Australian Aviation

A new rescue helicopter service dedicated to the south coast of NSW commenced operations on December 1 from Moruya Airport. The service, operated by the Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter Service for the summer months, became possible after additional funding from Westpac. It will cover the coastal area between Shoalhaven Heads near Nowra to the Victorian border.

Diamond Aircraft CEO, Christian Dries, has announced he is stepping down from his position, and has named Gerd Berchtold as his successor. “Dr Berchtold is a highly experienced and respected aeronautical engineer,” Dries told the Financial Times Deutschland. “I need a CEO who takes care 100 per cent of the aircraft. Dr Berchtold brings not

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has given an additional $500,000 grant to the Tamworth region helicopter rescue service during the opening ceremony of the service’s new headquarters at Tamworth Airport on November 26. The additional funds, on top of the $4 million the service has already received from the state government, will go towards a flight

Massachusetts based Terrafugia, developer of the Transition flying car concept, has joined forces with AAI Corporation in a competition sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a flying car for the US armed forces. The vehicle, appropriately dubbed Transformer, would effectively replace the Humvee in US service but will feature

Panama’s Copa Airlines has ordered 22 Boeing 737-800s and taken options on a further 10 aircraft. “These 22 firm aircraft plus 10 options, which deliver between 2015 and 2018, are an integral part of our medium term growth plan,” said Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines. “This is the largest aircraft order in Copa’s history,

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce must be wondering why his luck has deserted him. The much publicised QF32 engine failure in early November served to completely overshadow Qantas’s 90th anniversary celebrations. What should have been a time of pride and celebration of a stellar 90 year history of technical innovation and engineering excellence instead was more