Hostess as he considers American Airlines

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

The Allied Pilots Association filed papers Thursday asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane to take into account a recent decision in the Hostess bankruptcy case as he looks at American Airlines' request to reject the carrier's labor contracts.

In the Hostess case, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain turned down Hostess' request to reject its labor deal under Section 1113 of the federal bankruptcy code.

On Friday morning, American, the APA, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and the Transport Workers Union make their closing arguments in American's motion to throw out its collective bargaining agreements.

In its filing, the pilots' union tried to draw a link between the issues facing Judge Lane and those that faced Judge Drain:

"In particular, Judge Drain held that the union had good cause to reject the debtors' proposals and the debtors' proposals sought concessions beyond those that were necessary for reorganization where the unions' counterproposals would have led to the Debtor to achieve an EBITDA margin one percentage point less than the EBITDA margin sought by the Debtor - 9% rather than 10%.
"The debtors were unable to show that the one percentage point difference in profit margins generated by the union's counterproposals was material to the purposes of Section 1113."

EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

UPDATE, 11:25 a.m. Friday: In closing arguments Friday, American Airlines counsel Jack Gallagher noted the union's filing and said the Hostess case was not like the American case.

Judge Drain thought the two sides were "very, very close" and in his comments spelled out the issues dividing the parites and how they could be resolved, Gallagher said.

"I wish your honor that we were that close, but we're not. We're miles apart," Gallagher said.

During the three weeks of hearings, the union's counsel and witnesses asserted that American was asking for too much from its employees, more than it needed to successfully reorganize its finances and be a profitable, successful company.

The suggestion during the hearings from the labor groups was that American's EBITDAR (that is EBITDA, plus rentals) was overly aggressive, at too high a cost to employees and the labor contracts. In Thursday's pleading, the APA raised the point again. The company is seeking $370 million in cost savings from changes in the pilots' contract.

"Although American has framed its labor cost reduction targets in terms of a specific dollar amount rather than as an EBITDAR target, the record here demonstrates that the labor cost reduction targets are a direct result of the EBITDAR margins American seeks," the APA pleading said.

"Moreover, like in Hostess, American's witnesses have been unable to demonstrate that accepting the APA's counterproposals would have any material effect on the Company's EBITDAR targets or compromise its ability to successfully reorganize," it added.

We expect this to be one of many points raised by the APA's attorney in Friday's closing arguments, and responded to by American's counsel.

Incidentally, we don't know what American's EBITDAR targets are. In the public filings, those figures are redacted - obscured with black bars.

3 idle thoughts for Friday

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

1. It would probably be wrong to note that today's my 39th wedding anniversary and here I sit in a New York courtroom. (Happy anniversary, dear.)

2. A vote on whether the TV remote or the garage door remote was a higher achievement of mankind likely depends on whether it's raining at the time of the vote.

3. Is there a symbolic reason that the statue of the Wall Street bull is showing its butt to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (that gray building seen through the trees)?

In observance of Memorial Day

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:07:19 +0000

The Pulse of Aviation will not publish on Monday, May 28, as the General Aviation News offices will be closed in observance of Memorial Day. It will return to its regular schedule on Tuesday, May 29. Continue Reading »

Remembering The Mighty Eighth

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:02:01 +0000

Traveling I-95, the East Coast’s main street, you come to something seemingly out of place in Savannah, Georgia: A museum dedicated to World War II’s Eighth Air Force. Visit and you’ll see why it’s here. You can’t fly-in, but it’s only two miles from KSAV. Why Savannah? Nearby Hunter Field was “the birthplace of the Eighth Air Force.” Continue Reading »