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SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS TO CONNECT WITH CENTRAL FLORIDA STUDENTS

WASHINGTON — International Space Station residents Scott Kelly, Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will speak on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to 150 students from Kathleen High School’s Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) in Lakeland, Fla.

The CFAA prepares students to go into advanced aerospace education or the aerospace industry. In 2009, the academy received an agency grant to develop a NASA-based science, technology, engineering and , or STEM, curriculum.

The station astronauts will answer student questions on Jan. 11, from 11-11:20 a.m. EST. In preparation for the conversation with astronauts in space, the students have been participating in science activities, exploring careers in science with local scientists and engineers, studying a floor plan of the International Space Station and learning about experiments in microgravity.

The event will air live on NASA Television and on the agency’s website. Media interested in attending this event should contact Obie Young at 407-341-3072 by 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10.

The live downlink will be shared with other students through the Florida Aviation Network, the Federal Aviation Administration Training Network and the Government Educational Training Network. This will give approximately 93,000 students in Polk County’s K-12 classrooms the opportunity to watch the event.

NASA astronauts Kelly and Coleman and Nespoli of the European Space Agency are conducting science experiments aboard the space station. Kelly serves as the Expedition 26 commander until March when he returns home. Coleman and Nespoli will complete their station mission in May.

This live, in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in STEM subjects. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA education program. Teaching From Space promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA’s human spaceflight program.

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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    Boeing PR: NewGen Tanker Win Would Bring 230 Jobs, $10 Million to Oklahoma

    OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 12, 2010 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that Oklahoma will benefit from an estimated 230 total jobs and generate an estimated $10 million in annual economic impact if the NewGen Tanker is selected as the U.S. Air Force’s next aerial refueling aircraft.

    Boeing submitted its proposal July 9 to replace 179 of the Air Force’s 400 Eisenhower-era KC-135 aircraft. The Air Force is expected to award a contract in the next few months.

    "We welcome the high-paying, skilled jobs that the Boeing tanker project will support," said Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry. "Oklahomans will be very proud to contribute to the mission of our country’s brave military men and women, who need just the kind of state-of-the-art, American-made tanker that Boeing has proposed."

    "Oklahoma’s aerospace workers will play an integral role on Boeing’s tanker team," said Mark DeVoss, Supplier Management director, Boeing Tanker Programs. "Along with the rest of the United States Tanker Team, our suppliers in Oklahoma will be focused on building a NewGen Tanker that best meets America’s military needs at the greatest value to American taxpayers."

    Oklahoma manufacturers ready to produce critical components on the NewGen Tanker include:

    • Boeing, Oklahoma City
    • Cinch Connectors, Vinita
    • Limco Manufacturing, Tulsa
    • Precise Machining & Manufacturing, Tulsa.

    Currently, Boeing has 964 employees in Oklahoma and works with nearly 247 suppliers/vendors, delivering a total $531 million in annual economic impact.

    The NewGen Tanker is a widebody, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial airplane and updated with the latest and most advanced technology. Capable of fulfilling the Air Force’s needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients, the combat-ready NewGen Tanker will meet or exceed the 372 mandatory requirements described in the service’s final KC-X Request for Proposal released Feb. 24.

    The NewGen Tanker will be made with a low-risk approach to manufacturing that relies on existing Boeing facilities in Washington state and Kansas as well as U.S. suppliers throughout the nation, with decades of experience delivering dependable military tanker and derivative aircraft. Nationwide, the NewGen Tanker program will support approximately 50,000 total U.S. jobs with Boeing and more than 800 suppliers in more than 40 states.

    The Boeing NewGen Tanker also will be more cost-effective to own and operate than a larger, heavier tanker. It will save American taxpayers more than $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year service life because it burns 24 percent less fuel than the competitor’s airplane.

    Boeing has been designing, building, modifying and supporting tankers for decades. These include the KC-135 that will be replaced in the KC-X competition, and the KC-10 fleet. The company also has delivered four KC-767Js to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and is on contract to deliver four KC-767As to the Italian Air Force.

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    Ryanair under the eye of Spanish and Irish Authorities


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Joachim Eichner

    What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Bristol to Reus
    Where: Barcelona
    When: Sept 15, 2012
    Who: 171
    Why: On Sept 15, the Bristol-Reus flight diverted to Barcelona after developing an engine problem. Passengers disembarked in Barcelona and were provided alternative transportation.

    This is one of the events that caught the eye of Spanish and Irish aviation bodies. They are initializing an investigation into Ryanair after a number of diversions occurred recently in Spanish airspace.

    The investigation was initiated after a diversion to Madrid during a Paris-tenerife flight, and three landings in Valencia on July 26.

    There are fears that Ryanair is courting disaster by flying with minimal fuel requirements.

    Read the official statement below:

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    Press Release – FAA, JetBlue Agreement to Bring NextGen Precision to East Coast, Caribbean Routes

    WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that the FAA and JetBlue have signed a NextGen agreement that will allow the airline to fly more precise, satellite-based flights from Boston and New York to Florida and the Caribbean beginning in 2012.

    NextGen is the transformation of the U.S. national airspace system from a ground-based system of air traffic control to one based on satellites, which will enhance safety and reduce aviation congestion. Today’s NextGen announcement follows President Obama’s State of the Union Address last week, in which he stressed the importance of targeted investments to foster American innovation that will make our nation more competitive globally and strengthen our economy here at home.

    “In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for targeted investments that harness American innovation to strengthen our nation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “NextGen is a critical investment in the future of our transportation system, one that uses the latest technology to transform our airspace to make aviation safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.”

