All Flights ‘Grounded Across US’ This Morning After FAA System Failure

 

Daily Mail: FAA fails to explain catastrophic 'computer failure' that delayed at least 7,000 flights and halted America's air traffic for the first time since 9/11 - as it lifts ground order on planes after two-and-a-half hours of chaos 

* The FAA's NOTAM system - which pilots use to see flight plans - failed overnight 

* The White House says there is 'no evidence' of a cyber attack  

* The issue was fixed by 9am but more than 7,000 flights were delayed as a result  

All flights across America were grounded today for the first time since 9/11 after an as-yet unexplained, FAA computer system failure.  

The first complaints by passengers that their flights had been grounded started at around 4am EST, but it wasn't until 6.30am that the FAA announced it had grounded all flights as a result of an overnight crash of its NOTAM system - which pilots use to receive hazard warnings and safety updates. 

By 9am, the issue had been resolved and flights were beginning to take off again.   

Read more ....  

Update #1: Flight disruptions cascade across US after computer outage (AP)

Update #2: U.S. airports rumble back to life after FAA computer outage, article with gallery (Reuters)  

WNU Editor: The FBI sees no evidence of a cyber attack.

Japan's JAL, ANA Cancel All Flights To Europe

The airline, join a growing number of carriers that have cancelled or rerouted flights between Europe and north Asia. PHOTO: AFP  

Reuters: Japan's JAL, ANA cancel all Europe flights, citing safety concerns 

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Airlines Co Ltd and ANA Holdings Inc cancelled all flights to and from Europe on Thursday and cancelled or rerouted flights on Friday as well, citing safety concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

ANA also started to cancel some flights due to run on Saturday. 

The airlines, which normally use Russian airspace for their Europe flights, join a growing number of carriers that have cancelled or rerouted flights between Europe and north Asia in the wake of the crisis.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Expect more airline companies to start banning flights in the days and weeks ahead.

China About To Challenge Boeing And Airbus For A Share Of The Jet Airliner Market

China’s domestically-developed regional ARJ21 jetliner of newly approved airline Genghis Khan Airlines is towed out of a hangar at the assembly plant of COMAC in Beijing on October 15, 2018. Photo: AFP 

Asia Times: China’s jets set to challenge Boeing and Airbus 

US accuses China's COMAC of 'military-civil fusion' but that won't stop the rising airplane maker from taking global market share Aerospace is one of the key industries targeted by Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” drive. 

Could this become a problem for Boeing, Airbus and other non-Chinese suppliers of aircraft, aircraft engines and other related equipment? 

The outgoing Donald Trump administration apparently thought so. 

In mid-January, it put Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) on its list of companies tied to the Chinese military. 

This prevents Americans from investing in COMAC, although they would probably not do so anyway. COMAC is not publicly traded and has issued bonds only in the Chinese domestic market. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: China still has a long way to go when it comes to civil aviaiton. Over the years I have had my share of flying in a Chinese built airliner with a Chinese pilot (all pilots are former military pilots). If I had a choice. I would pick anyone else over China Air and the country's regional airlines.

Skyhawks Performing A ‘Plugged-In’ Formation Barrel Roll

Warzone/The Drive: New Zealand A-4s Flew Crazy Formation Rolls While "Plugged-In" To A Buddy Tanker

The Royal New Zealand Air Force's A-4Ks performed multiple variations of the unique and challenging maneuver at air shows for years.

Flight demonstration teams are a fixture of modern military aviation, performing routines at airshows and other events to help with recruitment and otherwise just promote engagement between the service that operates the aircraft and the public. These units typically draw on the skills of expert pilots to perform often iconic routines with unique or otherwise impressive aerobatic maneuvers. A prime example of this is the "plugged-in" barrel roll that Royal New Zealand Air Force's now-retired A-4K Skyhawks used to perform.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Talk about doing a tight formation.

A New Way To Fly?

