November 2, 2017 - No. 086 In This Issue GE Aviation and Tableau Partner to Better Serve the Airline Industry with Data Analytics FAA and CAAC agree on aviation safety regulations Mobile Application Wins Top 'OneSky' Prize for Embry-Riddle's Tim Christovich Dassault to invest...100m for production of Rafale components in India NASA, Boeing Testing Synthetic Vision Technologies Future airports to rely on technology to reduce delays and improve security, expert says Hagerstown Event Showcases High Demand Careers in Aviation Maintenance Tech colleges offer more courses with no tuition costs Collaboration And Technology Identified As MRO Training Drivers Masdar Institute's SEAS Facility Harvests First Crop Of Salicornia For Aircraft Biofuel Northrop Grumman Tests Nav Tech that Doesn't Use GPS Signals CAE Signs 15-year Airbus A350 Pilot Training Agreement with Iberia Airlines GE Aviation and Tableau Partner to Better Serve the Airline Industry with Data Analytics EVENDALE, Ohio and SEATTLE, Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GE Aviation's Digital Solutions (NYSE: GE) and Tableau Software (NYSE: DATA) today announced an agreement to empower commercial and military airline customers across the aviation industry with agile visual analytics that can help improve fuel efficiencies, aircraft safety and consumers' overall flying experience. GE's Predix platform will provide rich services with detailed data and reports blending airline and industry data that aviation customers can acquire to analyze and customize on-the-fly with Tableau's advanced visual analytics capabilities. "We are working with our partners to make aviation data accessible and useful to everyone in the industry, and not just engine data," said Andrew Coleman, chief commercial officer for GE Aviation's Digital Solutions. "This partnership with Tableau will bring together the capabilities of the best industrial cloud platform and the best business intelligence platform, giving our customers powerful insights that drive operational efficiencies and revenue enhancements." GE's fleet of 35,000 engines produce more than 100 million flight records each year, capturing more than one million terabytes of data each day. From engine diagnostics and maintenance requirements, to flight patterns and fuel usage, this data can be used to accelerate industry-wide efficiency and growth. By leveraging Tableau's leading visual analytics platform, GE Aviation is making it easier for airlines to access, understand and take action on this data. Airlines can now explore customer reports created in Tableau through Predix, GE's cloud-based software platform for industrial applications. Airlines can perform further analysis from a variety of industry data sources that GE is providing with Tableau's powerful, easy-to-use platform. "Aviation customers are not only looking for ways to make sense of their own data but also want to see data trends from across the industry," said Dan Miller, EVP of worldwide sales, services and support for Tableau. "We look forward to working alongside GE Aviation as an industry pioneer to build powerful data solutions that will help customers answer questions and solve problems with data." Through this agreement, GE Aviation is now a global alliance and reselling partner of Tableau, providing a two-pronged solution for rich data and analytics capabilities to the aviation industry. Tableau enables key operational insights through streamlined dashboards and meaningful data, while GE provides industry domain expertise across data and analytics, aircraft engines and systems. Bringing these capabilities together represents a unique opportunity for the aviation ecosystem to find and leverage countless digital innovation opportunities. For example, an airline can see the fuel consumption per minutes sitting on tarmacs and compare to industry or airport averages on Predix through Tableau. As airlines have more questions, they can easily customize reports, blend more data sources and perform additional drag-and-drop calculations with Tableau. This agreement solidifies and expands the GE Aviation and Tableau relationship, creating opportunities to serve the larger aviation industry. Aviation business users can now engage with their data, learn from those insights, ask meaningful questions and solve the problems that create value across their operations. About GE Aviation GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of commercial and military jet engines, and avionics, digital solutions and electrical power systems for aircraft. GE is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software- defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," where each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.geaviation.com/digital About Tableau Software Tableau (NYSE: DATA) helps people see and understand data. Tableau helps anyone quickly analyze, visualize and share information. More than 61,000 customer accounts get rapid results with Tableau in the office and on-the-go. Over 300,000 people use Tableau Public to share public data in their blogs and websites. See how Tableau can help you by downloading the free trial at www.tableau.com/trial. