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British Airways now allows electronics use during takeoff and landing
Following the wave of US airlines that changed policy after the FAA reassessed the rules, British Airways is letting passengers keep their electronic devices switched on for the entirety of their flight. According to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority, there's still no text and no calls allowed, and Brits will still be ordered to put wireless devices into flight mode, although the changes (which start today) apparently don't include laptops. "The easing of restrictions will provide an average of 30 minutes additional personal screen time," according to BA's flight training manager, Captain Ian Pringle -- enough time for half an episode of The Great British Bake Off, then. And expect more airlines to follow suit: the European Aviation Safety Agency announced earlier this month that airlines are able to introduce such changes, subject to their own assessments. Update: It's actually not the first. Apparently Scandinavian Airlines started allowing tablet and smartphone during takeoff and landing when the European Aviation Safety Agency made their announcement a few weeks back. We've updated the post to reflect this. [Thanks to everyone that sent in the news that the Scandinavians got there first!]
Alaska Airlines and US Airways join list of companies allowing almost gate-to-gate gadget use
More and more airlines are adopting the FAA's new (and more relaxed) gadget policy, and the latest ones joining the fray are Alaska Airlines and US Airways. Both carriers now allow you to keep your eyes glued to phones or tablets even during takeoff or touchdown. In Alaska Airlines' case, it's even slated to debut its first plane equipped with USB and 110-volt power outlets next month to make sure travellers' devices are juiced up. Of course, mobile devices have to be used in airplane mode, but you can make in-flight phone calls via Gogo's WiFi service, if available. While you still have to stow laptops and heavier electronics during departure and landing, you can at least continue playing Candy Crush to keep your aerophobia in check.
FAA: airline passengers may use electronic devices during all phases of flight
We all know the drill. You're on a plane before takeoff, checking your email or perhaps watching a movie on your Mac, iOS or Android device. Before you know it, the captain announces that all electronic devices need to be shut off before takeoff. You grudgingly comply. Thankfully, that drill will soon be a thing of the past. The FAA announced today that it will allow passengers to use electronic devices throughout the entirety of a flight, from takeoff to landing. The only prohibited activity will be making calls. The FAA has already begun supplying airlines with implementation guidelines and believes that most airlines will have the new rule in effect by the end of the year. In a press release announcing the change, the FAA noted that its decision was based on "input from a group of experts that included representatives from the airlines, aviation manufacturers, passengers, pilots, flight attendants and the mobile technology industry." "We believe today's decision honors both our commitment to safety and consumer's increasing desire to use their electronic devices during all phases of their flights," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in the press release. In reaching its decision, the PED Aviation Rulemaking Committee determined that commercial airplanes, by and large, can handle radio interference from personal electronic devices. The press release does note, however, that exceptions may be made during "rare instances of low visibility." As for which airlines will be first to adopt the new rule, Delta has already submitted its plan of compliance to the FAA while JetBlue has indicated that it will begin the process soon. All in all, the FAA decision should make flying just a tad more bearable. As a final note, bear in mind that the new FAA guidelines only apply to flights at altitudes over 10,000 feet.
FAA to allow personal electronic devices during takeoff and touchdown
Sure it's not healthy, but we admit that we get a bit shaky in the time it takes to complete our final descent. We've read all of SkyMall, and it's just too hard to be away from the warming glow of our Kindle Paperwhite. Thankfully, however, the FAA has finally pulled the trigger on the long-awaited decision to allow the usage of personal electronics during all phases of flight, letting passengers use e-readers, tablets and the like "with very limited exception." The governmental body expects that a number of carriers will deliver on the promise by year's end. Of course there's some fine print: airplane mode is still strongly encouraged and "implementation will vary among airlines," according to a release issued this morning. We also assume that the same rules will apply to tray tables, so that iMac will have to stay in your bag. Update: Looks like Delta's on-board to start pretty much right away. Update 2: JetBlue received formal FAA approval on Friday, November 1st, and began allowing gate-to-gate electronics use immediately.
