ADFA researches create new ignition for scramjets
Researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy have created a powerful laser which can be used to ignite fuel for hypersonic scramjets while travelling at speeds up to Mach 10. Dr Sean O’Byrne, lead researcher in the laser diagnostics group, and PhD student Stefan Brieschenk have proved that laser-generated sparks [...]
New aviation firefighters graduate
Airservices Australia has welcomed 18 new aviation rescue firefighters into service at a graduation ceremony at Melbourne Airport. The new firefighters have recently completed a 10 week course at Airservices Learning Academy in Melbourne as well as ground training in Sydney. The training focused fighting aircraft and structural fires, aviation rescue techniques and dealing with [...]
787 fire started in power panel
Boeing says that the fire on board one of its 787 Dreamliner test aircraft started in its P100 power panel and spread into one of the aircraft’s insulation blankets which self-extinguished the fire once the fault in the power panel was cleared. “Damage to the ZA002 P100 panel is significant,” Boeing said in its latest [...]
Qantas changes schedule to cope with A380 grounding as EASA issues AD
Qantas has announced changes to its aircraft schedules to accommodate the grounding of its Airbus A380 fleet and has not yet indicated when the aircraft will return to the air. Meanwhile, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an airworthiness directive which could result in more groundings of A380s. Under the changes, the airline [...]
SIA brings in 777s and 747s for Sydney, Melbourne services
Singapore Airlines has announced that it will substitute Boeing 777-300s and 747-400s on the services regularly operated by its Airbus A380s as three of those aircraft undergo precautionary engine changes. A mix of 777-300s and 747-400s will be deployed on SQ221/212/222/221 services between Singapore and Sydney and also on SQ238 and SQ227 between Singapore and [...]
Full economy, business fares rise in November
Full economy and business class airfares were marginally lower during November 2010 compared with the same time last year, according to the latest Domestic Air Fare Index report from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). For the month, the business fare index increased by two points to 97 while the full economy [...]
Fees cut at Hervey Bay and Maryborough for GA aircraft
The Fraser Coast Regional Council has announced that it will not levy landing fees at the Hervey Bay and Maryborough airports for private aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight below 2000kg. The announcement comes after the council and the Fraser Coast Aviation Group began working together to develop a plan to improve aviation tourism in [...]
Boeing delivers 777-200LR business jet
Boeing Business Jets has delivered the first VIP configured 777-200LR to Saudi Arabia based aircraft management company Aviation Link Co. The 777 will undergo interior completion works at Amac Aerospace in Basel, Switzerland, later in the month before the aircraft is delivered to its private owner in 2012. “The customer required a widebody aircraft capable [...]
ATSB interviews QF32 pilots
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has begun interviewing the two pilots who were flying the Qantas Airbus A380 which experienced an uncontained engine failure on November 10. The ATSB said in an update that the interviews are being conducted in Sydney, and are being assisted by an Airbus A380 test pilot. “The flightcrew interviews [...]
Second 787 makes emergency landing after in-flight fire
Boeing has suspended flying operations of its fleet of 787 test aircraft after the second Dreamliner was forced to make an emergency landing due to an onboard fire. According to various media sources, Dreamliner ZA002 was en route to Yuma, Arizona, from Harlingen, Texas, for extended tests of the aircraft’s nitrogen generation system on November [...]
Singapore Airlines grounds three A380s
Singapore Airlines has been forced to ground three of its A380s over problems with their Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines in relation to the recent uncontained engine failure of a Qantas A380 on November 4. According to reports, Rolls-Royce overnight advised SIA to ground three A380s for “precautionary engine changes” following concerns raised during inspections. The [...]