Defense Blog: BAE provides MAGMA breakthrough blown-air flight technologies test details

Britain’s biggest defense company BAE Systems announced Thursday that for the first time in aviation history, an aircraft has been maneuvered in flight using supersonically blown air, removing the need for complex movable flight control surfaces.

BAE Systems has disclosed details on the development of MAGMA unmanned air vehicle (UAV) designed and built in collaboration with The University of Manchester to demonstrate novel control technologies.

In a series of ground-breaking flight trials that took place in the skies above north-west Wales, the MAGMA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrated two innovative flow control technologies which could revolutionize future aircraft design.

Read more ....

Update: UK Weapons Giant Tests 'Flapless' Drone Virtually Undetectable by Radar (VIDEO) (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: This is a major breakthrough.

Best Visualization Of Wake Vortices I’ve Ever Seen

This is the best visualization of wake vortices I’ve ever seen. pic.twitter.com/VKsit4bgmD

— Collin Krum (@collinkrum) September 15, 2018

WNU Editor: Cool!

Fly Alongside The World's Largest Airplane (Video)

Business Insider: Fly alongside the world's largest airplane with this unusual video

The Antonov An-225 Mriya ("Dream" in Ukrainian language) is the world's largest airplane. Designed at the end of Cold War, its main purpose was to carry the Soviet "Buran" space shuttle and parts of the "Energia" rocket. Currently, the sole existing example (UR-82060) is used commercially, as an international cargo transporter.

Mriya is not the largest aircraft ever built: this title belongs to the Hughes H-4 Spruce Goose hydroplane, that made only a single flight.

The An-225 is performing a series of flights to deliver boilers for thermal power plant of Bolivia from Iquique, Chile, to Chimore, Bolivia. In each flight Mriya carries the cargo weighing up to 160 tons. This video shows a take off from Chimore.

Enjoy!

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Greatest Aviation Disaster In History Was Averted At The Last Minute At San Francisco's International Airport

Mercury News: Exclusive: SFO near miss might have triggered ‘greatest aviation disaster in history’

SAN FRANCISCO — In what one aviation expert called a near-miss of what could have been the largest aviation disaster ever, an Air Canada pilot on Friday narrowly avoided a tragic mistake: landing on the San Francisco International Airport taxiway instead of the runway.

Sitting on Taxiway C shortly before midnight were four airplanes full of passengers and fuel awaiting permission to take off, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the “rare” incident. An air traffic controller sent the descending Air Canada Airbus 320 on a “go-around” — an unusual event where pilots must pull up and circle around to try again — before the safe landing, according to the federal agency.
FAA investigators are still trying to determine how close the Air Canada aircraft came to landing and potentially crashing into the four aircraft below, but the apparent pilot error already has the aviation industry buzzing.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: My brother lives in San Mateo, and I visit him at least once a year. This Air Canada flight (AC759 from Toronto) is the flight that I usually take to see him.

The Rise and Fall Of Carrier Aviation

Melody Cook/Center for a New American Security

Melody Cook/Center for a New American Security

Business Insider: Retired US Navy captain: The centerpieces of the Navy's future double down on a 20-year-old strategic mistake

Aircraft carriers are the ultimate symbol of American military dominance.

Weighing tens of thousands of tons and costing billions of dollars, these vessels allow the US to project power around the world far from its shores.

But according to a retired US navy captain, the prime time of aircraft carriers may be coming to an end as strategic mistakes committed by the US over the past 20 years has limited these vessel’s capabilities while leaving them open to strikes from new emerging threats.

Retired Navy Capt. Jerry Hendrix, writing in the Center for a New American Security, makes the case that aircraft carriers have steadily lost their utility over the past two decades.

WNU Editor: The above two images show how naval aviation range has fallen in the past 20 years .... and to be blunt .... I am shocked to see how much this has changed over time. The full report on the "rise and fall of naval aviation" is here.

Today's Insurgencies Are Changing The Market For Military Jets

How ISIS And Boko Haram Could Change The Way Countries Purchase Air Power -- Clay Dillow, Fortune

Textron’s Scorpion recon and strike jet offers cash-strapped countries air power on the cheap. Global events are making it more attractive.