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ge-aviation-and-tableau-partner-to-better-serve-the- airline-industry-with-data-analytics-300546136.html Back to Top FAA and CAAC agree on aviation safety regulations The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) have entered an agreement to recognise each other's aircraft safety approvals. Signed in accordance with the US-China Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) 2005, the new deal seeks to acknowledge the countries' regulatory systems regarding the airworthiness of aviation products and articles. The newly signed Implementation Procedures for Airworthiness (IPA) document is also designed to enable FAA and CAAC to leverage approvals granted by both parties with respect to design, production and continued airworthiness. The IPA further expects to benefit from the compatibilities of both the authorities' certification systems. Furthermore, FAA and CAAC will be able to submit applications for validation for all categories of aviation products and address a range of challenges such as complex business models separating design and production. Promoting FAA's Aircraft Certification Service's new certification strategy, the agreement expects to fulfil stakeholder requirements and facilitate the transfer of products and approvals worldwide. Last month, FAA updated its existing aviation safety agreement with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The new agreement is aimed at improving the risk-based safety approach by optimising reliance on each authority's expertise in aircraft certification through the 'Revision 6 of the Technical Implementation Procedures (TIP)'. The revision is expected to come into force in six months from the signing date of the deal. http://www.aerospace-technology.com/news/newsfaa-caac-agree-on-aviation-safety-norms- 5960637 Back to Top Mobile Application Wins Top 'OneSky' Prize for Embry-Riddle's Tim Christovich "Everyair," a mobile aviation-charter quoting application developed by Embry-Riddle junior Tim Christovich, invites travelers to "Go anywhere with Everyair!" and it allows them to price-shop by time, date, destination and more. For Christovich - a computer science major whose studies include an additional area of concentration in cybersecurity engineering - development of the Everyair app seemed to be all in a day's work: "I built out the application using Javascript, HTML and CSS using a framework called Ionic 2," he said. "That allowed me to package my web development experience into a mobile application." Christovich, organizer of the upcoming HackRiddle hackathon event that will take place on Nov. 11, took the top prize in the 2017 OneSky Code Competition, called "
the Sky!" As grand prize winner, Christovich received $1,000, said Michael Campobasso, an Embry-Riddle alumnus who is now Innovation Center manager for OneSky, a portfolio of flying companies under Directional Aviation that earlier this year joined Embry Riddle's Research Park as a Tenant Partner at the John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex (MicaPlex). In addition, Campobasso announced, Christovich as well as coding competitors Lawrence Acchione and Tucker Hawkinson have been offered interviews for OneSky Innovation Center's fall internships. For the coding competition, students "were challenged with creating a private aviation-charter quoting application," Campobasso explained. "This application was to be designed such that a customer or broker could enter travel details and immediately obtain an estimate of the private travel cost." How much would it cost to transport four passengers from Daytona Beach, Fla., to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport aboard a private Phenom 300 jet? Christovich's Everyair app put the price-tag at $6,789.55. "I prefer the in-flight entertainment on a commercial jet," Christovich joked. "I don't see myself flying a private charter anytime soon." A Jacksonville, Fla., native who said he is passionate about web-based software applications, mobile applications and the "Internet of things," Christovich recently won another significant prize, too. With colleagues Jeremiah Lantzer and Kyle Cochran, Christovich took home top global honors in the prestigious Thales Arduino competition, after the trio designed a drone landing and charging station. "My goal once I graduate from Embry-Riddle is to continue to make a difference in the Central Florida technology community and help it grow with regard to the different industries that are becoming more prominent in the area every day," he said. Research Park Promotes Job Growth Tapping into the Embry-Riddle talent pool to speed the development of private aviation technologies was a primary motivation for OneSky's participation in the Research Park, Campobasso noted. In fact, Campobasso was hired by OneSky after he and a colleague, Shane Stebler, co-founded MicaPlex incubator company Embedded Control Designs LLC, which focuses on building mechanical swarm agents, rigged with communication architecture and control algorithms, to help farmers more efficiently monitor their crops. In addition to the internships being offered by OneSky this fall, MicaPlex incubator tenant Weintraus Inc., a precision orbital placement service, has already brought on seven intern positions, said Stephanie Miller, Ph.D., the University's director of technology transfer and Research Park initiatives. The firm has also recently hired a Chief Technology Officer, founder Scott Weintraub added. Once Weintraus Inc. is up and running, it will pick up satellites and haul them wherever they need to go in space. As it grows, the company will also offer space-based satellite servicing and debris collection in space. Later this year, Seamax, an award-winning light sport aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Brazil, is expected to bring a significant portion of its operations - and an estimated 80 new jobs over the next four years - to Volusia County, Fla. The company, part of the Embry-Riddle Research Park, is gearing up to have avionics and engines