fly_tornado

are these Viking engines really putting out 130hp? that's a 30% increase over a 912ULS which is a massive increase in a light plane. I've never seen Jan or any owners quote performance figures to verify it.

huge opportunity for @mnewbery to get back into the game Qantas changes training provider for Toowoomba Pilot Academy Tobi Loftus 2-3 minutes 13th Mar 2019 5:00 AM Subscriber only QANTAS will no longer work with training provider L3 as part of its plan to build a pilot training academy at Wellcamp Airport. A spokeswoman for the airline confirmed the decision this week. "We expect to instead be working with another training provider and we will be in a position to announce this soon," she said. "It has no impact on our plans to start training in mid-2019." Architects are currently working on the final designs for the facilities, including hangars, classrooms and student accommodation. These plans are expected to be lodged with Toowoomba Regional Council soon. The airline is also working on scholarships program for the academy, which will make a number of grants available to students who need it. There will also be a mentoring program with senior Qantas Group pilots for students. Qantas Group Pilot Academy executive manager Wes Nobelius said everything was on track for the academy to accept its first students in the middle of this year. "It's been a busy couple of months for the Pilot Academy team with detailed design work under way with the Wagners and the local community to bring together plans for our new Pilot Academy," Mr Nobelius said. "Naturally, it takes time to have facilities designed, approved and built so to make sure we can start training as soon as possible, we're looking at temporary accommodation for the first intake of students in the mid-2019." Toowoomba was announced as the location of the first of two much anticipated Qantas Pilot Academies in September last year. The second location has not been named. Once it is fully operational the academy will have the capacity to train up to 250 pilots a year. The academy site will create ongoing employment for up to 160 people.

what's the dual ecu option cost? probably not a bad option to have

has that got a dual ECU?

suzuki sell a few engines eh?

Aeromomentum have been selling those engines in the swamp boat market for a decade, they seem pretty confident of the engine's reliability.

buy anything?

ultimately, only CASA's opinion matters

Superior Buying Back All XP-400 and XP-382 Engines Superior XP-400 crankshaft Superior Air Parts announces it is implementing an immediate and mandatory buy-back program for all XP-382 and XP-400 experimental engines The company is contacting each XP-382 and XP-400 series experimental engine owner to arrange to immediately buy-back their engine. Scott Hayes, VP, Sales and Marketing for Superior Air Parts, Inc., announced today that the company is implementing an immediate and mandatory buy-back of all the Superior Air Parts XP-382 and XP-400 series experimental aircraft engines in the field. "This is not something we want to do, but the safety of our customers is our utmost priority. Because of that we are contacting every Superior XP-382 and XP-400 engine owner to arrange to buy-back their engine," Hayes stated. "We know it is a considerable inconvenience but again, safety of flight is paramount in everything we do." "We have already contacted a number of our owners and while it's no surprise that they are not happy with the situation, they understand that we are doing this because it is the right thing to do," he said. "In fact, the typical response has been them thanking us for keeping their safety as our top priority." Bill Ross, A&P I/A and Superior Air Parts' VP Product Support explained that the company's decision to take all of the XP-382 and XP-400 engines out of the market comes after a lengthy evaluation and testing process. "When we first learned of the breadth of the detonation problem, we contacted XP-400 engine owners and paid to have them ship their engines to our facility for evaluation," Ross said. "We disassembled, inspected and tested the key components in each engine." "The good news was the majority of the engines were absolutely clean, with no signs of stress wear or damage," he said. "The bad news is of the few we found with issues, neither our engineering team or our metallurgy specialists were able to define a consistent root cause of the issues." Ross added that even after the company took all the available steps to adjust the engine's ignition timing to reduce internal stress, the results were still unsatisfactory. So to eliminate the possibility of any future occurrences, the company is grounding all XP-382 and XP-400 engines immediately. While the detonation problems are currently confined to the XP-400 engines, Hayes said that because the XP-382 shares so many of the same internal components, that the decision was made to include that model in the program as well. "I want to be 100-percent clear that the grounding and buy-back mandate does not include any XP-320 or XP-360 engines," he said. "Throughout Superior Air Parts' 50-plus year history, we have stood behind the quality and safety of our products," Hayes said. "While the financial burden of this buy-back is significant, it is not as stressful as thinking that we have failed, in any way, to do what we could to protect the safety of our customers and their passengers." For more information, please contact: Scott Hayes, VP Sales and Marketing: 972-215-6992 Bill Ross, VP Product Support: 214-395-9183 http://www.superiorairparts.com

