HNA subsidiary airlines are being equipped with Thales latest In-Flight Entertainment systems on their A330 and A350. Upgrades of the A330 began in late 2017 and the AVANT A350 is expected to enter service summer 2018. AVANT, Thales’s state-of-the-art Android IFE solution, will provide HNA Group Airlines’ passengers a highly customizable experience with a robust selection of features and applications. The new fleet will be equipped with the latest AVANT full high-definition monitors, the most lightweight ever deployed, featuring the Avii Touch Passenger Media Unit. Avii provides intuitive navigation, full Android smartphone look and feel, and acts as a second entertainment screen. Integration of Ka-band connectivity to the AVANT IFE system will provide a fully connected premium passenger experience.
Learn More >>Pratt and Whitney, a well-known division of United Technologies Corp. and Air Astana (an award-winning flag carrier for Kazakh), recently celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first Airbus A321neo aircraft. This aircraft, which is fueled by the Pratt and Whitney Geared Turbofan engines (GTF), appeared recently at Air Astana’s hub, located in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was recently schedule for passenger service this new year.
Learn More >>In October, the FAA published updated regulation concerning electronic flight bag (EFB) applications. A revised Advisory Circular (AC) has been issued for aircraft system designers, installers and operators who may want guidance for hosting EFB applications on portable devices and installed equipment.
Learn More >>Textron has been able to keep the vision of the Silvercrest alive after Dassault’s descion to haul the production of its Falcon 5X. The Falcon 5X that was in speculation of being produced was a 10,000lb thrust turbofan powered aircraft. According to an article from Airsoc.com it has been stated that the cancelation of the Falcon 5X was caused due to malfunctions with the oil fuel heat exchanger along with clearance controls in the high-pressure core of the engine.
Learn More >>SpaceX designs, a company who manufactures and launches advanced spacecraft and rockets, launched its first static fire test on its brand-new Zuma Falcon 9 rocket. The firing occurred at the Kennedy space center, located in Florida. This scheduled test launch was working towards the actual launch of the Zuma Payload for Wednesday the 15th. The test took place just outside the pad gate LC-39A. This particular Falcon 9 is under contract with NASA and was used the Dragon mission to ISS. Scientist from NASA will review the test launch that the rocket passed before its upcoming launch back into orbit. The falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket that is reliable and safe to transport satellites into orbit. This rocket is the first orbital class rocket that is capable of reflight. The reusability of rockets is one of the key breakthroughs that SpaceX created. With reusable rockets the cost of space accessibility will decrease drastically, allowing the possibility of humans to live on different planets.
Learn More >>GE has opened America’s first silicon carbide plant in Huntsville Alabama, where its product will be used to produce ceramic matrix composites used in aerospace manufacturing. The facility is estimated cost $200 million and will employ approximately 300 people. GE has diversified its hiring profile for the plant with engineers coming from a variety of backgrounds including petroleum engineering and consumer goods.
Learn More >>Over the years many new parts of the world have been able to obtain means of aircraft travel creating the need for MRO services. With all new required services, they are the many airlines have been able to capitalize on the idea. From previously only manufacturing parts OEMs have begun to venture off into the MRO industry to gain a new source of profit. Sources say that with the rise continuing to occur the market is expected to be worth over 95 Billion US by the year 2023. In the year 2013 it was recorded that the OEMs gained 50 % of their revenue from only manufacturing while the other half came from MRO services.
Learn More >>Airbus has its origins in Europe and the company designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aviation products worldwide. It is the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe with roughly 180 locations and 12,000 direct suppliers globally.
Learn More >>Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is an American leading aircraft established 7 years ago and its purpose is purchasing commercial aircraft through direct orders from Boeing, Embraer Aircraft and ATR and leasing them to its valued airline customers worldwide. Operating on average 2500 flights a week to 87 different destinations, TAP Portugal is the flag carrier airline of Portugal. The company owns 86 airplanes, 66 of them are manufactured by Airbus, and the rest of 20 by Embraer and ATR, operating on behalf of TAP Express. Therefore, Air Lease Corporation (ALC) and TAP Portugal have signed a long-term lease agreement for four new Airbus A330-900neo and one new A320-200neo aircraft.
Learn More >>Blue Air, the largest Romanian airline, has ordered six 737 MAX aircraft from Boeing Aircraft during the 2017 Paris Air Show. In addition, Blue Air has also plans to lease six Next Generation 737-800s from the Air Lease Corporation.
Learn More >>Avionics experts Rockwell Collins have teamed up with Airbus to apply their newest form of security system. The system is being said to be applied from here on out on the A350 and A380 model. This innovative security system has been created to send messages automatically to grounded authorities in case of a malfunction of the aircraft. Sources at Rockwell have stated that if the system where to be triggered their position frequency would be enhanced up to every 60 seconds appose to the standard 15-minute period. The system will be transmitted with ACARs aircraft equipment to the ground “receivers.” Not only will the system be able to track the aircrafts position but other important stats that pertain to their exact location such as airspeed, altitude, and engine performance.
Learn More >>There was an article on Aerospace Technology which talks about how XTI Aircraft Company has a utility patent for the TriFan600 vertical take off plane which was issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
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