For the aviation fans

[The Ouzo]

I was there with the Ms World contestants. 4 contestants were selected to play, so we took them up plus a bunch of support crew.

Most of us tee'd off just for the experience, if I recall only miss Columbia played right through. She was also one of a very small amount of people that ever parred the hole.

But then she grew up with some famous golfers kids apparently.

 

You cant really see the green that well from the Tee, so you kinda go to the edge, check it out and then tee off and pray that you can follow the balls trajectory. 

 

Was my first time in a heli, but being the official photographer I got to ask the pilot to circle round the green a few times so that I could get some nice shots.

 

Heard about that
Did you actually play the hole?
Is it a par 3 and how difficult is to play

[geomark]

That's a Bell 206 L1 Long Ranger, reg ZS-RGW. Been around the block that machine, my flight school used to operate in in CT about 10 years back.

 

A Long Ranger, especially the L1 is not a machine for the mountains and altitude with any load (an L4 version is another animal) Squirrel is designed for that kind of work and will actually carry 4 bikes, pax and gear.

2018 when we were looking I'm sure they had a squirrel and said it was a fixed charge max 4, but hey its been a while, maybe they upgraded somewhere, see its a 2016 video. It's day job was scenic jaunts and taking people up to isolated peaks for picnics.

[Long Wheel Base]

Was busy following one of our A320s being returned and not far from where it is currently I saw this. 

 

[Lotus]

Was busy following one of our A320s being returned and not far from where it is currently I saw this. 

 

Capture.PNG

Wow, yes! That's a good deal on yogurt.

 

But seriously, I wonder what that plane is doing in that neighborhood

[Long Wheel Base]

Wow, yes! That's a good deal on yogurt.

 

But seriously, I wonder what that plane is doing in that neighborhood

LOL.

 

Yeah I wonder what it is transporting.

[Bateleur1]

Was busy following one of our A320s being returned and not far from where it is currently I saw this. 

 

Capture.PNG

 

Maybe Trump is sending a little gift for the Italian mafia.

[Bateleur1]

From an aviation point of view the 747 is surely the biggest loser in the Covid 19 saga.  Very sad to see how quickly it is given the boot.  Quantas, Air france; British Airways, I think KLM as well.

 

https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/british-airways-to-retire-its-entire-747-fleet-immediately/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

[Bonus]

BA are now scrapping all their 747's with immediate effect.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/british-airways-scrapping-entire-747-fleet-amid-coronavirus-downturn-12030266?fbclid=IwAR1M1Zsf_E2kE-iHYNu82QfOW56TmxYJoyLzw-09oMEsy2y6pyWljQX8tho

[Kranswurm]

Guys were doing it with a squirrel in the central Drakensberg based out of Dragon Peaks, the week we wanted to go the chopper was off for a service     and haven't managed to get back.

 

Looks like Champagne Castle to me

[Long Wheel Base]

From an aviation point of view the 747 is surely the biggest loser in the Covid 19 saga.  Very sad to see how quickly it is given the boot.  Quantas, Air france; British Airways, I think KLM as well.

 

https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/british-airways-to-retire-its-entire-747-fleet-immediately/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

 

 

BA are now scrapping all their 747's with immediate effect.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/british-airways-scrapping-entire-747-fleet-amid-coronavirus-downturn-12030266?fbclid=IwAR1M1Zsf_E2kE-iHYNu82QfOW56TmxYJoyLzw-09oMEsy2y6pyWljQX8tho

For me, a sad sad sad day. I can watch SAA fly Airbuses into the desert everyday but seeing the queen of the skies get parked puts a lump in my throat. I have enjoyed every minute I have ever worked on a 747.

[Bateleur1]

For me, a sad sad sad day. I can watch SAA fly Airbuses into the desert everyday but seeing the queen of the skies get parked puts a lump in my throat. I have enjoyed every minute I have ever worked on a 747.

 

As I said before, I think Airbus produces good aircraft but the 747 will remain the queen of the skies and the most beautiful airliner ever to have flown.  Not many airliners will have a career that span 50 years.

[dev null]

As I said before, I think Airbus produces good aircraft but the 747 will remain the queen of the skies and the most beautiful airliner ever to have flown.  Not many airliners will have a career that span 50 years.

 

I loved flying in a 747-400. When those 4 Rolls Royce engines spools up for take off it puts shivers into your spine.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Moridin

[Robbie Stewart]

I had a BA 747 come over my house just about daily on approach to, or departure from Cape Town International. Never again to hear that distictive drone of those 4 magnificent engines is enough to make a grown man cry. I would stop whatever I was busy with and walk outside to take in the sheer beauty of that aircraft whenever it would pass overhead. No other airliner has that effect on me. Perhaps to a lesser degree the B777, but that's about it. It's a sad day indeed.

[Bateleur1]

Not sure when but I will try my best on my next visit to SA fly with Lufthansa to SA. They still fly the new 747-8 to Joburg (pre corona) so hope that when thing sort off turn to normal that I can get that chance.

[Lotus]

I had a BA 747 come over my house just about daily on approach to, or departure from Cape Town International. Never again to hear that distictive drone of those 4 magnificent engines is enough to make a grown man cry. I would stop whatever I was busy with and walk outside to take in the sheer beauty of that aircraft whenever it would pass overhead. No other airliner has that effect on me. Perhaps to a lesser degree the B777, but that's about it. It's a sad day indeed.

The car rental return area at LHR is right next to the runway, and when those 747s take off you can only wonder at the power being unleashed.

 

It's a great spot for aviation enthusiasts, especially as you're probably going to be on one of those beauties within a couple of hours of returning your rental.