the beauty about buses is you can drive them anywhere, you just need the will to do it. trains are mostly romantic hype, their footprint rarely covers more than 10% of any city, leaving the other 90% to run on cars and buses

labor aren't too keen to spend money on public transport

Queensland's space industry could generate more than $1 billion: Deloitte By Tony Moore February 24, 2019 — 9.31pm Talking points Queensland could generate 4000 space industry jobs over 20 years. There is now around 2000 space 'jobs', mainly in satellite technology and remote sensing in individual firms. Our defence industry is not sophisticated and connected enough yet to support a 'space industry'. Queensland's space industry could employ 4000-plus people and be worth more than $1 billion within 20 years, according to "conservative" estimates in a new report. But there are major obstacles to the industry rapidly scaling up to meet global demand, including a defence economy not yet sophisticated enough and a lack of “critical mass” in the local supply chain, the Deloitte Access Economics report finds. The space simulator at the Australian National University's Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre at at Canberra's Mt Stromlo. Queensland hopes to replicate space industry growth in southern capitals. CREDIT:KARLEEN MINNEY Three separate estimates show between 4000 and 6000 full-time people could be employed in the Queensland space industry, generating between $1.1 billion and $1.7 billion, if changes are made “upstream” to Queensland’s defence industries. That may be linked to the expansion of RAAF Base Amberley from 5800 personnel to more than 7000 by 2020, from Queensland universities, and from the new $5 billion contract to build 211 high-tech armoured vehicles at the Redbank Centre of Excellence. The opportunity is more likely to come from building “a supply chain of space industry components” than a rocket launch pad, the report says. It could include a Queensland space “ground station” capable of analysing space data and sophisticated remote sensing. Deloitte Access Economic’s more optimistic “medium–term” space industry scenario suggests Queensland over 20 years could create 5000 full-time space industry jobs, adding $1.3 billion to the economy. The report, Sky is Not the Limit: Building Queensland’s Space Economy, finds Queensland authorities need to develop a “critical mass” of space industries. “The small scale of the Queensland industry means that there is not currently sufficient critical mass in many upstream and downstream industries in the local supply chain to ensure that the space economy in Queensland works as a coordinated local market,” it finds. “For the Queensland space economy to rapidly scale up to meet global demand, greater depth and key anchor points are required in the supply chain. “Queensland needs to support growth in existing capabilities, build out capacity in adjacent areas to current strengths, improve connections within the existing supply chain, leverage untapped local demand from other industries – for example agriculture - and continue to invest in the early stages of research and development.” His Royal Highness, the Duke of Cambridge experiences a flight in the F/A18-F Super Hornet simulator at RAAF Base Amberley.CREDIT:CPL DAVID SAID Earlier this month another research paper reported a similar scope for Queensland’s still fledgling space industry. A paper published by a Queensland inquiry into job creation opportunities from the establishment of an Australian space industry said the sector needed skilled workers in manufacturing, technology, mining, aviation and defence. State Development Minister Cameron Dick on Sunday afternoon said Queensland universities and defence industry businesses were important starting points. Mr Dick said Queensland’s space industry now provided about 2000 jobs, mainly in satellite technologies, which generated around $760 million each year. “Queensland universities and companies are at the forefront of space research and technology,” he said. “This includes NASA’s mission to identify inhabitable planets beyond our solar system, world-leading hypersonic rocket development, the design and manufacture of advanced composite materials, and in new satellite launch and communications technologies.” State Development Minister Cameron DickCREDIT:CHRIS HYDE Mr Dick said Deloitte’s broad modelling suggested the space industry in Queensland “could generate” between 4000 and 6000 jobs over the next two decades. “In order to capitalise on these opportunities, the Palaszczuk government will explore how we can further assist companies and universities and coordinate opportunities to grow our space industry," he said. The Queensland government in June 2018 released a 10-year strategy to begin to put in place a more strategic space industry. That identified maximising opportunities at Australia's largest defence airbase. “The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley, with its 70 aircraft, six fleets and more than 5800 personnel, the June 2018 roadmap said. “The redevelopment of the Amberley base will see this number grow to more than 7000 military and civilian personnel by 2020.” The report notes few Queenslanders – outside of defence circles – understand south-east Queensland is home to many defence industries. “Queensland has developed a growing presence in the aerospace industry. This includes Virgin Australia’s headquarters and a significant presence by half of the world’s top 10 aerospace companies in Queensland, such as Boeing Defence Australia, Airbus, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon," it states.

