I’m glad that you decided to come along with me for a flight in Soaring NV’s LS4 glider. I promised you a ride in Gone Gliding, Part One, didn’t I? Yes, the LS4 is just a single-seater, so we’ll use a “mind-meld” for you to enjoy the flight. Let’s hop into a golf cart with Spencer, who’ll be our ground crew, and head over to the glider staging area near the threshold of Runway 30, here at Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV).
If you’ve ever flown into Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) when the winds are howling out of the west, you know that the approach and landing can be…sporty. In fact, it sometimes gets so turbulent that the mainline jets head for Sacramento International Airport (SMF), leaving RNO to Alaska Airlines’ Bombardier Q400 turboprops, which can use RNO’s short crosswind runway. I'll happily fly into RNO from SEA on the AS Q400s on those bouncy days. The bumps can mean that conditions are great for soaring. Yes - I’m a glider pilot, and the region around Reno is world-famous for those who love to fly without an engine.
It is difficult to tell the difference between Bombardier’s CRJ-200 regional jet and the Challenger 850 corporate aircraft. It is equally difficult to tell the difference between Sean and Eric Gillespie, Vice Presidents of Flying Colours. Along with their father, John, the twin brothers are guiding the corporate jet completion company through an ambitious growth plan - and the Gillespies and the jets are tightly linked.
The iconic de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter enjoyed an initial 20-year production run before the final plane rolled off the Downsview, Ontario assembly line in 1988. It took almost another 20 years until Viking Air launched the upgraded Series 400 Twin Otter, responding to a market that couldn’t find a replacement for the legacy STOL utility plane. But Viking believes the new version has found its place.
Cascade Aerospace is leveraging its experience in the management and maintenance of the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) C-130E/H Hercules fleet into the international marketplace. The company is looking to provide comprehensive upgrades and maintenance, along with ongoing support to the "legacy" Hercules fleet. There are over 1,000 aircraft worldwide, with 800 in the U.S. forces. The remaining 200 aircraft flying with other countries will need to be modernized to continue operations beyond 2020. This represents an upgrade market worth between CA$750 million and CA$1 billion.
Here I go again…I’ve been traveling between Vancouver (YVR) and Toronto (YYZ) for decades. I’ve lived and worked in both cities, and family and business trips have taken me back and forth countless times. I’ve flown on pretty well everything, from a “milk-run” DC-9-30 hopping across the country, to business class in the upper deck of a 747-400. The two airports are roughly 2,100 miles (3,400 km) apart, and the direct flying time is usually around 4 hours eastbound, and 4 ½ hours westbound. That’s enough time to enjoy a good flight and service, but hopefully not so much as to turn a bad flight into an unbearable one.
With the 10 July departure of Air New Zealand’s first Boeing 787-9 on its delivery flight to Auckland, the airline is anticipating a smooth entry-Into-service (EIS) for the first “stretch” Dreamliner. The 787 will flight plan with 180min extended operations (ETOPS) certification, according to Capt Dave Morgan, Air New Zealand’s chief pilot. The airline expects to eventually obtain 240min ETOPS for the 787-9, or 90min fewer than allowed by regulations
Air New Zealand is not ready to confirm if the launch of the Boeing 787-9 in commercial service will come with one of the Star Alliance carrier’s strategically viral marketing videos. When asked if a new safety video was to be premiered with the introduction of Air New Zealand’s new 787-9, chief financial officer Rob McDonald just smiled and said,“That’s something we keep under wraps.”
Air Canada “got the keys” to its very first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner early in the morning on Sunday, May 18. After a small celebration at Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center near Seattle, Wash., a select group of Air Canada executives and employees boarded C-GHPQ (Fin #801), for the plane’s first flight to Canada. The trip to Air Canada’s main operational base in Toronto (YYZ) was a short three hours, 48 minutes at a cruising altitude of 41,000 feet.
Air Canada’s first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was introduced to the media and Air Canada’s friends, partners and Aeroplan status members at a special event in Toronto on Tuesday morning. The aircraft sat gleaming in Hanger 7 of Air Canada’s Maintenance Base at Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Not since the introduction of Air Canada’s first 747-100 in the early 1970s has a new aircraft type generated this level of interest and excitement.