installed into its aircraft in hangars located in Daytona Beach, said Shalom Confessor, executive director of Seamax in the United States. As previously reported, Seamax now has a presence in the MicaPlex, the cornerstone facility of Embry-Riddle's Research Park. https://news.erau.edu/headlines/mobile-application-wins-top-onesky-prize-for-embry-riddles-tim- christovich/ Back to Top Dassault to invest €100m for production of Rafale components in India Under a joint venture (JV) with Reliance, Dassault Aviation is to invest more than €100m for the production of Rafale fighter jet components in India. The new Dassault Reliance Aerospace manufacturing facility will be located in Mihan, Nagpur, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The facility will produce several components of 36 Rafale fighters that are being purchased from France under a €7.87bn contract signed between the Indian and French governments in September last year. The twin-jet fighter aircraft can operate from either an aircraft carrier or a shore base to carry out all combat aviation missions. It can be used for air defence, interception, ground support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti- ship strikes and nuclear deterrence. Reliance Group chairman Anil D Ambani said: "The Reliance Dassault partnership will bring high levels of technology transfer. It will make India a major supplier into the global aviation supply chain. "It will be the endeavour of both Dassault and Reliance to fully support Prime Minister Modi's "Make in India" and "Skill India" policies and to accelerate India's pursuit of self-sufficiency in the aerospace sector." The facility will also train thousands of workers in aviation assembly and integration. Dassault Reliance Aerospace will also be involved in the production of components for the Falcon 2000 series of civil jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation. The JV also intends to set up final assembly of Rafale and Falcon aircraft. http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/dassault-invest-e100m-production-rafale-components- india/ Back to Top NASA, Boeing Testing Synthetic Vision Technologies NASA and Boeing are working together under a new Space Act Agreement to improve flight training and aviation safety using NASA's synthetic vision technologies and Boeing's 787 simulators. The research will test pilots' awareness and reactions to unplanned situations. NASA research technical lead Kyle Ellis says the agreement opens the door to exciting new research opportunities. "This is just the first of many potential experiments that we can conduct using this collaborative environment," said Ellis. "We're looking at training for attention management. We're looking at advanced upset recovery technologies, and we're also looking at combined vision technologies." Pilots deal with more challenges than ever - higher levels of aviation traffic, bad weather and the addition of new challenges (such as unpiloted vehicles) into the global air space. "We want to equip them with the greatest intelligent flight systems available to be able to cope with all of these different adverse conditions," said Ellis. Synthetic vision technologies can be part of that solution. "We've developed technology that allows us to be 'weather independent,'" said Ellis. "Synthetic vision systems are essentially weather-immune displays that allows you to see what the world looks like in perfect weather conditions all the time." It's a powerful tool that can effectively negate the visual penalties associated with even severe weather in a clear, intuitive manner. The technology offers the potential to improve aviation system safety and increase the efficiency of aircraft operations. "Essentially what we're doing is we're taking away the old attitude indicators -- that blue-over- brown attitude indicator that shows where the horizon is -- which is critical to flying safely, especially in poor weather conditions. That dates all the way back to Doolittle," says Ellis. We're basically piggybacking on top of that attitude reference system and throwing a real-world image on it." The pilots who will participate in these tests fly for Avianca Airlines in Colombia, and they're something of an extraordinary test group. Typically, research study participants are highly experienced pilots with tens of thousands of flight hours logged. The Avianca pilots are a group of 24 junior pilots. They represent the changing face of global aviation. "The international pilot community is getting younger, so the idea is to get them accustomed to what's possible in an airplane sooner," says Capt. Jim Wilkerson, Boeing flight crew training instructor. "And this training does that." Testing at Boeing's Miami training facilities will begin in late 2017. Today, Ellis and his research team are working with Boeing to test and certify synthetic vision systems for attitude state awareness. He sees it as a stepping stone toward a larger goal, anticipating a future in which technologies that give pilots vision far beyond what the eye can see. That kind of cockpit technology has a name -- combined vision systems. A combined vision system is a merger of synthetic vision (i.e., systems that generate rendered environments in real time based on stored database information) and enhanced flight vision systems (i.e., displays that use forward-looking infrared systems and millimeter wave radar to give pilots a live look at the world around the aircraft). It can give pilots a best-of-both-worlds representation of the world and their orientation within it. Under stressful situations, it's much harder for pilots to