unfortunately it's a bit of drive for the melbourne cup

First equine cargo departs from Wellcamp WELLCAMP Airport became the departure point for a large consignment of thoroughbred racehorses last week, a first for the facility. Twenty-one horses, purchased through the Magic Millions Sales, arrived at Wellcamp a few hours before their departure last Monday. They were loaded onto the weekly Cathay Pacific Cargo service freighter bound for South Korea. Equine International Airfreight was the company charged with the responsibility of preparation and handling. "Moving horses from Australia is not uncommon, but it is uncommon to be moving horses directly out of Queensland to an overseas destination," Equine International Airfreight Managing Director Cameron Croucher said. "We have been working on this for quite some time and we are delighted that Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport has been so supportive." The horses were loaded into air stables that can comfortably fit three large horses in each container. During the flight they are monitored by experienced, professional flying grooms and provided feed and water. finally found a niche

Paul Murray from sky news is doing a regional tour and of course got a real scoop in toowoomba! New long-haul flight set to fly into Wellcamp Airport soon Tobi Loftus 2-3 minutes 21st Feb 2019 7:30 AM Subscriber only A NEW Boeing 777 service could soon be operating from Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport. Speaking on Sky News Australia last night Wellcamp Airport boss John Wagner teased the new flight. "We can take 747s, A380s and soon to be 777s actually in the not too distant future," Mr Wagner told host Paul Murray. "We see us being a national logistics and freight hub and that will just create more work for Toowoomba." The Boeing 777 is a long-haul plane usually used for international flights from Australia. When asked by The Chronicle what this service would entail, Mr Wagner remained tight-lipped. It's believed the service won't be a passenger flight. Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport is currently serviced by one international freight service a week, Cathay Pacific's flight to Hong Kong. It is not believed the new service would be operated by Cathay Pacific as they only use the Boeing 777 passenger model. In November Cathay Pacific Regional Head of Cargo SWP Nigel Chynoweth said their freight service had grown since its introduction in 2016. "We have seen year-on-year tonnage growth out of Toowoomba Wellcamp, and while we are not planning to change the frequency of our service, we regularly review the performance of all our routes to ensure we are capturing the demand that exists in the market," Mr Chynoweth said. "We are pleased with the freighter from Wellcamp. We uplift weekly shipments of perishables, including chilled meat, produce and dairy and also oversize shipments of mining equipment, aircraft engines and artwork."

these changes won't stop human error though, they will grind down angel flight

At the time the brisbane west wellcamp name did seem like CASA thought the whole thing was a bit of a laugh. It's a shame that so many people took it so seriously.

