Aviation Week's Check 6 Podcast

How does Aviation Week determine who is its Person of the Year? Hint: it should not be seen as an award. Join top editors as they discuss the process and why this year’s choice is Richard Anderson, the CEO of Delta Air Lines.

Direct download: Why_Deltas_CEO_Is_Our_Person_Of_The_Year.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 7:21pm GMT

As Boeing rolls out the first 737 MAX, Senior Editor Guy Norris and Aviation Week Intelligence Network Forecaster Brian Kough discuss what the re-engined airliner means to Boeing and whether Airbus can hold on to the neon’s 60/40 advantage in orders.

Direct download: Boeing_737_MAX_Versus_Airbus_A320_neo.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:22am GMT

As the GTF readies to enter service, editors Guy Norris and Graham Warwick discuss the state of engine technology, the next advances on the horizon and how propulsion has shaped the aviation industry over the last 100 years.

Direct download: The_Next_Great_Leaps_In_Propulsion.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 10:03pm GMT

Do we still have a need for speed? Join Aviation Week as we discuss the history and technology of speed and whether, moving into the future, supersonic aircraft are economically feasible.

Direct download: Do_We_Still_Have_a_Need_for_Speed.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:42am GMT

Textron Aviation introduces two new airplanes and Flexjet's surprise order for 20 supersonic jets from Aerion highlight a busy and upbeat show. 

Direct download: NBAA_Highlights_From_The_Show.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:47pm GMT

The last Dubai Airshow saw record-breaking orders for commercial airliners. Not so this year, but our onsite editors say that’s not necessarily something to worry about. They explain why in this report from the show.

Direct download: What_Is_Happening_At_The_Dubai_Airshow_2015.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:48pm GMT

Avionics and Safety Editor John Croft, Managing Editor for Transport Jens Flottau and Executive Editor Jim Asker discuss the safety and security implications of the crash of the Russian charter carrier’s A321.

Direct download: Metrojet_Flight_9268_Crash.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 6:55pm GMT

With all the secrecy surrounding the Pentagon's Long-Range Strike Bomber competition, the winner was hard to predict. But AvWeek's editors discuss some of Northrop’s strengths that are not readily apparent. That includes experience with the particular kind of stealth technology needed for a long-range bomber as well as some of the company's business side decisions that may have made it attractive in this $21.4 billion contest.

Direct download: Northrops_Bomber_Win.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:42pm GMT

Aviation Week editors Senior International Editor Bill Sweetman and Naval Editor Michael Fabey break down the issue with the V-22 engine that investigators say brought down an Osprey in May.

Direct download: The_V-22s_Dust_Problem.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:12pm GMT

Scientists, engineers and students from around the world gathered in Jerusalem Oct. 12-16 for the 66th International Astronautical Congress. Civil space is at a turning point, with ambitious new plans unfolding as old ones bear fruit. Senior space editor Frank Morring, Jr., and Paris Bureau Chief Amy Svitak took a moment to describe what they learned about the changes at this year's IAC.

Direct download: Space_Congress.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 7:54pm GMT

As business talks between Bombardier and Airbus fall apart, Aviation Week editors discuss why the new cutting-edge passenger jet is facing severe headwinds in the market--and whether Bombardier has the resources to see it through.

 

Direct download: C_Series_on_the_Brink.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:16pm GMT

The FAA is expecting as many as one million small UAVs could be sold during the U.S. holiday season.  How much of a threat does that pose to airliners? The troubling answer is the agency really does not know because it has not begun testing. Listen to editors from Aviation Week and sister publication Air Transport World discuss the implications.

 

Direct download: FAA_Nightmare_A_Million_Christmas_Drones.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 6:17pm GMT

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. are keen to increase momentum for production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But ongoing budget turmoil in the U.S. and elsewhere and political changes in Canada could pose real hurdles for the program.

Direct download: The_F-35_Tightrope.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 3:13pm GMT

For the foreseeable future, national security space launches will keep the United Launch Alliance and enginemaker Aerojet in business. But the outlook down the road is full of change and opportunity, as Blue Origin plans to build a new launch vehicle and test facility in Florida and will team up with ULA on a new Vulcan rocket.

Direct download: Shakeup_in_the_Space_Launch_World.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:31pm GMT

This week’s Check 6 marks the start of a series of special features running before Aviation Week & Space Technology’s 100th anniversary in August 2016 with a discussion of stealth and counterstealth technology.

Direct download: Art_of_Deception.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:54am GMT

Advances in Russian military technology on display at the Moscow Air Show, including jammers and missiles, illustrate how Russia has pursued an asymmetric response counter to U.S. advantages.

Direct download: Russia_Counters_US_Advantages.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:37am GMT

Join us this week as we discuss in depth the aftermath of the air show display accident in the U.K. last week. Should there be tighter controls or is it time to end aerobatic displays by vintage military aircraft at air shows? Could it be the end for air shows as we know them?

Direct download: Air_Show_Aerobatics_Tighter_Control_or_Outright_Ban0A.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 2:29pm GMT

What if commercial pilots never had to learn to fly IFR? The distinction between instrument flight rules and visual flight rules (VFR) may go away in the not-too-distant future. What if the Black Hawk successor offered military pilots a 360-degree, all-weather view on a touch screen that could easily be reconfigured? These are the sort of things we might see in next-gen cockpits. Join Aviation Week editors Jim Asker, John Croft and Graham Warwick in peering into the future.

