Sullenberger in at ICAO

September 1, 2021

President Joe Biden tapped retired airline captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, best known for his starring role in a real-life ditching later made into a movie, to lead the U.S. Mission to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

SQUAWKS

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Wally Funk has a ticket to space
More than 60 years after longtime flight instructor and aspiring astronaut Wally Funk joined a group of women who submitted to a battery of medical tests designed to assess their fitness for space, the 82-year-old realized a lifelong mission when she joined Jeff Bezos and two others aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard July 20.

Branson touches space
Richard Branson reached the edge of space and safely returned to Earth on July 11, a trip that marks a turning point in the billionaire entrepreneur’s multidecade effort to help create a space-tourism industry. Virgin Galactic plans to initiate commercial service next year, charging passengers hundreds of thousands of dollars each for such flights. The test flight was aimed at evaluating systems and the passenger experience, as well as providing additional validation of its safety.

AirCar flies in Slovakia
Professor Stefan Klein’s curious creation, an AirCar that sprouts wings with the push of a button, used those foils to fly between two Slovakian cities, then complete the journey downtown by road in about half the time the trip would typically take. The AirCar prototype has surpassed 40 hours of flight test time with a BMW engine rated at 160 horsepower. The AirCar transforms from aircraft to automobile by folding the wings (in 2 minutes and 15 seconds).

aopa.org

Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in New York’s Hudson River in 2009, notably with no loss of life, after geese knocked out both engines of their Airbus A320 shortly after takeoff. The events of that day made “Sully” a household name, and he has put his star power to work as an advocate for aviation safety and aviation overall. In 2017, Sullenberger spoke out against air traffic control privatization, helping to kill a proposal that would have endangered the future of aviation.

Upon Senate confirmation, Sullenberger will be the eighteenth representative of the United States to serve on ICAO, the international body created by the United Nations in 1947 to harmonize aviation standards and regulations worldwide.

“Captain Sullenberger certainly understands aviation and its global reach, and the United States and ICAO would benefit greatly from his experience, knowledge, and leadership,” said AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy Jim Coon.

Flight Design F2 gets SLSA nod

Flight Design USA announced that the first production airplane of its new F2 series to enter the United States has earned its SLSA (special light sport aircraft) certificate of airworthiness. So far, there are 20-plus orders for the $200,000 SLSA version of the F2. The factory in Germany reports a production rate of four airplanes per month. The cockpit has received cosmetic and seat upgrades, the seat-adjustment mechanism is improved, flap-actuator fairings have been added, and other airframe modifications have been made. Next up will be the FAA Part 23-certified version of the F2. That airplane is currently in the process of earning its EASA certification. Validation by the FAA should be the next step.

flightdesignusa.com

Aviation history / 100 years ago

September 17, 1921

Ballooning

Briefing Paul Armbruster, Swiss aeronaut, wins the International Gordon Bennett Balloon Race, from Brussels to Lamby Island, Ireland, traveling 515.14 miles. Ballooning began in 1783 with the first ascent of a balloon in France. Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and his brother Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were paper manufacturers who constructed a taffeta envelope from which a basket was suspended. In the basket were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. The flight lasted eight minutes. Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent were the first humans to fly in a balloon. Sport ballooning began in 1906, when American publisher James Gordon Bennett offered an international trophy for annual long-distance flights. The sport was discontinued in 1939 and revived after World War II. Ballooning competitions include duration of flight, altitude, and distance. By the 1960s, ballooning was popular, credited to Ed Yost who suspended a swing from his balloon. Balloons are made of plastic, nylon, or polyethylene, and are filled with hydrogen, helium, methane, or hot air. In 1999, the balloon Breitling Orbiter 3 with a pressurized cabin set records for duration and distance. It carried Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones who touched down in Egypt after circumnavigating the globe.