Boeing introduces suite of iPad apps for airplane maintenance crews
There is no shortage of stories detailing how the iPad is increasingly becoming a mainstay in the airline industry. Whether it's being used as a replacement for flight bags or provided to travelers for entertainment purposes, Apple's trusty tablet has certainly earned its fair share of frequent flier miles. And now comes word that maintenance crews will be getting in on the iPad action as well. Boeing on Tuesday announced the impending release of a new suite of iPad apps geared towards airplane maintenance. The applications, which were developed in conjunction with several major airlines, will enable technicians on the ground to quickly access airplane manuals, part numbers and airplane maintenance history. The suite of iPad apps will also allow technicians to communicate with other maintenance staff employees at varying locations and, consequently, identify and fix problems much more quickly. Boeing believes that this will ultimately lead to a decrease in the incidence of flight delays while also serving to lower operational costs. Some of the maintenance apps touted by Boeing include: A Toolbox Mobile Library, which will provide technicians access to maintenance documents for instant reference and use, wherever and whenever needed. Hyperlinks between multiple manuals and airline-created content that will expedite access to critical documents so that users can easily search for documents and information about parts and fault histories. A Toolbox Mobile Parts app, which enables technicians to instantly retrieve information about part availability, including the airline's most current inventory information. Maintenance Turn Time, which gives technicians a secure connection to collaborate with their colleagues when troubleshooting a maintenance issue. A technician can take a photo of a damaged part, upload it for others to see and annotate and then share information about maintenance issues with their peers in real time. Maintenance Turn Time is available for the iPad, iPhone and a web browser. The apps will reportedly be unveiled this week during AviationWeek's MRO Europe event. Now given that a number of airlines quickly embraced the iPad as a replacement for in-flight manuals and navigation charts, it will be interesting to see how long before we begin seeing plane technicians walking around the runway with iPads in tow.
Hawaiian Airlines will offer iPad minis to passengers
Hawaiian Airlines this week announced that it will begin offering iPad minis to passengers flying between Hawaii and 14 routes that encompass destinations in the US, Asia and the South Pacific. The iPad mini will offer a full-fledged entertainment experience and will enable passengers to pick from upwards of 100 hours of movies and TV shows. Further, the iPad minis will come pre-loaded with a smattering of gaming titles as well. I suppose leaving the fun and sun of Hawaii can be a harrowing experience, so what better way to soften the blow than to provide passengers with a first-rate entertainment experience as they leave the islands? In a statement on the matter, Hawaiian Airlines VP of Product Development Blaine Miyasato said: Hawaiian Airlines' signature on-board hospitality is already very popular with travelers, but we wanted to go even further to ensure our customers' travel experience is more enjoyable. With the help of Bluebox Avionics, we're building on our acclaimed inflight service by incorporating the latest in popular consumer tech products to enhance our in-flight entertainment options. As for the logistics of the iPad mini rollout, the program will begin early next week. Passengers flying business class will be given complimentary iPad minis while passengers flying economy class will have the option to rent an iPad mini for US$15 if reserved at the gate or $17 if reserved on-board the flight.
Hawaiian Airlines to offer iPad minis for in-flight entertainment on 14 planes
Starting September 1st, people flying Hawaiian Airlines will get the chance to spend some R&R time with an iPad mini thousands of feet in the air. It's all thanks to the company contracting Blue Avionics to switch its existing in-flight entertainment systems (IES) with 1,500 miniature iPads on 14 Boeing 767-300 planes. Business class passengers can stream movies and shows for free, but unlike American Airlines' Galaxy Tab program available only to premium seats, anyone onboard can rent a teensy tablet. Sure, it'll cost them $15 for the perk -- $17, if they decided to do so on a whim while already on the plane -- but the existing system will cost them the same amount anyway. iPads on planes aren't anything new -- AA and Alaska Airlines have both ditched flight manuals for their digital counterparts, while Qantas and Jetstar Airways have been renting them out for years. However, HA is the first U.S. airline to offer iPads for in-flight entertainment, and some patrons might see that as a welcome change.