Like spaceships and sports stadiums, military strike jets typically aren’t the kind of things that companies build—much less sell—off the shelf. Take the Pentagon’s new F-35, for instance: Two decades and $400 billion in the making, the F-35 had nine committed customers lined up to buy thousands of aircraft (at between $80 million and $110 million per copy) before Lockheed Martin LMT 0.63% ever started bending metal in earnest. Rarely does a contractor fully develop a military jet on spec.

Read more ....

My Comment: The A-10 does a very good job in providing support for ground forces .... and it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a F-35. But the above military jet shows that the market is big enough for more "players" .... especially if the military jet is cheap and easy to maintain.

A U.S. Spy Plane Was Responsible For A Widespread Shutdown Of US Flights Last Week

Spy Plane Fries Air Traffic Control Computers, Shuts Down LAX -- NBC

A relic from the Cold War appears to have triggered a software glitch at a major air traffic control center in California Wednesday that led to delays and cancellations of hundreds of flights across the country, sources familiar with the incident told NBC News.

On Wednesday at about 2 p.m., according to sources, a U-2 spy plane, the same type of aircraft that flew high-altitude spy missions over Russia 50 years ago, passed through the airspace monitored by the L.A. Air Route Traffic Control Center in Palmdale, Calif. The L.A. Center handles landings and departures at the region’s major airports, including Los Angeles International (LAX), San Diego and Las Vegas.

Read more ....

More News On Reports That A U.S. Spy Plane Was Responsible For A Widespread Shutdown Of US Flights Last Week

U2 spy plane delays HUNDREDS of flights from LAX after it overloaded air traffic control system -- Daily Mail
U-2 spy plane caused widespread shutdown of U.S. flights: report -- Reuters
U-2 Spy Plane Triggered Air-Traffic Outage -- WSJ
Did an old spy plane disable air traffic control computers? -- ajc.com
Did a U-2 Spyplane Trigger a Software Glitch that froze Los Angeles Air Traffic Control computers? -- The Aviationist

The Video That Puts YOU Inside The Cockpit

 

The Video That Puts YOU Inside The Cockpit: Just Hang Onto Your Stomach When You Watch This Amazing Footage -- Daily Mail 

* During the virtual trip, viewers are flown to 40,000ft on board a Typhoon jet
* The video then shows the jet dropping to 250ft above the Welsh valleys
* Viewers are also flipped upside down during a series of formation flights
* It is on display at the London Science Museum's Typhoon Force simulator

Top Gun fueled a generation of wannabe fighter pilots, but the film was the closest many of us will ever come to taking to the skies in a jet - until now.

An amazing and somewhat nausea-inducing video has been filmed on board an RAF Typhoon jet that reveals exactly what it’s like to sit onboard a supersonic fighter plane.

During the six-minute virtual trip, the pilot is shown flipping upside down as he soars across the Lake District and Welsh valleys between 250ft and 40,000ft.

Read more ....  

My Comment: Cool.

Airpower Trends Are Changing From 2020 And Beyond

Fighter Trends Change For 2020 And Beyond -- Aviation Week

The past few years have made it abundantly clear that the mid-term future of airpower is not what a lot of people planned. Large-scale procurement of the stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has slipped into the 2020s. The aircraft types in service today—which made their first flights as much as 40 years ago—will be the world’s frontline fleets through the rest of this decade, and will make up the majority of fighting forces well into the 2020s.

This does not mean that technological and operational progress has stopped. Fighters delivered in the 2010s may not look new from the other end of the flight line, but at closer range, the changes are very important.

Read more ....

My Comment: Drones will probably exhibit the biggest changes in the next 10 years ... both in functionality and lethality.

What Is The Future Of Naval Aviation?

Northrop Grumman is making the Navy's newest experimental warplane, a carrier-ready UAV called the X-47B, shown here during structural stress tests at the company's facilities in Palmdale, Calif.