absorb essential information and execute the appropriate actions. Synthetic Vision systems look just like the world outside the window, and that makes them more intuitive - more believable - for pilots. "Seeing is believing," says Ellis. With this technology, pilots will be able to believe what they see, trust it and follow that to safety. About Space Acts The Space Act Agreement between NASA and Boeing supports the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, a partnership between the U.S. government and the aviation industry developed to reduce the commercial aviation fatality rate in the United States. NASA and Boeing are members. Space Act Agreements are, in a sense, strategic alliances. They are the primary vehicle NASA uses to partner with the external community, and they give NASA access to technologies and capabilities that are not in its core portfolio. These partnerships expand NASA's ability to meet technical challenges, often at virtually no cost to taxpayers. As NASA advances its goals, Space Act Agreement partnerships can also advance the mission of our partners. https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2017/11/nasa-boeing-testing-synthetic-vision-technologies Back to Top Future airports to rely on technology to reduce delays and improve security, expert says Technology will enable passengers of the future to reduce wait times and other headaches at airports, an airport expert believes. Any changes made at Kansas City International Airport will need to allow for advances in screening and passenger processing. In the next five to ten years, airport visitors will undergo constant screening, from curb to gate, through face and body recognition technology, said Dr. Seth Young, director of the Center for Aviation Studies at The Ohio State University. Because they'll be able to screen and select potential nefarious people they can pull those aside for additional point screening, rather than have everybody at the airport go through our singular point of screening," Young said. The idea is to allow most people to go along without being bothered, because 99.9 percent of airport visitors are of no danger to their neighbors. The FAA also is working on new ways to pinpoint weather hazards, which will allow controllers to reroute aircraft and avoid delays. The hassle of dealing with crowds scares away a lot of air travelers who would rather drive than spend hours at the airport. In the near future air taxis for individuals, small business groups or families will handle a great deal of flights of 500 miles or less, Young said. "It's being tested in places like Dubai, but the distances that these vehicles are traveling are actually a little bit shorter; it's less than 100 miles," Young said. Whatever happens at KCI, passengers will demand more conveniences, like shopping, work spaces, free WiFi and name brand restaurants. People also like large, open areas. Newer airports are built with those desires in mind, Young said. http://www.kmbz.com/articles/future-airports-rely-technology-reduce-delays-and-improve- security-expert-says Back to Top Hagerstown Event Showcases High Demand Careers in Aviation Maintenance HAGERSTOWN, MD - Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will host a public open house on Saturday, November 4, 2017 at 11 a.m. at its Hagerstown, MD, campus located at 14516 Pennsylvania Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21742. Visitors to PIA's November 4th Open House event will have the opportunity to tour the campus classrooms and hangar, learn about 16 and 21-month programs, view interactive demonstrations, meet faculty and students and learn about career opportunities. What's particularly interesting is that PIA events at its campuses in Pittsburgh, Hagerstown, Youngstown and Myrtle Beach have been attracting more employers than there are graduates to fill open positions. "Our November 4th Open House gives PIA the opportunity to deliver critical information about career demand," said Suzanne Markle, President and CEO of the non-profit PIA. "That we are hosting events with such a large number of companies in comparison to the number of upcoming graduates attending is a strong indicator of career demand. We look forward to the opportunity to serve new students and prepare them with the entry-level mechanic skills we know our employers are looking for." According to Boeing's 2016 Current Market Outlook, the aviation industry will require more than 118,000 maintenance technicians by 2035 in North America. According to PIA Career Services officials, employers are seeking A&P mechanics with strong soft skills, leadership qualities and dependability - all skills required to grow and advance within a company. The Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics cites a median salary for aircraft mechanics and service technicians at $58,390 (medians are not reflective of starting salaries). Since 1929, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics campus has been training certified and work-ready aviation maintenance technicians in high demand with programs in Aviation Maintenance Technology and Aviation Electronics. PIA's flagship program, the Aviation Maintenance Technology program, has been providing quality aircraft mechanics for over 85 years. This program provides students with the opportunity to test for the prestigious FAA's Airframe and Powerplant Certification, the "golden ticket" to a career in aviation maintenance. ABOUT PIA'S HAGERSTOWN CAMPUS 95% of eligible graduates from the Hagerstown Campus started working in the aviation industry or in a field utilizing their PIA education for the time