Last month, Air New Zealand announced it had ordered seven new-generation ATR 72-600 aircraft with purchase options for a further five, worth a total of US$270 million at current list prices. Air New Zealand’s CEO, Rob Fyfe, said the announcement of the deal, which is subject to contract signing, would boost air service connections to regional New Zealand significantly. Air New Zealand’s ...

Training tomorrow’s warriors is what the 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker, Alabama, is all about. Pacific Wings joined the squadron to see how the US Air Force trains its future helicopter pilots using the UH-1H Iroquois and TH-1H Huey II. The early days The inception of military helicopter pilot training can be traced back to January 1944, when the US ...

Training Tomorrow’s Warriors Earlier this year, Wellington-based Erik Roelofs spent time with the 23rd FTS at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where the USAF’s new helicopter pilots learn their craft. The ABC of ADS-B—for GA Richard Greaney gives an overview of the next generation of airborne surveillance, and explains why it is important for GA to embrace it. ALPA View CAA Random Information Trawling of Pilots Unlawful Glen ...

Heliflite Pty Ltd, the Australasian distributor for AgustaWestland helicopters, has announced that the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust has signed a contract for two new AW169 helicopters, which will be delivered in 2015. The aircraft will be used to perform a wide range of emergency medical service and search and rescue (SAR) missions in New Zealand. The contract marks the entrance of ...

Air New Zealand has re-signed as a major sponsor of the New Zealand Rugby Union for another four years, extending its long-term support for the All Blacks until 2015. The re-signing continues a 16-year relationship between Air New Zealand and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and maintains the airline’s status as official sponsor of the All Blacks. To celebrate this successful ...

At the end of last month, Cessna announced the launch of a new light business jet— the Citation M2—intended to “fill the gap” between its Citation Mustang and its Citation CJ family. The Citation M2 features Garmin G3000 avionics, engines similar to those found in the Citation CJ series and a new cabin design. The aircraft has an aluminium airframe with ...

On 26 September, the day after completion of its contractual delivery, Boeing delivered its first 787 Dreamliner today to the launch customer for the type, the Japanese airline ANA. The delivery ceremony took place adjacent to the factory where the aeroplane was assembled. In front of thousands of onlookers, more than 500 Boeing employees representing the 787 programme walked alongside ...

ZuluLog.com, which describes itself as “a leading provider of Web-based aviation record keeping services and software”, announced last month that it had released a new Android application for pilots. While the ZuluLog Android app is designed to work with customer accounts at ZuluLog.com, it can be used as a standalone pilot logbook. Users can enter, edit and view flights from anywhere, ...

The Canterbury earthquakes have had an unexpected upside for Palmerston North, with the establishment of a satellite training facility for a group of its international students at the Massey University campus. Airways had only just secured a multi-year contract to train Saudi Arabian air traffic controllers when the September 4 2010 earthquake struck the Canterbury region. The Saudi students remained ...

For the first time since the 1999 intervention in Kosovo, the French Navy has found itself carrying out a large-scale combat operation. Henri-Pierre Grolleau reports from the deck of the Charles de Gaulle in the Gulf of Sirte. Compared to the Kosovo crisis, a lot of things have changed for the French Navy (Marine nationale). The Foch has been sold to ...