I always thought that the Brisbane West Wellcamp name, was a way of not confusing the old toowoomba airport with the new one, now that the new one hasn't significantly impacted air traffic in Australia they've gone back to the more obvious name. Wellcamp has been going now for 5 years, still no closer to getting a flight to Bali.

the local chamber of commerce getting ready to put their hands out for some sponsorship, but probably not a good idea to mention that its been 4.5 years and the traffic growth has plateaued Wellcamp underpinning Toowoomba's growth by Jo Sheppard, Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO 12th Feb 2019 5:00 AM Subscriber only ON NOVEMBER 17, 2014, the first scheduled passenger service started operation between Sydney Airport and Wellcamp airport and the airport, and our community have not looked back since. The connectivity that Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport provides not only significantly improves the liveability of our city, but it is also directly and indirectly supporting business growth across the region. Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Jo Sheppard.Contributed Last week, the chamber was pleased to be involved in Provincial Distributors Food Services Trade Show held at the showgrounds here in Toowoomba. The trade show was the biggest of its kind held outside a capital city and considerably boosted by the connectivity now provided by Wellcamp Airport. The trade show saw more than 70 exhibitors come together to showcase their products including local food suppliers supported by the chamber's FAN (Food and Agri Network) along with some of the biggest national food brands as well. In speaking with many of the exhibitors, the direct Qantas and Air North flights from Sydney and Melbourne into Toowoomba made it feasible for national food brands based in the South to participate in the trade show. Weekly Cathay Pacific cargo services started in November 2016 from Wellcamp to Hong Kong and we have seen confidence in Toowoomba's future as a transport, logistics and export hub continue to grow. From the establishment of new businesses such as freight forwarding company Australian International Logistics to the continued growth of the likes of AgEtal (agricultural testing and export compliance service providers) the flow on effect from Wellcamp airport is evident. Join the growing community movement powered by people who believe in our region, and who believe that we deserve great connectivity for our families and businesses. By taking the pledge to fly local you are working alongside the rest of the region to grow air services for the region. If you would like to get involved in I Fly Toowoomba, head to Wellcamp airport's website or contact the chamber.

Councils cannot afford regional security upgrades, say experts ABC Central West By Kate Cowling Updated Thu at 11:20am PHOTO: Experts say regional airport security should be assessed, but upgrades are a big ask for councils. (ABC South East NSW: Bill Brown) RELATED STORY: Counter-terrorism crackdown at airports could threaten regional flights RELATED STORY: Airport upgrade plans lead Regional Express airline to remove services RELATED STORY: Will Australia's small airports soon be a thing of the past? Aviation security experts say regional airports are vulnerable to crime, but local councils do not have the money to make them safer and promised counter-terrorism funding is yet to be released. The Federal Government announced in last year's budget that $50.1 million over four years would be made available to upgrade screening equipment at regional airports. The bulk of that money would be dispersed to "pre-identified eligible regional airports," who applied to the Department of Home Affairs. Eligibility is based on departing passenger data, the capacity of the planes operating at the airports and existing screening equipment, according to the department. "Upgrading airport screening technology is one of the most effective changes we can make to address the increasing sophistication of explosives and other threats," a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said. PHOTO: Security experts say regional airports provide essential services on a shoestring. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin) "In recognition of the cost impacts of new technology upgrades on critical regional aviation services, the Government will provide funding of $50.1 million to eligible airports to help implement the new arrangements." The spokesperson said the list of airports invited to apply could not be released for security reasons. Security concerns But Roger Henning, the founder of crisis management consultancy Homeland Security Asia/Pacific, said there were more pressing problems. He said regional airports were essential, but "three strands of wire fence" was not enough protection and inconsistent identification requirements needed to change. "Try getting into a local, licensed venue without ID," Mr Henning said. "When it comes to aviation, it's a different story." PHOTO: Last year's Federal Budget included $50.1 million in funding for upgrades to 64 regional airports.(ABC Central West: Kate Cowling) Mr Henning said uniform standards around identification and staff training should be priority areas. Mike Carmody, the former chief of security for the Federal Airports Corporation at Sydney Airport, agreed there were some basics — like staff capability to respond to threats — that should be on the agenda, but it was a difficult ask for airport operators. "We carry on about full body scanning and passenger profiling and it's all well and good, but when you start looking at regional ports that have no money and regional communities absolutely rely on, they don't even have fencing or lighting," he said. "In regional ports where the airport operator is a very, very small council … they simply don't have the resources to apply the sort of level of security that's required now in regional airports. "You could say it's a cop out, but it's a reality." A matter of cost In 2017, Kempsey Shire Council was ordered to pay $186,000 to a pilot after a landing plane was damaged when it hit a kangaroo. PHOTO: The Court of Appeals found the council did not have the money to upgrade fencing. (ABC News: Nicole Chettle) The District Court found the council, as the responsible operator of the Kempsey Aerodrome, had failed to build a kangaroo-proof fence and was therefore liable for the cost of the damage incurred, plus interest. The verdict was recently overturned on appeal, after the court found the council did not have the funds to upgrade fencing and the risk of kangaroos was apparent. But Mr Henning said councils should be in no doubt about their responsibilities. He said they are ultimately liable for what happens at an airport they own and control. "The government has no liability … [councils] have no idea they are at risk," he said. "They have to ensure they have enough public liability to save themselves." PHOTO: Most airports in regional Australia are operated by councils. (ABC South East NSW: Thomas Oriti) Mr Carmody agreed, but said a high level of cover is often too expensive for small councils. "[Councils], as the airport operator, they have responsibility for the performance and application of security measures at that airport, no different to the owners of Sydney airport or Brisbane airport," he said. He said there is some government involvement and airline involvement in maintaining standards and uniformity, but ultimately the council would bear the cost of a breach. "You would find although [regional councils] have insurance, it would be the absolute minimum cover of public liability. Why? Because they can't afford it," Mr Carmody said. "It's pointless throwing these regulations and policies and requirements at regional airports knowing full well that the local council or whoever owns these ports are not within cooee of ever being able to fund this." How safe are you? However, John Coyne, a senior analyst of the border security program at Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said he does not think regional airports are more vulnerable than their larger city counterparts. With fewer flights and smaller communities that are aware of anything that is not as it should be, Mr Coyne said it could be argued the risk is lower in regional areas. "You're more likely to pick strange behaviour [in a regional airport]," he said. Mr Coyne's view is security upgrades should only be linked to specific threat and said it is difficult to make anywhere completely secure. "Can you ever secure an airport? Yes. Don't let anyone go there or any packages be sent there," he said. "Everything else is a compromise."