LIDAR system uses lasers to detect clear air turbulence before it hits
Fact: turbulence is no fun at all. Aside from the brief moments of bone-deep terror it can cause passengers, clear air turbulence (CAT) can also prove costly for airlines in terms of damages. To help pilots deal with difficult-to-spot areas where CAT is likely to occur, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is spearheading a new joint European project known as DELICAT. Essentially, the DELICAT program calls for planes to be equipped with a light detection and ranging instrument (LIDAR) that emits short-wave ultraviolet lasers. Radiation then bounces off oxygen and nitrogen particles in the air, indicating fluctuations in air density that signal the presence of CAT pockets. Until the end of August, the DLR will run test flights in a specially modified Cessna Citation plane to both show off LIDAR's capabilities and to give researchers invaluable data on CAT patterns. Though the system is still in its infancy, the folks at the DLR hope that the technology will one day become a standard part of commercial air travel.
Watch Terrafugia's Transition fly and drive in public for the first time (video)
Sure, the Terrafugia Transition took to the skies for the first time at the 2012 NY Auto Show, but it has yet to fly and drive in front of an audience -- until now. The "driveable plane" did two laps around the field at this year's EAA AirVenture airshow in Wisconsin, once up in the air and once on land, as you can see in the videos past the break. In between the laps, it transforms from an airborne into a land vehicle by automatically folding its wings flush against its body. Despite the successful demo, it'll take a while before we see a Transition on the road -- Terrafugia plans to build a third prototype of the $279,000 plane / car before it begins production. Millionaires and supervillains, take note: you can pay a $10,000 reserve fee for one, but don't expect it to grace your driveway or hangar until 2015 or 2016.
MakerPlane's open source aircraft funding campaign gets off to a slow start (video)
There are some things in this world we're not sure are improved by the 3D printing process, like firearms and food. Aircraft might also be on that list, but no amount of dubiousness will stand in the way of MakerPlane's open source plane. The aviation company's ambitious Indiegogo campaign went live last week (check out the video below), but its quest for funding looks like it's going to be a major uphill climb. At the time of this writing, the campaign had yet to breach the $800 mark, a far cry from its $75,000 goal. While part of the reason for the slow funding can be chalked up to a certain level of skepticism when it comes to a plane made with 3D printed parts and open sourced avionics software, the lack of plane-related rewards might also be holding the company back from reaching its endgame. For example, a $10,000 pledge will only get your corporate logo on the display craft's fuselage. That being said, somebody's got to dream big. Just don't ask us to get in your homemade plane.
Solar Impulse ends cross-country US flight slightly early in NY due to torn left wing
Solar Impulse has successfully hopped its way across the US, completing the final leg of its journey from Washington Dulles International Airport. While today marks the end of the effort at New York's JFK airport as expected, the solar-powered aircraft landed a roughly three hours early -- this, due to an eight-foot tear in its left wing discovered over Toms River, New Jersey. According to the crew, the breakage posed no significant threat to pilot André Borschberg, but it did mean a planned fly-by of the Statue of Liberty had to be nixed. If you'll recall, this was the first US-based trip for Solar Impulse, which the team used largely to raise further awareness about energy efficiency. Aside from that, you can bet some extra publicity can't hurt before a future model is set to make a flight across the world in 2015. Relive Solar Impulse's Across America start at Mountain View, CA here and get more info about the full endeavor at the source link. Livestream wrap-up embedded after the break.
