Aviation Industry: New Boeing 737 Max documents show 'very disturbing' employee concerns: U.S. House aide

Boeing Co. documents now under review by a U.S. government committee appear to point to a "very disturbing" picture of commentary from the planemaker's employees over the grounded 737 Max aircraft, a House of Representatives transportation infrastructure committee aide said on Tuesday.

The documents, submitted to the committee late on Monday, discussed concerns over Boeing's commitment to safety, along with efforts by some employees to ensure the company's production plans were not diverted by regulators or others, said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Boeing was not immediately available for comment.

Read more at: New Boeing 737 Max documents show 'very disturbing' employee concerns: U.S. House aide | CBC News

Aircraft Industry: Why the age of electric flight is finally upon us - by Tim Bowler

Aerospace firms are joining forces to tackle their industry's growing contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, with electric engines seen as one solution. But will this be enough to offset the growing demand for air travel?

The Paris Airshow in July this year saw the launch of the world's first commercial all-electric passenger aircraft - albeit in prototype form.

Israeli firm Eviation says the craft - called Alice - will carry nine passengers for up to 650 miles (1,040km) at 10,000ft (3,000m) at 276mph (440km/h). It is expected to enter service in 2022

Read more at: Why the age of electric flight is finally upon us - BBC News

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AVIATION: World’s biggest airplane takes flight for the first time ever

The world’s largest airplane took flight for the first time ever on Saturday morning. Stratolaunch, a 500,000-pound plane with a 385-foot wingspan that is built to send rockets into orbit around the Earth, lifted off shortly after 10AM ET from Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California.

The inaugural flight is expected to last a few hours. It comes just three months after Stratolaunch Systems, the company behind the effort, laid off “more than 50” employees and canceled efforts to develop its own rockets. The change in plans was reportedly sparked by the death of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who started Stratolaunch Systems in 2011.

The duel-fuselage Stratolaunch is designed to fly to an altitude of 35,000 feet, where it can drop rockets that ignite their engines and boost themselves into orbit around the planet. The company has already signed at least one customer in Orbital ATK, which plans to use Stratolaunch to send its Pegasus XL rocket into space.

Read more at: World’s biggest airplane takes flight for the first time ever

US Aviation Industry: Boeing grounds entire 737 Max aircraft and faces massive litigations from Airline companies and crash victims families

Boeing grounds entire crash aircraft fleet

Read more at: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47562727

EU: Many countries have now banned the Boeing 737 Max after fatal accidents

UK and other EU countries ban Boeing 737 Max planes after Indonesia and Ethiopia crash

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/11/airlines-and-agencies-reassure-alarmed-passengers-about-boeing-737-max-8?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

AVIATION INDUSTRY: Has the Boeing 737 Max 8 become a flying coffin ?

What we know about the Boeing 737 MAX 8

Read more at: 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ethiopia-boeing-plane-crash-canadians-1.5050682

Aviation Industry: US laptop ban won't include Europe, officials say - by Clark Mindock

The United States has opted not to introduce a ban on bringing laptops into aircraft cabins for flights coming from Europe.

The US and its European partners have agreed to intensify talks on technical solutions to security concerns to find a common solution, a US official told Politico.

The decision was made during a conference call between US Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, European Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, and European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.

Note EU-Digest: With all the potential terrorist in Europe as is so often stated by US authorities this does not seem logical.

Details of the talks were not immediately available.

Read more: US laptop ban won't include Europe, officials say | The Independent

Solar Energy; Solar Inpulse around the world flight

Solar-powered Solar Impulse 2 lands in Ohio in latest US stage of record-breaking journey http://dw.com/p/1IsSXht

Alternative Energy: Commercial Aviation Biofuels …

In Illinois, the Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative released their recommendations from MASBI’s year-long study of the potential for aviation biofuels in the Midwest. In the 28-page report, MASBI, policymakers and experts identified next steps in advancing biofuels development, which can reduce carbon emissions, create green jobs in the Midwest, drive innovation in clean technology, improve energy security and power a sustainable future for aviation.

“For every 5 percent of petroleum jet fuel that can be offset by biofuels [in the Midwest],” the report’s authors said, “nearly 3,600 jobs will be created and 150,000 tons of carbon emissions will be avoided annually. MASBI’s recommendations, summarized below, are important next steps that can propel the aviation advanced biofuels industry toward generating some of the nearly 20 billion gallons of jet fuel required to support U.S commercial aviation.”

MASBI was led by United Airlines, Boeing, Honeywell’s UOP, the Chicago Department of Aviation and the Clean Energy Trust. In addition, Argonne National Laboratory chaired an Advisory Council, which included government agencies and non-profit institutions. This initiative, the result of a yearlong study by MASBI researchers, builds on crucial steps taken by the industry since 2006 that have resulted in approved pathways, drop-in fuels, certification to fly aircraft commercially powered by advanced biofuels and more than 1,500 completed commercial flights to date.

Read more: RenAlt Energy - Google+ - 14 Practical Steps Towards Commercial Aviation Biofuels …

Experts call for better pilot training amid Air France crash results - by Adam Dunning

After the release of preliminary data regarding the ill-fated Air France flight 447, aviation experts have said that lives could be saved with better pilot training. The recently recovered flight data recorders from the Airbus A330 show that the pilots of the jet had the opportunity to recover it from a three-minute plunge into the Atlantic but instead their reactions only exacerbated the issue, French investigators have said.

The new data shows that the two French pilots made several mistakes during the events on the 1st of June 2009. Among them, the jet entered an aerodynamic stall, which is not related to mechanical problems in any way, and instead of pitching the plane’s nose downward to recover, they did the opposite for the entire three minutes of the plunge.

Now experts say such incidents have been repeated in aviation accidents worldwide and are calling for better preparation for pilots. Flight 447 crashed shortly after departing Rio de Janeiro in June of 2009, killing all 228 people on board and is the most recent example of the trend.

Former pilot Jon Cox wrote on behalf of the British Royal Aeronautical Society that if it were a technical problem that all parties would insist the problem is fixed. Meanwhile, he added that he and others have been saying for years that its thorough pilot training that is actually what is needed and can produce prepared pilots that are not confused and startled by problems that arise during a flight.

For more: Experts call for better pilot training amid Air France crash results | Travel News