    Under the agreement, as many as 35 of JetBlue’s A320 aircraft will be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) avionics over the next two years, enabling them to fly in two major routes off the East Coast even if traditional radar coverage is not available. The improved accuracy, integrity and reliability of aircraft surveillance under ADS-B will allow JetBlue to take advantage of these routes at all times since the satellite-based system tracks the precise position of aircraft.

    The agreement will also allow JetBlue to fly a new route to the Caribbean, and could lead to the development of two new, shorter ADS-B-only routes to the Caribbean from Boston, New York and Washington. The FAA will collect valuable NextGen data by observing and conducting real-time operational evaluations of ADS-B on revenue flights.

    “NextGen will help improve the travel experience for passengers and give airlines more flexibility to find the most efficient way to reach their destinations,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “This agreement will allow us to collect important data to further demonstrate the benefits of NextGen.”

    “As the youngest major airline in the United States, with a majority of our operations in the Northeast – arguably the most congested airspace in the world – JetBlue enthusiastically joins the FAA in this effort to begin rebuilding the skyways,” said JetBlue Airways CEO Dave Barger. “Our investment today will yield dividends far into the future, not just for JetBlue but for all airlines. Our customers and crewmembers deserve our best efforts.”

    The FAA has agreed to pay $4.2 million for the ADS-B avionics. JetBlue will provide flight operations, pilots, and aircraft maintenance and will pay for the cost of aircraft downtime while the ADS-B avionics are installed. JetBlue will also fund the necessary training for dispatchers and flight crews, including simulator time. The airline will demonstrate the cost savings of ADS-B technology and potentially equip the rest of its A320 fleet at its own expense with ADS-B avionics.

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    Safety Enhancements for Private Aircraft

    Interested in making your aircraft safer? Check out the latest issue of FAA Safety Briefing. In her article, “Small Cost, Big Benefit: A Look at Lifesaving Aircraft Safety Enhancements,” FAA aerospace engineer Della Swartz offers a variety of improvements that can have a positive effect on your safety and well-being without an undue strain on the wallet. Among the enhancements described are inflatable restraints, or air bags, whose safety benefits the NTSB recently highlighted. According to Swartz, inflatable restraint kits are available for about $1,000 per seat plus the cost of installation. The kit includes a shoulder harness, another inexpensive yet key life-saving device. Swartz also writes about helmets and emergency locator transmitters (ELT). For more on how to outfit your aircraft with low-cost and high-value safety enhancements, see the article on page 18 of the January/February 2011 issue of FAA Safety Briefing at www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/.

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    He’s Making a List, Checking it Twice – Santa Claus is Coming to Town

    From One Continent to the Next, AirTran Airways Tracks Santa’s One-Night World Tour –

    ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — For the seventh consecutive year, AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), is providing its first of three Satellite-based Aviation Navigational Tracking Apparatus (S.A.N.T.A.) reports. The following information regarding Santa Claus’ international flight is based on data from AirTran Airways’ System Operations Control Center in Orlando:

    As December is shaping up for a somewhat warm time of year in Antarctica, the first confirmed satellite data found Santa and his reindeers flying up to a rookery to watch newborn penguin chicks cluster and brood at their parents’ feet.

    As Santa and his reindeer zipped up the coastline, they took to warmer summer climates in Santiago, Chile. Who can blame Santa for wanting to make a pit stop in a country known for its bountiful range of delicious desserts?

    Satellite data indicates that Santa next headed west over the Pacific Ocean, bringing holiday cheer to the lush island of New Zealand to unassumingly watch a rugby match before beginning his trek through Asia.

    As Santa covered Asia in record time, he slowed down to admire the terra cotta warriors and horse figurines in Beijing that date back to 210 BC. After a much-needed snack of cookies and hot chocolate on the Great Wall of China, Santa and his reindeer headed further west toward India.

    The next S.A.N.T.A. update is scheduled to cross the national wire at 3 p.m. EST.

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    American Airlines Recalls Approximately 800 Furloughed Employees

    545 Flight Attendants and 250 Pilots to Be Recalled for Active Duty

    FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 6 — American Airlines today announced that it is sending recall notices to 545 flight attendants and 250 pilots. Several factors contributed to the company’s ability to recall, primarily its efforts to capitalize on new international flying and business opportunities with British Airways and Iberia, continuing to strengthen its cornerstone hubs, and preparing for it’s pending alliance with Japan Airlines.

    Following today’s news conference in London announcing the official beginning of American’s alliance with British Airways and Iberia, AMR Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said: “The company is pleased to be recalling approximately 800 total pilots and flight attendants to help capitalize on our business goals as well as to meet our staffing needs in the coming months. This is exactly the kind of growth we’re hoping to achieve with our network strategy, and my hope is that trends like this will continue.”

    The first group of 25 pilots will be recalled in mid-November, and the company will continue to recall at a rate of approximately 30 per month. For flight attendants, recall notices will be sent in phases. The first notices will be issued to approximately 225 flight attendants this month; subsequent notifications will follow later in the year.

    “I am very pleased to welcome our furloughed flight attendants back to service,” said Denise Lynn, Vice President – Flight Service. “Each day, our flight attendants play an integral role in providing our customers with a welcoming and positive experience onboard all our flights.”

    Captain John Hale – Vice President Flight, added “we are happy to have these pilots back in our cockpits. My hope is that the enhancements we’re making to our network will allow us to extend the same offer to more of our furloughees.”

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