Business & Military

After celebrating a series of successful launches, including the final shipment of Iridium satellites to low earth orbit last week, SpaceX has announced it’s laying off about 10 percent of its staff. The company told Reuters that it faces some “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead” and needs to lean out its operation. “To continue delivering for […]

In a show of solidarity with their unpaid U.S. counterparts, Canadian air traffic controllers ordered pizza for FAA controllers at facilities across the U.S. over the weekend. It started with controllers in Edmonton, Alberta buying pizza for the staff in Anchorage. The movement quickly spread and by Sunday, every Canadian ATC facility had been paired […]

Boeing and Embraer now have all the approvals they need to move forward with two joint ventures that will change the commercial and perhaps military aircraft market. Boeing will take over 80 percent of the Brazilian company’s passenger plane business and will also take a 49 percent stake in the development of the KC-390 military […]

Heading north from Santa Monica to Oakland and approaching San Jose, I heard the following: Approach: “N1234, remain east and north of highway 101.” N1234: “Ah, 1234, roger.” Approach: “N1234, please remain east and north of the freeway.” N1234: “Ah OK, 101, 1234.” Approach: “N1234, do you see that long thing on your right with […]

Remembering Herb Kelleher Just wanted to say thank you for publishing Myron Nelson’s beautifully crafted remembrance of the late Herb Kelleher. It was spot on. I was privileged to oversee the induction ceremony of Herb in 2008 (along with Sean Tucker and two others), while serving as Executive Director of the National Aviation Hall of […]

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government alleging that NATCA members had been “unlawfully deprived […] of their earned wages without due process” as a result of the partial government shutdown that began on Dec. 22. A hearing has been scheduled for Monday in District Court in […]

After almost three years of negotiations, Frontier Airlines and its pilots announced the ratification of a new five-year working agreement on Thursday. The contract was agreed upon by Frontier and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which is representing Frontier’s pilots, in November 2018. Frontier reported that 99 percent of its pilots voted on the […]

Around 100 vintage warbirds in 24 historically sequenced formations are expected to participate in next year’s second Arsenal of Democracy Flyover, the event planning committee announced this week. The flyover, which is being held to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and the Pacific, will coincide with a […]

Boeing has introduced its newest Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) concept, an ultra-thin, folding wing designed to significantly increase aerodynamic efficiency. The TTBW has a 170-foot wingspan with each wing supported by a truss. According to Boeing, the newest TTBW concept further optimized the truss and modified the wing sweep resulting in “a more integrated design […]

For the 50th anniversary of Apollo 8 last month, the PBS NOVA series did a nice documentary on the flight that’s worth finding and watching. Among many, the producers interviewed one of the most cerebral of the astronauts, Michael Collins. He was the command module pilot on Apollo 11 and also a Capcom on Apollo […]