Airborne 05.24.17: Snowbird Update, New K-MAX, Spirit Pilots Express 'Regret'
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Also: Kyle Franklin, FAA’s Earl Lawrence, SpaceX, Citation Longitude, ACSS ODA, Embraer JetWave, Boeing-Saudi As previously reported, the Canadian Snowbirds precision demonstration team decided to put its airshow season on hold and return to practice after an incident at an air show in Fort Lauderdale, FL May 6th. But now we know why... The team was reportedly performing a maneuver called the "Double Take", in which for aircraft fly in formation with two inverted at about 300 feet above the ground. One of the aircraft encountered turbulence from the jet in front of it, causing control issues. The pilot of that aircraft managed to recover, but at a very low altitude, according to team commander Lt.-Colonel Brad Wintrup. A successful first flight of a NEW K-MAX helicopter from the reopened commercial production line took place on Friday, May 12, 2017. Delivery of the first two production aircraft to customer Lectern Aviation of China for a firefighting mission is scheduled to occur in the next few weeks. “Thanks to the expertise and hard work of the men and women working on the aircraft the first flight went extremely smoothly,” said Bill Hart, Kaman Chief Pilot. “This new aircraft performed flawlessly and I look forward to successfully completing our production flight test schedule over the coming weeks.” ALPA has issued a statement expressing regret for the disruption of service experienced by passengers on Spirit Airlines prior to the issuance of a TRO, last week. In the statement, ALPA said: "Each day, the professional pilots of Spirit Airlines provide safe and reliable transportation to tens of thousands of passengers..." All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!
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