Pinnacle Solutions Inc. has been awarded a subcontract by Boeing-Sikorsky Aircraft Support for the recompete of the Life Cycle Contractor Support Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract.
CAT Editor-in-Chief Rick Adams, FRAeS, talks with Kit Darby, one of the leading experts on professional pilot careers about the state of the North American aviation market – recovery, retirements, furloughs, pay packages, and advice for moving to the head of the queue when hiring restarts (perhaps sooner than you think).
The second section of this five part series is on Furloughs, Leaves of Absence, and the US CARES Act .
Kit discusses “what scares him more” than the coronavirus. Also, furloughs, leaves of absence, and what happens when the CARES Act expires in October.
SCT continues to observe and report on industries around the globe embracing virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality throughout their systems and products’ life cycles. One recent, attention-getting case of these technologies being used to gain efficiencies on the “front end” of products life cycles, can be gleaned at Allison Transmission’s new Vehicle Environmental Test center. Marty Kauchak reports.
The Allison Transmission brand is familiar around the globe, with the company noting “it is the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems.”
To help Allison maintain its edge in this sector, the company recently opened the VET center to conduct year-round testing, replicating vehicle environments and duty cycles, compressing product development times and supporting innovation for the industry.
VirTra, Inc. has received an order from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for simulation training products and services, including new drop-in recoil kits, valued at $863,000.
As the Covid-19 pandemic persists, and students return to campuses across the United States, there has not been a significant decline in the number of students enrolled in pilot-degree programs, according to a survey of aviation educators. Nearly 90% of schools report “little or no change.”
Only one school reported more than 15% cancellations or degree changes. About one-quarter indicated a “melt” of 5-15% in students committed to attending (though up from 10% a month ago). One-third are seeing less than 5% change, and 26.47% indicated all enrolled students plan to attend.
Surprisingly, in the wake of the devastation in the airline industry, nearly 40% of the universities will have a higher number of students than started a year ago. Only 15% expect a lower number, and 36.4% are level with 2019.
Ken Byrnes, Chair of the Flight Training Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), who moderates the ad-hoc national group’s periodic Zoom discussions, cautioned, “As the airline industry slows, interest can start to wane,” but he reminded that the process of becoming an airline pilot “is a four- to five-year journey, and the industry is going to need a significant amount of pilots in the near future.”
Watch the latest episode in our Restarting The Engines series with Capt Jacques Drappier, Capt. Philip Adrian and Mark Dransfield FRAeS discussing the use of FFS, FTD and other new technologies.
MS&T Europe Editor Dim Jones reports on Project Gladiator, the UK’s networked air collective training, capability development, and mission preparation initiative.
The mix between live and synthetic flying training has been a hot topic within the military aviation fraternity for some while now. The arguments for synthetic training (ST) have been well rehearsed: the reduced cost per training hour of a simulator as compared with live flying; the environmental benefits, in terms of both fuel and noise; and the improved longevity of an aircraft fleet resulting from reduced flying hours, fatigue consumption and attrition. To these, more recently, have been added some operational considerations.