period of June 30, 2014 to July 1, 2016. The average PIA graduate starting salary is $36,000 for the 2015 fiscal year. While PIA cannot guarantee employment, graduates do receive one-on-one and ongoing placement assistance. Recent graduate's employment includes Piedmont, Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services, CommutAir, and Endeavor to name some of the employers. PIA's Hagerstown Campus, located at 14516 Pennsylvania Avenue, is Maryland's only FAA approved A&P training program. Since its 2011 opening, PIA Hagerstown has hosted students from Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and as far west as California. PIA- Hagerstown is approved for Veterans Benefits. Students receive technical instruction but also enjoy part time job opportunities from local employers. In addition, qualified students living in Allegany, Garrett or Washington County may receive an educational grant of up to $4,500 for the 4th semester from the Western Maryland Consortium for those who qualify. ABOUT PITTSBURGH INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS The school was opened by Glenn Curtiss and Orville Wright in 1927 as Curtiss-Wright Flying Service, and became PIA in 1929. Today, PIA is a non-profit, career-focused family of schools offering programs in Aviation Maintenance and Aviation Electronics. The instructional staff combine real-world experience with classroom instruction, and a wide range of student and graduate services. PIA's Career Services team works individually with each student to reach their employment goals. PIA is often the first stop for many employers looking for quality employees. PIA offers an Associate in Specialized Technology Degree at its West Mifflin, PA, location and Diploma programs in Youngstown, OH, Hagerstown, MD, and Myrtle Beach, SC. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics was recognized among the top schools fighting the nation's skills gap in a list published in 2017 by Forbes. The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics lands as the No. 11 Two-Year Trade School in the U.S. and is the top school on the list for technical trades. Niche rankings place Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics in the #8 position among 619 trade schools in the United States for 2017 and #2 of 23 in Pennsylvania. Niche rankings are based on rigorous analysis of data and reviews. Additionally, in 2017, Zippia placed PIA among the top 10 best U.S. junior colleges for jobs based on a variety of score card data including emphasis on job placement results. PIA's campuses in Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Hagerstown and Myrtle Beach have been selected as four of approximately 40 aircraft maintenance schools to partner with Delta Air Lines in an effort to find the schools whose graduates are able to meet or exceed their high expectations. There is open enrollment through the year accompanied with admissions requirements. For more information, call 1-800-444-1440, or visit www.pia.edu. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12378418/hagerstown-event-showcases-high- demand-careers-in-aviation-maintenance Back to Top Tech colleges offer more courses with no tuition costs THOMASVILLE, Ga. - A dual-purpose statement was released by the office of Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday. The statement was, in part, to recognize that the State of Georgia has been named the number one state in the nation in which to do business for a fifth consecutive year by Site Selection, a leading economic development trade magazine. It also served to provide notice that five additional programs have been added to the list of programs encompassed by the HOPE Career Grant. Effective in January, five new strategic industry programs - Construction, Aviation, Electrical Line Work, Logistics and Automotive Technology - delivered through the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) will be added to the aforementioned HOPE Career Grant, bringing the total number to 17 HOPE Career Grant areas of study. This effort is aimed at better aligning Georgia's workforce with the needs of growing industries and providing students with new opportunities to learn skills that lead to high-wage professional employment. "As we continue building upon our strategic resources by investing in workforce development initiatives such as the HOPE Career Grant, we are ensuring that industry leaders remain connected to a skilled labor pool capable of meeting the challenges of today, tomorrow and beyond," stated Deal. The HOPE Career Grant (formerly the Strategic Industries Workforce Development Grant) is designed to supplement the HOPE Grant and pay the full cost of tuition for students enrolling in one of Georgia's strategic industry program areas. So far in Academic Year 2017, 14,921 individuals have received the grant, which introduces students to innovative fields and provides them with the skills to meet the demands of today's economic environment, according to a press release from Southern Regional Technical College. "We are thankful and excited about Governor Deal's approval of the additional programs for HOPE Career Grant funding. These 17 programmatic areas are very important in training additional, skilled employees for the companies in Georgia's expanding business and industry fields," commented SRTC President Craig Wentworth. Not all HOPE Career Grant programs are available at all of Georgia's Technical Colleges, but Southern Regional Technical College offers many of them, including welding and joining technology, automotive technology, construction, practical nursing, industrial