Good day all
As the airshows wind down seems we in for a quiet weekend for a change with no events planned that we are aware of.
Race for Rhinos is fast approaching and promises to be a great one this year
Botswana Tourism Organisation in collaboration with Botswana Civil Aviation Authority and the Matsieng Flying Club will host the 4th Annual RACE FOR RHINOS in Sowa Pan. Botswana is leading the world in Sustainable Tourism and Conservation, and is a fitting destination to host this prestigious event. The combination of aviation dreams and conservation touches everyone, this event brings local and international participants and spectators together in support of this important message.
Across Africa, rhinos are fighting for survival. Botswana is the only country in the world where rhino populations are increasing, thanks to the dedication of the Botswana government’s ongoing program to relocate both Black and White Rhino from neighbouring countries. The Tlhokomela Endangered Wildlife Trust continues to raise funds to support the efforts of the government to ensure these precious animals are protected and kept safe from poaching. With your support, we can help rhinos to beat extinction.
This is just one of the events to help protect our animals in Botswana.
Then apart from the protection of the Rhinos, it is also a race that you should not miss.
Come join us in The Race for Rhinos!
Brakpan Aero Club will be hosting a Club Cessna Fly in an attempt to have the most Cessna’s at a South African airfield at one time so if you have access to a Cessna of any type please join on the 16 June.
IATA warns about packing power banks
Stop putting power banks, spare batteries in checked luggage, warns IATA
There is a growing focus in the airline industry on the risks related to passengers carrying portable electronic devices (PEDs) in their check-in luggage, according to Gilberto Lopez Meyer, senior vice-president for safety and flight operations at the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
An analysis of surveys conducted found that many passengers are carrying prohibited items in their checked baggage. Power banks and spare batteries especially are higher risk items.
For this reason IATA is currently carrying out an intensive awareness campaign in an effort to improve compliance with existing regulations. The organisation is assisting airlines to communicate the risks to passengers.
IATA has been working with the International Civil Aviation Organisation to gain a better understanding of the risk profile regarding PEDs in checked luggage. The organisation recently conducted two surveys, one focused on airlines and one on travellers.
The surveys found that incidents relating to the carrying of PEDs in checked baggage were very low, but the exposure to risk is potentially high.
According to Lopez Meyer, it is unclear why the non-compliance regarding carrying these items in checked baggage is so high. IATA thinks it may be due to a lack of awareness of regulations or a lack of awareness of the consequences.
Giving a general aviation safety overview, Lopez Meyer said that since the beginning of 2018 there have been 45 aviation accidents in the world – the lowest since 2005. Eleven of these involved IATA members. IATA members keep performing well, with an accident rate below the overall industry figure, he said.
There is room for improvement, said Lopez Meyer. Six of the fatal accidents in 2017 involved turboprop planes and cargo flights, while five commercial airlines had no fatal accidents so far in 2018.
So far this year there have been five fatal accidents – three involving jets and two turboprops.
“Every fatality is one too many. The focus is on long-term safety trends of five years and more in order to get a fuller picture of the industry’s safety performance,” said Lopez Meyer.
Beechcraft King Air 350i rolls out improved situational awareness, navigation
Textron Aviation Inc announced during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) 2018 that iTAWS is now standard on the Pro Line Fusion-equipped Beechcraft King Air 350i/ER turboprop aircraft. The system provides an integrated Terrain Awareness and Warning System (iTAWS) with the Fusion’s high-resolution Synthetic Vision System (SVS) for easy operation.
iTAWS brings aural and visual warnings to the primary flight display and multi-function displays, and it eliminates the standalone TAWS line-replaceable unit along with all related wiring and complexity.
Also newly standard for the King Air 350i is multi-scan radar with turbulence detection that automatically detects short, mid and long-range weather. This provides an optimized weather picture regardless of the aircraft altitude or the range selected. Additionally, mobile enablement is now available as an option that allows wireless chart and flight plan uploads from an iPad via the ARINCDirect app, in addition to allowing the avionics to wirelessly receive and upload v-speeds.
“Integration of the latest technology and comfort throughout the cockpit and cabin have made the Pro Line Fusion-equipped King Air 350i a success since it achieved certification and entered service in late 2015,” said Rob Scholl, senior vice president, Sales & Marketing. “We continue to invest in the world’s best-selling business turboprop family, bringing owners/operators features that are important to them. Better navigation, more accurate storm information and increased situational awareness lower the pilot workload and boost the comfort of everyone on board.”
All new Beechcraft King Air turboprops come equipped with Pro Line Fusion flight decks. The company expects to roll out the above new features on the King Air 250 in the near future.
Pro Line Fusion for the King Air brings one of the most trusted avionics architectures to the first full touch-screen flight display system. The avionics system changes how operators fly through a one-of-a-kind intuitive flight deck interface. Its three 14-inch displays are interchangeable, high-resolution and touch controlled. Other performance-enhancing capabilities include:
Integrated touch-screen checklists
Intuitive graphical touch-screen flight planning
High-resolution SVS with patented airport dome graphics
Convenient presets to reconfigure all three displays with a single touch
Dual multi-sensor flight management system
Available automatic flight plan uploads
Open and scalable architecture for future upgrades and mandates
More than 7,300 Beechcraft King Air turboprops have been delivered to customers around the world since 1964, making it the best-selling business turboprop family in the world. The worldwide fleet has surpassed 60 million flight hours in its first 54 years, serving roles in all branches of the U.S. military and flying both commercial and special mission roles around the world.
SAAB receives order for upgrade of the Gripen C/D system.
Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) concerning the upgrade of the Gripen C/D system. The order is valued at approximately SEK 224 million.
The order mainly involves improvements to and modifications of existing capabilities in the so-called MS20 upgrade, which was introduced across the Swedish Air Force Gripen fleet in 2016.
The ordered upgrades concern central capabilities such as target acquisition, self-protection, communication and human-machine interaction, as well as a number of key support and training systems.
The work will be carried out at Saab's facilities in Gothenburg, Järfälla, Linköping and Arboga.
“This is an important order to maintain and further develop the capabilities of Gripen C/D. It involves large parts of the Gripen C/D system," Jonas Hjelm, head of Saab business area Aeronautics.”
Deliveries will take place between 2018 and 2020
.