Are Pilots—Or Robots—The Future Of Naval Aviation? -- Popular Mechanics

America's aircraft carriers face fresh threats. But will the new breed of warplanes that meet those threats be flown by top Navy pilots, or will they be incredibly advanced autonomous UAVs? The dogfight for the future of navy flying is on.

For Ensign Kyndra Chitwood, learning how to fly blind is just part of becoming a U.S. naval aviator.

The 23-year-old strides across the flight line at Naval Air Station Whiting Field. Around her, dozens of orange and white T-34 Mentor training aircraft are lined up, fuselages gleaming in the Florida sun. Pairs of student—trainer teams in flightsuits are making their way to and from the aircraft. A formation flight of two T-34s cruises overhead, wingtip to wingtip.

Read more ....

My Comment: So .... are pilots—or robots—the future of naval aviation? Judging by the Navy's approach and plans for the future .... I would have to say robots are the future.

Army Aviators Are In Big Demand

Kiowa Helicopters At Jalalabad Airfield Afghanistan. Photosot

At Fort Bragg, Army Aviators Prepare For Another Deployment As Demand Soars For Air Crews -- Washington Post/AP

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The Afghanistan conflict, marking its 10th anniversary, is in many ways a helicopter war.

Army aviators fly attack missions, ferry troops and supplies and evacuate the wounded. They are in ever-increasing demand even as America eyes the exits in Afghanistan.

The pilots are flying roughly 63 hours a month — nearly five times the peacetime average.

Read more ....

My Comment: 63 hours does not seem a lot .... but considering how intense some of these flights are .... one hour may feel like lifetime.

NASA Unveils Possible Planes For 2025

Future flight? Boeing unveils its innovative design for a faster, bigger and cleaner aircraft.

Is It A Bird? No, It's Definitely A Plane: NASA Unveils Extraordinary Ideas For The Aircraft Of 2025 -- The Daily Mail

They are the sort of striking images that wouldn't look out of place in a scene from a sci-fi movie.

However, one of these could soon be the face of modern aviation with the unveiling of a new generation of passenger aircraft.

NASA has revealed three concept designs for quiet, energy efficient aircraft that potentially could be ready for flight as soon as 2025.

Read more ....

My Comment: What can I say but .... cool.

Video: 100 Years Of Military Aviation (2010)

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

What Future Stealth Planes Will Look Like (Maybe)

The revolutionary new "flapless" plane which could revolutionise aeroplane design
Photo: swns.com

Plane That Manoeuvres Without Flaps Developed -- The Telegraph

British engineers have developed the world's first ''flapless'' plane - that uses hundreds of tiny air jets to control its movements.

The DEMON uses output from the jets to control airflow over the plane, manipulating lift and drag without using traditional mechanisms to steer.

Its developers believe the technology could revolutionise the stealth capabilities of military aircraft by reducing edges and gaps that can be picked up on radar.

Read more ....

My Comment: Now we know how to make flying saucers float around.

Top Secret Aircraft That Officially Do Not Exist

From Urban Ghosts Media:

There is nothing more fascinating in the aviation world than the “black projects” – aircraft programs that are so secret that even those with the highest security clearance have no idea they exist. But occasionally the veil of secrecy is accidentally lifted, offering a fleeting glimpse into this shadowy world. Here we take to the air with six of the world’s most classified aircraft (assuming they exist, that is!).

Read more ....

The Future Of Aviation

New Technology has Creators Floating On Air -- FOX News

What's faster than a speeding bullet, doesn't require a cape and isn't deterred by kryptonite?

It's called the X-51 Waverider...and is the latest creation of Boeing and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne. This past May it completed the longest supersonic combustion (scramjet) powered flight in aviation history, reaching a speed of about Mach five, or five times the speed of sound.

A scramjet engine is often likened to an air-breathing engine...it has no moving parts, and sucks in air from the atmosphere, rather than using oxidizers or additional fuel.
It is new technology engineers say will allow aircraft to fly faster and farther while using less overall fuel.

Read more ....

My Comment: They still have a long way to go before this becomes "a standard" in aviation .... but the prospects are exciting.