maintenance, early childhood care and education, computer technology, commercial truck driving, and an array of programs under the health sciences umbrella. http://www.moultrieobserver.com/news/local_news/tech-colleges-offer-more-courses-with-no- tuition-costs/article_d6395390-bea5-11e7-a5c8-374fb117671d.html Back to Top Collaboration And Technology Identified As MRO Training Drivers Cross-industry collaboration and investing in new technologies will be important factors in training new aircraft technicians and meeting industry demand. At a workforce panel at Aviation Week's MRO Asia-Pacific in Singapore on Nov. 1, Wanda Manoth- Niemoller, commercial development manager, KLM Training Engineering & Maintenance, says with aftermarket growth forecast globally over the next 20 years with 35,500 aircraft deliveries expected enter the fleet, this has driven a sizeable demand for more aircraft engineers. "While newer aircraft will need less maintenance hours, the sheer number of them entering the global fleet will generate the need for an enormous number of staff," she said about the challenge facing the industry. One way which the KLM Training unit has aimed to both retain staff and attract new people is through innovation. She says this investment not only makes the job more attractive but also gives the individual greater responsibility for their role along with more flexibility. Conceding that attracting millennials to work in engineering has never been more difficult, Manoth- Niemoller believes the perceived lack of airlines investing in innovation on the training and operation sides of their businesses will lead to many "missing the boat." She cites new innovations such as predictive maintenance playing a bigger role in the day-to-day running of both training and operations, along with a growing penchant for virtual reality which parent group AFI KLM E&M has rolled out at its MRO Lab in Singapore. "Virtual and augmented reality investment is a means of exploring how to improve processes," she says. "We recently did a presentation related on a change of a start engine of the GEnx engine with a pair of Microsoft Hololens smart glasses. The old fashioned method took us 45 minutes, but with the Hololens, we were able to take the image required of the engine and the task was completed in just three minutes." Speaking from an Asia-Pacific operator's perspective, Richard Budihadianto, director SBU Sriwijaya air maintenance facility at the PT Sriwijaya Air Group, also backed innovation investment as a good solution towards addressing the skills shortage in Asia-Pacific, which accounts for around 39% of the estimated 600,900 global technician demand over the next 20 years. "Human resource is the main challenge for us in Indonesia," he says, noting that industries such as oil and gas and mining had attracted talent away from the country's aviation sector. Both panellists agreed specialist training schools are important to ensuring the flow of new technicians. Budihadianto believes that polytechnics provide students with a greater level of industry readiness. In PT Sriwijaya Air Group's Indonesia homebase, which is in the rare position of having a large young workforce, he says the government and airlines have worked together with regulators to convert general polytechnics into specialist aviation ones. The first-hand transfer of practical knowledge from experienced professionals to ones starting out is one major advantage of aviation polytechnics, KLM Training's Manoth-Neimoller adds. "When an individual is ready to start in an operational environment, they soon grow into that company and will continue to benefit from guidance from experienced engineers," she says. http://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/collaboration-and-technology- identified-mro-training-drivers Back to Top Masdar Institute's SEAS Facility Harvests First Crop Of Salicornia For Aircraft Biofuel The first crop of Salicornia grown at the site of the Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS) pilot in Masdar City was harvested recently by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology's Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), as revealed by a recent press release. The oil-rich Salicornia being grown as part of the pilot project - which is being supported by Etihad Airways, Boeing, Takreer, Safran, and General Electric - is being used to produce aviation biofuel as part of a mixed fish/shrimp aquaculture project based around the use of brackish water or seawater. The news represents an important milestone in the life of the project - which aims to begin producing "sustainable" jet fuel for the local aviation industry. To explain a bit more here, Salicornia is an oil-rich plant that is highly salt-tolerant and can be used as feedstock in biofuels production. The plant is now being grown at a 2-hectare SEAS pilot facility in Masdar City for that purpose with the effluent from an aquaculture project growing fish and shrimp. CleanTechnica actually broke the news about this biofuel possibility back in 2014, and has since landed a few exclusives regarding the progress. The press release provides more on the latest news: "In February 2018 the clean Salicornia oil is to be processed at the Takreer Research Center for conversion into aviation biofuel. Once the process is complete, the biofuel will be mixed at low concentration with regular jet fuel to power a flight by Etihad Airways on a Boeing aircraft. "...The SEAS pilot facility has six aquaculture units that use seawater to raise fish and shrimp. The fish farm produces a nutrient-rich effluent, which is directed