iPad now being used in every American Airlines cockpit
American Airlines has announced the deployment of more than 8,000 iPads to the cockpits of its fleet as part of a new electronic flight bag for pilots. The roll out has lead to American discontinuing paper revisions to its terminal charts, saving money, paper and mess in the future. To put a number on how much effect the switch will have, the electronic flight bag is replacing more than 35 pounds of paper-based reference materials that pilots carry in their carry-on kitbag. By removing that extra weight from their flights American will save a minimum of 400,000 gallons of fuel and $1.2 million dollars annually, based on current fuel prices. In addition, pilots will save more time thanks to the elimination of the hours it could take each month to update their paper manuals. Updating the iPad software takes minutes. "Our focus on technological improvement throughout our operation has never been stronger as we continue to build the new American," said Patrick O'Keeffe, American's Vice President – Airline Operations Technology. "As the first major commercial airline to successfully complete the Electronic Flight Bag transition across its fleet, we are proud to count this among our other successful programs that provide the tools our people need to perform their duties safely and efficiently." Here's a video look at the system that will be in place from now on in American Airlines flights. Correction: This story originally reported the company would save $12 million annually due to the change over. We were missing a period, and the actual amount is $1.2 million annually.
Airbus A350 completes maiden flight, uber-efficient Trent XWB engine shines
With the Paris Air Show scheduled to lift off in earnest on Monday, Airbus is hoping to steal a bit of the limelight. After being conceived in 2004, the A350 finally took the public skies today in France, showcasing a highly-efficient Rolls-Royce XWB engine all the while. The jet is arguably being launched to compete with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and as you'd expect, it's the magic inside of the shell that's most impressive. The Trent XWB engine was built specifically for the A350, replete with titanium blades and a mixture of technologies that have led to it being deemed the "world's most efficient" airplane engine... as said by Rolls-Royce, anyway. To date, over 600 orders for the A350 have been placed, but the outfit is hoping to land even more contracts in the days ahead. Ideally, each will ship with a power port in every seat, satellite internet connections and an allergy for mechanical failures. (A boy can dream, right?)
Terrafugia considering TF-X, a vertical-takeoff flying car (video)
We've been hearing about Terrafugia's Transition "flying car" for, well, far too long, considering that it has yet to even venture beyond the prototype phase. The prop plane / roadworthy vehicle combo has its fair share of fans -- some of them with deep enough pockets to place an order -- but it won't be making its way from your garage to the runway anytime soon. With that in mind, the company's TF-X vertical-takeoff model is even less likely to see the light of day, but it's being considered nonetheless. The plug-in hybrid-electric aircraft would take off and land vertically, like a helicopter -- if the DOT and FAA allowed it, you could literally fly over the highway whenever you run into traffic, though we can't imagine that pilots will ever get the green light to take off from public roads, even if the TF-X becomes a reality. For now, it exists only in the minds of Terrafugia's ambitious team, a few image renders and a minute-long animated demo, which we've embedded for your viewing pleasure after the break.
Solar Impulse sets off on its journey across the US (video)
Early this morning at Moffet Air Field in Mountain View, California, Solar Impulse finally took off on the first leg of its barnstorming tour across the US. Of course, this isn't the first time the sun-powered plane and its pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, have flown long distance, but it is the first time it's taken wing through American airspace. Why has it come across the pond? To raise pubilc and political awareness about the benefits of going green and increasing energy efficiency -- and perhaps pick up an additional sponsor or two for its second-gen aircraft (currently in development) meant to fly around the world in 2015. "With the technologies we have onboard, we can divide by two the energy consumption of our world, and produce half of the rest [energy we need] with renewable sources" according to Piccard.%Gallery-187494% This first portion of the journey will end in Phoenix, and it'll take around twenty hours to get there, as the plane's meager output limits its average speed to around 40MPH. Should any of you want to join along with Piccard and Borschberg as they fly across the country, you can hit the Solar Impulse Across America website to see a livestream from the cockpit, along with real-time altitude, air speed and battery status of the aircraft. And, you can watch a video of Solar Impulse taking off on its North American journey and hear Borschberg talk about learning to fly it after the break.
