Category Archives: aviation

Anti-Green Aviation Industry Finally Getting the Lead Out

Posted on 10 July 2014 by Ken Zino

The general aviation industry through trade groups, airplane and engine makers, as well as members of Congress who fly has fiercely resisted doing anything about this destructive and toxic use of lead in so-called 100 low lead fuel (100LL) going back to the last century. Continue reading →

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DOJ Antitrust Suit Opposes American – US Airways Merger

Posted on 19 August 2013 by Ken Zino

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit opposing the proposed $11 billion merger between US Airways and American Airlines. DOJ said that the merger would result in world’s largest airline, and would “substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel in local markets throughout the United States and result in passengers paying higher airfares and receiving less service.” Continue reading →

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FAA Approves Boeing 787 Battery System Design Changes

Posted on 19 April 2013 by Ken Zino

The Federal Aviation Administration today approved Boeing’s design changes for modifications to the 787 Dreamliner battery system. The agency claimed that this would address risks at the battery cell level, the battery level and the aircraft level. Previously the FAA had approved the current battery system design, which conspicuously failed on at least two low-time Dreamliner aircraft. Continue reading →

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FAA Finally Grounds Boeing 787. Reluctant Regulator Acts after Two Fires. De Havilland Comet like Tragedy Avoided – for the Moment

Posted on 17 January 2013 by Ken Zino

The FAA has finally grounded the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after yet another life threatening incident, the apparent failure and fire of a lithium ion battery-pack during the flight of a Nippon Air 787. The reluctant safety regulator finally acted only days after the DOT head, Republican Ray La Hood, claimed that the so called Dreamliner was safe to fly in the face of a growing number of troubling incidents that included the fire on the ground of a 787 at Logan Airport in Boston. Continue reading →

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FAA to Review Boeing 787 Design and Production

Posted on 11 January 2013 by Ken Zino

A series of mishaps on the Boeing 787 including, engine oil leaks, cracked windshields and a fire has prompted the FAA to promise a comprehensive review of the design, manufacture and assembly of the so-called Dreamliner. The 787 designation was the date of an elaborate unveiling during July of 2007, with the first flights planned for that August. The twin-engine composite aircraft had several production delays before finally entering service years late. Continue reading →

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Santa One Cleared for Flight by FAA

Posted on 24 December 2012 by Ken Zino

AutoInformed salutes the real elves at the FAA, the hard working men and women who are our air traffic controllers. In spite of an FAA management bureaucracy that is often clueless and ineffective, these elves know how to move the aluminum or in this case a wooden sleigh without worrying about fine points of regulations while using demonstrably deficient equipment. Therefore, AutoInformed sends season’s greetings to some of the hardest working civil servants in the U.S. And to all a good night, err flight. Continue reading →

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Melbourne Airport Caught Stealing from Taxpayers in NASA Scam

Posted on 28 November 2012 by Ken Zino

The misuse of NASA funding by two airport entities has resulted in millions of dollars of fines under the False Claims Act, which is used to look after taxpayer funded government grants. The Technological Research and Development Authority will pay $15 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Act in connection with grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce, the Justice Department said Continue reading →

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Honda Aircraft Breaks Ground on New Maintenance Hanger

Posted on 28 September 2012 by Ken Zino

The ~$5 million HondaJet has claims to what could be advances in aircraft design, including a unique over-the-wing engine-mount that is said to improve aircraft performance and fuel efficiency by reducing aerodynamic drag. However, this claim awaits FAA-certified production aircraft powered by two new design GE Honda HF120 turbofan jet engines. The small business jet market has long been dominated by Wichita-based Cessna, of course, which pioneered the idea of turbofan engines and manufacturer-supplied maintenance – and guaranteed costs for owners – in business aviation with its successful Citation line starting in the 1970s. Continue reading →

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U.S. Airline Employment Rises Slightly in June

Posted on 29 August 2012 by Ken Zino

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 1.4% more workers in June 2012 than they did in June 2011 but still remain below pre-Great Recession levels, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. Continue reading →

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Regulations Work as Airlines Set On Time Records, Cut Delays

Posted on 10 August 2012 by Ken Zino

The biggest airlines in the U.S. posted records for the first half of 2012 for on-time performance, fewest cancellations and tarmac delays, as well as the lowest mishandled baggage rates. According to the Air Travel Consumer Report from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the 15 largest U.S. airlines posted an 83.7% on-time arrival rate during the first six months of 2012, the highest mark for any January-June period in the 18 years the Department has collected comparable data. Continue reading →

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Pilot School Owners Go to Prison Over Swiss Bank Accounts

Posted on 31 July 2012 by Ken Zino

The criminal actions by the Roberts were made possible by UBS, which in February 2009 entered into a so-called deferred prosecution agreement whereby the bank admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS. As part of the agreement, UBS provided the U.S. government with the identities of, and account information for, certain U.S. customers of UBS’s cross-border business, including the Roberts. Continue reading →

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Red Tail Mustang to be Auctioned at EAA Oshkosh for Eagles

Posted on 23 July 2012 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor will auction a one of kind Red Tails Mustang at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture convention in Oshkosh next Thursday. The single edition Mustang has VIN 00051 in honor of the red tail P-51 Mustang planes flown by the Tuskegee Airmen during more than 1,500 missions during WWII. Pervasive racism in the army kept the black unit segregated during the war. Continue reading →

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Airline On-Time Performance Improves in May

Posted on 10 July 2012 by Ken Zino

The largest airlines in the U.S. reported an on-time arrival rate of 83.4% in May, up from the 77.1% on-time rate of May 2011. This was down from April 2012’s 86.3% rate, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report released today. Continue reading →

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NTSB Blames Jack Roush in 2010 Oshkosh EAA Crash

Posted on 29 June 2012 by Ken Zino

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash that seriously injured pilot Jack Roush at EAA AirVenture 2010 said that Roush, long time Ford Supplier and racing team owner, let his Hawker Beechcraft 390 jet stall during an attempted go-around. Continue reading →

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Pratt & Whitney of United Technologies Guilty of Criminal Charges for Helping China Develop a Military Attack Helicopter

Posted on 28 June 2012 by Ken Zino

Pratt & Whitney Canada, a Canadian subsidiary of the Connecticut-based defense contractor United Technologies Corporation, today pled guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act and making false statements in connection with its illegal export to China of U.S.-origin military software used in the development of China’s first modern military attack helicopter, the Z-10. Continue reading →

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