into the halophyte fields where it fertilizes the oil-rich Salicornia plants. The leftover effluent from the process is then diverted into the cultivated mangrove forests, which further purify the water and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while sheltering fish nurseries that live around their underwater roots." Simply put, the idea behind the project is to simultaneously produce food while not wasting scarce freshwater resources while also producing biofuel feedstock to be used to offset the use of limited and valuable fossil fuel reserves. The Interim Executive Vice President for Research, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Dr Steve Griffiths, commented on the news: "In achieving this key milestone, the SBRC is closer to establishing a truly sustainable model for aviation fuel production using only our local resources. The success of the SEAS pilot facility, and the collaborative research effort that has supported it, exemplifies our commitment to providing sustainable solutions to the UAE's food security and energy needs." https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/31/masdar-institutes-seas-facility-harvests-first-crop- salicornia-aircraft-biofuel/ Back to Top Northrop Grumman Tests Nav Tech that Doesn't Use GPS Signals Recent flight tests completed by Northrop Grumman show that military aircraft and airborne weapons systems could soon guide themselves to targets without GPS signals. According to the company, this capability could be enabled by its new, high-speed navigational technology. Flight demonstrations, Northrop Grumman said, showed that the company's All Source Adaptive Fusion software could navigate aircraft "safely and precisely" to fixed and mobile locations. Tests were done in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate, Englin Air Force Base and the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. "Our absolute (fixed) and relative (mobile) navigation technologies will protect a wide range of critical U.S. military missions between ships and shore from disruption by GPS denial techniques, even in adverse weather and high sea-state conditions," said Scott Stapp, VP of applied technology for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. Called a "denied GPS" approach, the Air Force uses high-speed algorithms and hardware to generate navigational solutions from data gathered from a variety of sources including radar, electro-optical/infrared, light detection and ranging, star tracker, magnetometer, altimeter, and other signals. Land-based flights took place at the Royal Australian Air Force's Woomera Test range. During these tests, the air force's software was configured in an "absolute navigation mode," according to Northrop Grumman. An unmanned aircraft navigated accurately from a known location to a specified location using input from a sensor package and geo-registration software to improve navigation accuracy, the company said. The geo-registration software was developed by the AFRL, Eglin-led team. The team also integrated the sensor package and data processors onto the aircraft. Other tests, led by Northrop Grumman, involved a Bell Helicopter 407 equipped with infrared sensors and Australian Air Force software configured in "relative, precision navigation and landing mode," the company said. The aircraft used the software to follow a U.S. Naval Academy YP-700 ship operating in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland. During the flight, the air force software used data from the infrared sensor to generate estimates of the helicopter's position, attitude and velocity relative to the ship. According to Northrop Grumman, comparison of this relative navigation data to the true trajectories of the ship and helicopter proved that the air force software could estimate the landing location of the helicopter with "extreme precision." http://www.aviationtoday.com/2017/10/31/northrop-grumman-tests-nav-tech-doesnt-use-gps/ Back to Top CAE Signs 15-year Airbus A350 Pilot Training Agreement with Iberia Airlines BERLIN, GERMANY--(Marketwired - Oct. 31, 2017) - (NYSE:CAE)(TSX:CAE) - CAE announced today at the 2017 European Aviation Training Symposium (EATS) the signature of an exclusive long-term A350 pilot training contract with Iberia Airlines, one of the world's distinguished legacy carriers. Under the agreement, Iberia pilots will receive Airbus A350 training at CAE's training centre in Madrid starting in the second half of 2018. CAE has been Iberia's training partner of choice for more than 50 years, beginning with the sale of the airline's very first full-flight simulator. Iberia's pilots and cabin crew have been training on Airbus A320, A330 and A340 aircraft platforms at CAE's training centre in Madrid since 2004. "CAE is proud to serve our long-standing partners like Iberia. I think that the length and the expansion of our relationship with Iberia speaks volumes to the quality of our training products and services, and customer support. It is always a privilege to support our airline customers for their growing training needs," said Nick Leontidis, CAE's Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. About CAE CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a 70-year record of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with more than 8,500 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 120,000 civil and defence crewmembers and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. www.cae.com http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12377926/cae-signs-15-year-airbus-a350-pilot- training-agreement-with-iberia-airlines Curt Lewis