Visualized: Boeing supersonic airliner concept soars in a wind tunnel, quietly
No, you're not looking at an early preview of Star Wars Episode VII -- it just might represent the future of air transport, though. Boeing has spent years developing a truly quiet supersonic airliner concept, the Icon II, and what you see is an aerodynamics test of a mockup in a vaguely Death Star-like wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center. The starfighter design is for more than just show, as you'd suspect. Its V-tail design moves sonic booms further back, reducing the chance that shockwaves will reach the ground (and our ears) intact, while the top-mounted engines isolate engine noise. Boeing and NASA are ultimately hoping for production passenger aircraft discreet enough to fly over land at supersonic speeds, although we can't help but think that the sci-fi look is a convenient bonus.
Japan clears 787s for takeoff pending FAA-approved battery fix
Japan's transport minster, Akihiro Ohta, announced today that the country's airliners can resume flying grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners once a newly approved battery system is installed. "We have reached a conclusion that there is no problem with the judgment by the FAA," Ohta told the Associated Press. Back in January two separate fires caused by the 787's lithium ion batteries led to the FAA temporarily grounding all Dreamliners. Japan's decision comes shortly after Boeing's CEO, Jim McNerney, stated during the company's recent fiscal conference call that he expected all 50 aircraft to be fixed by the middle of May. Japanese airline officials are forecasting a slightly longer timeline, with the country's 787s returning to the skies around June and test flights scheduled to begin on April 28th.
Terrafugia's Transition aircraft not likely to see production this year
Terrafugia's Transition flying car (or driveable plane) has stayed out of the spotlight since we caught a glimpse of it last year, but AOL Autos recently checked-in with the daring manufacturer to gauge its progress. Sure, the prototype has already scored a VIN from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and an N-number from the Federal Aviation Administration, but it turns out the land /air hybrid is still awaiting complete certification by the NHTSA. Production dates won't be announced until the craft has been rubber-stamped by Uncle Sam, and that isn't expected to occur within the next 12 months. For now, suppliers are being lined up, and it's very likely that another prototype will be fashioned before it hits the assembly line. You might not be able to sit inside your very own Transition soon, but you will be able to see the first model on display at Cape Cod's Heritage Museum this summer.
Facebook Home 'Airplane' ad brings one traveler's News Feed aboard -- literally
Sure, Facebook had a weird ad with Blink-182 for the HTC Status, but this sneak peek at its newest TV spot for the First and Home is on another level. Posted today on the company's Facebook page, the campy piece literally brings one traveler's feed to life inside the cabin of his flight during boarding. We won't spoil the goods for you, but it's interesting to see Facebook's first thrust at marketing this skin and smartphone combo out to the masses. Catch the full clip after the break.
Solar Impulse to fly across the US, pilots preparing for a trip around the world in 2015
We've been tracking the sun-powered plane known as Solar Impulse for years as it roved hither and yon. Today, Solar Impulse's pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, came to NASA's Ames research center to announce their plan to fly across America. The cross-country tour will begin in the Bay Area and end in New York, with stops in Phoenix, Dallas and Washington DC in between. Solar Impulse will also land in either Atlanta, Nashville or St. Louis, with the plane and its pilots set to stay in each locale for about a week to ten days to talk about the project before moving on. For the next month, Piccard and Borschberg will perform test flights around the Bay Area in preparation, and the plan is for the journey to start on May 1st, with an estimated arrival in Gotham sometime in early July.%Gallery-184318% The point of this new flight is to inspire and educate the public in general of the benefits of renewable energy and efficiency, and to encourage school children and university students in particular to "think off the grid" and innovate and invent on their own. To that end, the pilots will be broadcasting live transmissions and allowing the public to speak with them as they fly, in addition to providing access to flight planning information on the Solar Impulse website. Read on to learn a bit more about the Solar Impulse project and it's future plans.