from today's australian CASA MOVES ON ANGEL FLIGHTS The Australian, Robyn Ironside – Friday 8th February 2019 Changes to community service flights by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority are expected to be made as early as next week, barely a fortnight after the period for submissions closed. The Australian understands widespread anger in regional and rural communities about the changes, has prompted CASA Chief Executive Shane Carmody to move quickly. All but one of the changes, relating to aircraft maintenance, are tipped to be part of a new CASA instrument that will be tabled in federal parliament. National not-for-profit operation Angel Flight has warned the changes could force it to stop helping rural people tavel to non-emergency medical appointments in cities. Chief Executive Majorie Pagani said the changes would require pilots to meet a higher standard than those already imposed by their CASA licence, in order to help others. But in an interview with ABC regional radio, CASA Chairman Tony Matthews said two fatal crashes involving Angel Flight gave CASA no choice but to review arrangements. “We had to go back in as CASA and see what level pilots should be at to be flying passengers around on technically what is not a private flight,” Mr Matthews said. “All the fuel is paid for, so we’re just looking at what level of safety that is suitable for what they’re actually doing.” A minimum level of flying experience would also be imposed, to ensure a “level of performance from the pilots that’s commensurate with what they’re doing”. “To some extent these flights put a little bit of pressure on you, in that you need to get people to their appointment or get them home. That puts pressure on the pilot,” said Mr Matthews. Ms Pagani said she would be surprised if CASA had even read all the 160 submissions made to the authority in response to the proposed changes

can't you find some concrete?

lycomings failing after 20 years versus Jabirus dropping valves at 500 hours isn't a fair comparison

disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing is a form of trolling Turbs

I thought you loved researching? am I mistaken and do you only like disagreeing?