Boeing has given more details on their proposed fix for the 787 batteries:
Sinnett’s claim that the battery-enclosure box prevents fire altogether clearly surprised his skeptical audience of journalists.
Combatively, he insisted that the media have misreported the purpose of Boeing’s battery-enclosure box by describing it as “containing a fire.”
No, Sinnett said.
“This enclosure keeps us from ever having a fire to begin with,” he said.
Read the whole article… Good details on the overall fix.
The FAA has grounded a small aerial photography business in Minnesota. I guess the budget cuts haven’t hampered the FAA too much if they have time to pick on little guys like these guys.
These guys have rigged up their small, RC aircraft with stabilized cameras and decided to make a business of it. They rarely fly over 200 feet high and don’t fly near airports. The only thing that distinguishes their RC aircraft from those of a hobbyist is that they are taking pictures for pay… which makes them commercial… which makes the FAA entitled to ground them.
Utter stupidity.
Boeing has published a webpage highlighting the FAA Approval of their certification process.
“Working with internal and external experts in battery technology, we have proposed a comprehensive set of solutions that provide three layers of improvements in the battery system,” said Ray Conner, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Boeing’s full press release can be found here.
The big news in the last week is that the FAA has approved the recertification process that Boeing has proposed for the Li-ion batteries in the 787. From their press release:
The certification plan is the first step in the process to evaluate the 787’s return to flight and requires Boeing to conduct extensive testing and analysis to demonstrate compliance with the applicable safety regulations and special conditions.
The important thing to understand is that the 787 is NOT cleared for flight. Nor has Boeing’s proposed fix been cleared for implementation. The FAA has approved a series of tests that Boeing must perform, and the Li-ion batteries must pass, to prove the proposed fix works properly.
There’s still a long road ahead of Boeing on this issue.
Very cool commercial from Etihad, my current hometown airline (here in Abu Dhabi). I found this via Christine Negroni’s Flying Lessons Blog:
But for airlines like Etihad, pitching the in flight experience is more important than so many other items on which airlines compete…
One must remember that airlines like Etihad, Emirates, and even Qatar Airlines don’t have to compete on many of the other items common to today’s airlines. These airlines are run by governments that enjoy vast oil wealth… and consequently they can create superior in flight experiences at very reasonable prices.
My wife and I would take Etihad for all our trips if we could. It really is that good.
A German company, Rail.One, plans on building a concrete tie factory in Iowa.
One of Boeing’s heavy lifting Dreamlifters had to declare an emergency, dump fuel, and make an emergency landing at Paine Field in Everett, WA.
More here.
ACI has ranked Indianapolis International Airport (IND) as the best in North America. This is based on passenger surveys taken throughout the year. I’m a bit biased here as I spent 4 years working on the Midfield Terminal Project, but the more I travel the more I see Indy as one of the best airports.
Neat to see Abu Dhabi International (AUH) ranked as the best for the Middle East. I’ll be starting work next week on their new projects. Hopefully when they transition to their midfield terminal in 2015 they can retain that ranking. Jeddah and Doha are going to give them a run for their money though.
And the other regional winners:
Well, this is kind of a picture of trains. This is my oldest playing with this wooden train set. You are actually looking at the rear end of this train. The black locomotive is actually serving as a helper unit.
I’ll likely find ways to shamelessly post photos of my boys from time to time. This photo highlights just how much fun my boy has with this toy trains, planes, or cars. He’s reminded me of why I like transportation engineering so much… it’s just a big kid’s version of the toys I used to play with.
Looks like IND is looking to make some parking changes to increase revenue. While working on that project I was always impressed with the amount of parking we were building. I wonder if they’d make more money on parking if they’d made the quantity a bit more scarce. I’m kind of amazed that parking is the second highest revenue source for the airport.