[SwissVan]

FAA Review of 737 Max Reaches Final Stages

by Gregory Polek

 - July 17, 2020, 7:00 AM

 

As members of the FAA’s Aircraft Evaluation Group (AEG) and Boeing flight test pilots prepared to perform the 737 Max’s July 10 operational suitability flights between Boeing Field in Seattle and Moses Lake, Washington, industry observers and airline customers alike eagerly awaited the results of three days of certification flying that ended a week and a half earlier. Described by an FAA spokesman as a routine part of any certification effort, the operational suitability flights marked one of the last procedural hurdles the program must clear before the agency issues its final approval for the airplane to return to service.

Before that happens, authorities must determine whether or not the software changes engineers made to the flight control systems met design criteria. During the series of certification flights, test pilots would typically fly so-called hardovers, during which control surfaces deflect to their maximum automated limit, according to retired Boeing designated engineering representative (DER) and FAA organization designation authorization (ODA) administrator Mike Borfitz.

“I would also imagine there would be a lot of analysis of the two angle-of-attack vanes,” Borfitz added. “I would imagine there would be a lot of work into the reliability of those things. What happens if there’s a disconnect between the two? Because that’s where things went south on them.”

Perhaps most vitally, testing will center on the airplane’s maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS), a malfunction of which led to the twin crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 that killed 346 people and the Max’s now 16-month grounding by global aviation authorities.

“The software is going to be a huge, huge deal…I would imagine they’d be looking at MCAS failures in all phases of flight, that being takeoff, departure, cruise, approach, and landing, that sort of thing,” explained Borfitz. “It would just be a matter of wringing out every possibility for this system to fail in.”

According to a Department of Transportation Inspector General’s report issued on July 1, Boeing failed to submit certification documents to the FAA on modifications to the MCAS, including significantly increasing the system’s ability to lower the aircraft’s nose automatically under certain conditions. According to the report, FAA flight test personnel knew of the change, but “key” agency certification engineers and personnel responsible for approving the level of airline pilot training told the IG’s office they did not.

 

The report also revealed that because Boeing’s safety analysis did not assess system-level safety risks as catastrophic, the company’s engineers designed MCAS to rely on data from just one of the two flight control computers associated with the angle-of-attack sensors.

Although Boeing did not communicate to the FAA the formal safety risk assessments related to MCAS until November 2016 and January 2017, more than four years into the five-year certification process, FAA managers told the IG’s office that “it isn’t unusual” for manufacturers to complete and submit safety assessments toward the end of the certification process.

Meanwhile, because Boeing presented the software as a modification to the 737’s existing speed trim system that would activate only in limited conditions, the FAA did not emphasize MCAS in its certification efforts and, therefore, a more detailed review of the system did not occur between agency engineers and Boeing. Rather, the FAA concentrated its efforts on what it considered high-risk areas such as the airplane’s larger engines, fly-by-wire spoilers, and landing gear changes.

“From everything I’ve seen, it appears to me that the MCAS fault was overlooked,” said Borfitz. “And it appears to me that it was undervalued…understated by the Boeing Company. You can only regulate what you know. That’s the kind of thing that I really hang my hat on, that the FAA can only regulate what they’re told.” 

Following the start of flight testing in 2016, the FAA’s Flight Standards Service approved a training plan proposed by Boeing—known as Level B training—for 737 Max pilots already qualified to fly the Boeing 737-800. According to the IG report, the outcome met with Boeing’s “overarching” goal of gaining a common type rating for pilots moving to the Max from the NG largely because it limited costs by avoiding simulator training. Furthermore, required training did not include pilot response to automated MCAS activation, added the report.

According to Borfitz, Boeing’s failure to rank as catastrophic the level of system-level safety risks in the MCAS also might have allowed it to avoid the need for simulator training.  

The FAA’s Flight Standardization Board (FSB) and the Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB)—which includes international partners from Canada, Europe, and Brazil—will evaluate minimum pilot training requirements, including the need for simulator time. The FSB will issue a draft report for public comment addressing the groups’ findings before the FAA publishes a final FSB report.

Other tasks include an FAA review of Boeing’s final design documentation to evaluate compliance with all agency regulations. The multi-agency Technical Advisory Board (TAB) will also review the final Boeing submission and issue a final report before the FAA determines compliance. The FAA then must issue a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC) of pending safety actions and publish an airworthiness directive (AD) that addresses the known problems that led to the grounding. The AD will advise operators of needed corrective actions before aircraft may re-enter commercial service.

Once it rescinds the grounding order, the FAA will retain its authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates for all new 737 Max airplanes manufactured since the grounding and perform in-person, individual reviews of each aircraft. Those reviews, said Borfitz, will require the FAA to commit far more resources to delivery authorizations than usual given that regulations allow for ODA personnel to release the airplanes for delivery in normal circumstances. Inspectors will have to conduct a review of manufacturing records, including approved corrective actions for typical deviations such as mis-drilled holes, deviations in materials or processes, as well as a thorough review of the more critical design changes such as software revision levels. Returning airplanes from storage is another process the FAA likely needs to review.

“Those inspectors are going to go out and they’re going to take a look at the airplanes, they’re going to first and foremost ensure that the software load on each airplane is correct and appropriate and the paperwork is all correct,” explained Borfitz.

Inspectors might also review what Borfitz also described as a “stack of information” known as material review board (MRB) documentation that follows each airplane during the production process.

“The MRB is a pretty rigorous process and it’s part of the production approval,” he explained. “An inspector might want to look into the MRBs just to do a spot check through that paperwork, but first and foremost is to be sure the software load is correct and the process is appropriate. Typically they don’t do that; everything is just delegated and the MIDO [FAA manufacturing inspection district office] folks just review the process.”