Jamie Fly Aviation

LOT Polish's new Boeing 787 leaving Everett for Poland. Photo Credit: Boeing LOT Polish Airlines has just taken delivery of its first Boeing 787. It is the first airline in Europe to take delivery of Boeing's newest plane

Developed in the 1970s and implemented in the 1990s. The glass cockpit has a lot of advantages for pilots. Technically referred to as Technically Enhanced Cockpit, it refers to series of flight management computers that can be programmed to fly an aircraft A Glass cockpit for an Airbus A320. Photo credit: Airliners.net A glass cockpit for a B777. Photo credit: Airliners.net A glass cockpit for a B737-800. Photo credit: Airliners.net A glass cockpit is a new technology in an airplane that features series of electronic or digital displays on an LCD screen as opposed to an analogue cockpit that features gauges or dials. Glass cockpits are easier to read and much more accurate than their analogue counterpart. Advantages to Pilots? Though pilots still use the T formation scan to cross check. The glass cockpit makes this checks easier and reduces stress and fatigue on the part of the pilots and it is less likely that a critical gauge will be missed. Again, they have fewer bre...

Some airline executives are saying a combination of retirements, airline expansion, and an imminent change in FAA rules that could set a minimum of 1,500 hours for first officers will create a pilot shortage, but CBS news analyst Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger said the airlines are employing "scare tactics." In a story in Sunday's Wall Street Journal , Dan Garton, CEO of American Eagle, said the impact of the FAA's proposed new first-officer rule "is going to become much more visible when regionals have to decrease their flying" for lack of pilots. The airline may have to eliminate service to some smaller cities, he said. Sullenberger said on CBS on Monday that airline executives are crying wolf, with the aim to pressure the FAA into reducing the first-officer requirements in the final version of the new rule. Photo Credit: Hipster Travel Guide "This [rule change] is not a surprise to anyone," Sullenberger said. He adde...

Ahead of its scheduled operations in Africa, Fastjet has unveiled its livery The new livery on their A319. Photo Courtesy of flighglobal.com

Ice has always being a major factor in flight safety and it has contributed to plane crashes. Ice affects the performance of an aircraft and when there is a build up of it in the wing profile of the plane it increases its drag and causes it it to stall and then crash. Examples are the Air Florida Flight 90 of January 13, 1982 and, American Eagle Flight 4184 and the Air Ontario crash at Dryden Airport in 1989 the list goes on and one. The Federal Aviation Administration has made it mandatory for every aircraft to be deiced before take off whenever there is snow. icing occurs during flights and it is also important that pilots check their if their aircraft is deiced before take off.   H anger Warm Up The best method for aircraft deicing may not be the most practical, especially at smaller airports. If possible, warm the airplane up in a hangar, and, as the ice melts, wipe the wings with a towel or chamois to avoid re-icing when the plane leaves the hangar. Then, apply a thin, pr...

Towing the Airbus A380 is labor intensive and strssful