The US Federal Aviation Administration has certificated GE Aviation’s 105,000lb-thrust (467kN) GE9X turbofan, a milestone coming as Boeing continues working toward achieving certification for its GE9X-powered 777-9. The FAA’s airworthiness certification follows a notable GE9X development delay announced at the 2019 Paris air show and comes as Boeing works to begin 777-9 deliveries in 2022. GE completed the GE9X certification program using eight test engines that logged nearly 5,000h of operations and 8,000 engine cycles, the Ohio-based aircraft engine maker said on 28 September. “GE's focus remains working with Boeing to complete the 777X flight-test program and entry into service,” it adds. “Eight GE9X test engines and two test spares have been produced and delivered to Seattle for Boeing’s four 777X test airplanes.” The engine maker continues working to achieve FAA “extended operations” (ETOPS) approval for the GE9X – an effort expected to involve 3,000 ground-test cycles – and is also “conducting maturation testing to help GE engineers prepare to support the engine in service”, it adds. It says “several GE9X production engines have been assembled, and GE Aviation is in the process of completing factory acceptance tests”. Certification of the GE9X comes as Boeing progresses with the delayed 777-9 certification program. Boeing completed its maiden 777-9 flight on 25 January, following by first flight of the second test jet on 30 April and the maiden flight of the third test 777-9 on 3 August. The engine issue disclosed by GE in 2019 involved durability of stator vanes at the front end of the GE9X’s high-pressure compressor. The vanes sit between rotor blades and pivot on a bearing to keep the engine running at optimum performance. The durability problem was causing exhaust-gas temperatures to be outside expected ranges, resulting in premature component deterioration, GE has said. The issue forced GE to recall from Boeing four GE9X engines used for flight tests, though the engine maker quickly addressed the problem and shipped engines back to Boeing.

Source: Cirium

United Airlines' pilots' union has ratified an agreement that will delay involuntary furloughs of pilots until June 2021. The Chicago-based airline and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) on 16 September had tentatively agreed the deal. United had stated on 28 August that it would furlough 2,850 of its 13,000 pilots by the end of 2020, beginning after 30 September, when US CARES Act workforce conditions expire. In addition to the postponement of furloughs for all of United's pilots, those pilots age 50 or older who have at least 10 years of experience will receive via the agreement a second round of early separation options.“We’ve worked for months on creative solutions to mitigate massive pilot layoffs,” Capt. Todd Insler, union chairman for United's pilots, states. “With this agreement now solidified, we will turn our focus back to Congress to secure a much-needed CARES Act extension to keep our industry solvent until we recover from this pandemic.”

Source: .Cirium

Research indicating that dogs are capable of detecting evidence of coronavirus infection is being tested in a practical sense at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. The University of Helsink has studied the use of dogs in coronavirus testing and a Finnish organisation called Wise Nose specialising in sniffer-dog training, has started large-scale work to produce ‘corona dogs’. Finnish airports authority Finavia has started a trial at the capital hub, expecting the dogs to “speed up” the identification of passengers infected by the virus. “As far as we know, no other airport has attempted to use canine scent detection on such a large scale against [this disease],” says Finavia airport director Ulla Lettijeff. Passengers undergo a sample swipe on their skin, which is then given to the dog in a separate booth, avoiding direct contact and preserving anonymity. French researchers undertook a proof-of-concept study, published in June, to evaluate whether coronavirus could be traced in sweat by sniffer dogs. Most of the dogs used were Belgian Malinois shepherds, mainly because the breed is well-represented in French working-dog circles. But the study says: “Lots of canine breeds or mongrel dogs could develop the same olfactive detection qualities.” Eight dogs were used to perform 368 trials, during which they were tasked with finding a positive sample in a line containing several other negative samples. Four dogs achieve a 100% rate, with the others’ successes ranging from 83-94%. The study says this is “significantly different” from the result which would be obtained purely by chance, and concludes that there is “very high evidence” that the sweat of coronavirus patients differs from uninfected individuals’ and that dogs “can detect” sufferers. Preliminary results from another study from German institutions, notably Hannover’s University of Veterinary Medicine, have shown similarly promising results. It used eight dogs trained for a week to detect saliva or tracheobronchial secretions of coronavirus-infected patients. Presented with 1,012 randomised samples, the dogs achieved an overall average detection rate of 94% with 157 correct positive indications and 792 correct negative rejections. The remaining 63 were either false-positive or false-negative, split almost equally. “Obtaining [current virus-testing] results is time-consuming and can be cost-prohibitive, especially for developing countries,” the study says. “There is therefore a need for an additional faster, reliable, non-invasive, and versatile screening tool – especially to identify asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals.” Several Finnish institutes, including Wise Nose and research departments of a number of universities, signed a co-operation agreement in spring this year to carry out a collaborative study on dogs’ ability to detect coronavirus. Finnish veterinary operator Evidensia is funding training and experimental work, which has evolved into testing at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. “Training activities started on a voluntary basis and [corona] dogs do not have the status of a service dog, which has brought challenges to public funding of the training,” points out Wise Nose. Executive director Susanna Paavilainen says Wise Nose is working with Finland’s customs authority to prepare for a possible scenario in which customs personnel formally take over the sniffer-dog operation, although official testing with trained dogs requires a legislative amendment

Source: Cirium.