The founder and CEO of AeroSys describes the company’s digital co-pilot. Deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner resume, a personal eVTOL, USAF eVTOL pilot training requirements, A-10 Warthog modernization updates, Wheels Up partners with ATP to draw in pilots, the Regional Airline Association disagrees with ALPA over the pilot shortage, and the B-52H may receive a new designation.

In this Beyond the Press Release installment, we talk with Mirko Hahn, founder, and CEO of AeroSys. The company is developing Goose, which they say is the world’s first certified digital co-pilot for commercial and general aviation. Goose is an AI-based, offline-capable voice assistant.

AeroSys says its mission is “to make single-pilot journeys at least as safe as a multi-crew flight and to replicate the pilot monitoring for all the operations where a second human pilot is not present.” Aviation Entrepreneurship and Innovation Correspondent Hillel Glazer recorded this interview at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022.

The FAA has approved Boeing’s 787 inspection and modification plan and the company has resumed Dreamliner deliveries. On August 10, 2022, Boeing delivered a 787-8 to American Airlines. In September 2020, the FAA announced it was “investigating manufacturing flaws” in some 787 jetliners and deliveries of the 787 were halted in May 2021.

The Jetson One eVTOL from Sweeden weighs 86 kilograms (190 pounds) and is classified as an ultralight. Thus, no license is required to fly it. With a 20-minute flight time and a 102 km/hr top speed, the Jetson One can be ordered with a $22,000 deposit and a $70,000 final payment. However, production is sold out through 2023.

Video: Jetson ONE – Official Launch

Also: The brilliant Engineering behind Jetson ONE (video).

The US Air Force awarded Aptima a contract to identify pilot competency requirements for eVTOL operations. Using simulators of various eVTOL prototypes with different levels of automation, Aptima will determine the training needed for eVTOL pilots. Aptima training scientist Samantha Emerson said: “The learnability study will help us not only understand the baseline pilot skills and competencies needed for proficient eVTOL flight, but also the impact of automation on pilot performance.”

The A-10 Thunderbolt II (or “Warthog”) is undergoing a modernization effort to support fifth-generation fighters. The A-10 has 10 pylons and can deploy a number of standoff weapons. Being considered are the ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD) and the GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). In the future, the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) is a possibility.

Under the new agreement with ATP Flight School, Wheels Up can interview flight instructors with at least 1,000 hours. At 1,200 hours, if they are selected, the instructors can transition first officers on Beechcraft King Air 350, Cessna Citation CJ3, or Beechjet 400 aircraft. Wheels Up members can book private aircraft from the company’s fleet, as well as from third-party operators.

The Regional Airline Association (RAA) and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) don’t agree if there is really a pilot shortage. In response to New FAA Data Shows U.S. Pilot Production Remains Strong from ALPA, the RAA issued a statement, RAA Responds to Inaccurate and Misleading Data on Pilot Shortage [PDF]. RAA claims ALPA “release[d] misleading comments and graphics seeking to deny the existence of a real and worsening pilot shortage.”

The B-52H is getting new engines (Rolls-Royce F130s) as well as active, electronically scanned array radar, cockpit displays, and other changes. That could mean it’s time to move on from “H,” possibly to the B-52J or B-52K. The Air Force hasn’t decided yet on the new variant.

Wings Set Aviation Movie Standard in 1927

Video: New Lowest Landing? Wizzair Airbus A321neo Landing at Skiathos Airport

Yet another spectacular landing at Skiathos Airport (Greece), possibly lower than the famous Air Italy 737-800 approach!

Small plane crash lands on 91 Freeway in Corona

Your hosts: Max Flight, David Vanderhoof, Max Trescott, Rob Mark, and Hillel Glazer.