Direct download: Cockpits_of_the_Future.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:15pm GMT

Berkshire Hathaway’s bid to acquire Precision Castparts and Google’s restructuring are among the developments discussed by Executive Editor Jim Asker, Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo and Graham Warwick, the managing editor for technology. Their wide-ranging discussion also touches on GKN, Alcoa, US Airways, Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies and Sikorsky.

Direct download: C6_Buffet.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:48pm GMT

Here what disciplines have the most demand, salaries, sign-on bonuses, and the value that work and life balance plays in the compensation package.

Direct download: Where_The_Jobs_Are.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:52pm GMT

A look at the obstacles that lie ahead for Lockheed Martin’s mammoth F-35 program, how its limitations with dogfighting is leading other militaries to tout maneuverability and how the U.K. is equipping other fighters with weapons that the F-35 can’t yet use. Amy Butler and Tony Osborne also spend a little time discussing this summer’s tanker blues.

Direct download: C6_08_06.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 2:25pm GMT

Aviation Week editors discuss the latest news surrounding the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 on March 8, 2014. If a “flaperon” found on the island this week is indeed from the Boeing 777-200ER, what does its location and condition tell us about the final minutes of the Beijing-bound widebody jet?

Direct download: La_Reunion_And_The_MH370_Puzzle.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:00pm GMT

Aviation Week editors discuss the latest in experimental aircraft

Direct download: C6_July27.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 5:36pm GMT

Days after the New Horizons flyby of Pluto, Aviation Week’s Senior Space Editor Frank Morring, Jr. and Jen DiMascio, managing editor for defense and space, discuss the mission’s surprises and discoveries. With the spacecraft sending back just 1% of data it is supposed to collect, scientists are already learning new insights about the dwarf planet, its moons and environs.

Direct download: The_Mysteries_of_Pluto.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:33pm GMT

Federal officials are investigating American, United, Delta and Southwest airlines to determine if they are coordinating efforts to keep capacity down so that ticket prices remain high. If they are found in violation of antitrust laws, they could face huge fines. Executive Editor Jim Asker and Jens Flottau, managing editor for commercial aviation, discuss the case and how it relates to the carriers’ battles against competitors based in the Middle East and Norwegian Air International. They also recount a 1982 incident that landed an American Airlines CEO in court for a conversation with a competitor.

Direct download: C6_July9.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:41pm GMT

What will happen when New Horizons hurtles past the icy dwarf planet and its five moons on July 14?
Direct download: c6_july2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:19pm GMT

Our editors discuss why there may have been bigger news this week than at Le Bourget, thanks to Jim McNerney, Tom Enders, Charlie Bolden and One Web.

Direct download: Post-Paris_Doldrums_Hardly..mp3
Category: -- posted at: 6:10pm GMT

From the Airbus A380 to satellites and a newfangled AirbusX6 helicopter, the Aviation Week team at Paris talks through the highlights of the show

Direct download: The_Paris_Air_Show_Thats_a_Wrap.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 10:53am GMT

Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo talks with Managing Editor Jens Flottau and Aviation Daily Editor-In-Chief Madhu Unnikrishnan about an escalation in the battle — and why U.S. Airlines are not unified in their stance.
Direct download: C6_6_11.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:39pm GMT

Wide-ranging interviews with Tom Enders, Jim McNerney, Alain Bellemare and Fred Curado, the chief executives of four big aerospace companies, are in the latest issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology. Editor-In-Chief Joe Anselmo, Executive Editor Jim Asker and Managing Editors Jens Flottau and Graham Warwick discuss the CEO's comments on commercial airplanes, defense, space, business aviation, R&D and their companies’ prospects for the future.  

Direct download: Check6_June5.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:34pm GMT

Although the industry is in good financial shape, both commercial and military aviation are challenged with steep production ramp ups.

Direct download: C6_May_29_Project.mp3
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Who are the top performing airlines of 2015? Based on our study, it may not be the size of the company, but how well the business is run.

Direct download: May22.mp3
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Aviation Week defense editors on the recent success of Dassault’s Rafale and Saab’s Gripen fighters and what that means for the rest of the market. Will it spell doom for the Eurofighter Typhoon? Does Boeing’s F-18 have a shot at more orders in Kuwait. And a peek at the upcoming competition for a Turkish fighter.

Direct download: Check6_05_08.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:47pm GMT

The Rise of the Civilian UAV Industry

Until now, the military has driven development of unmanned aerial vehicles. But the U.S. Navy X-47B’s recent aerial refueling demonstration could be a transition point for the fledgling industry, in which commercial players are increasingly pushing the technical edge.

Direct download: Check6_may5_2015.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:41pm GMT

Brewing Crisis in the Baltic

As NATO and Russia are stepping up air patrols in and around Eastern Europe – including an increasing amount of flights with transponders turned off – aviation safety officials are scrambling to keep the skies safe for commercial airlines.

Direct download: 4-23_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:22pm GMT

India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft Surprise

India hit the reset button on stalled contract talks with Dassault, opting for a government-to-government sale of 36 Rafale fighters. Aviation Week editors Amy Svitak, Bill Sweetman and Jen DiMascio discuss what the deal means for India, Dassault and future combat aircraft competitions.

Direct download: 4-16_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:07pm GMT

Podcast: Space Symposium Outlook

Ahead of next week's Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, our editors discuss the latest on an American-built engine to send U.S. national security assets to space, competition between ULA and Space X, the state of U.S.-Russian relations and more.

Direct download: 4-10_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:40pm GMT

Inside Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan Development

This week's Check 6 podcast comes to you from Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Conn. Editors Joe Anselmo and Guy Norris sat down with Greg Gernhardt, the president of Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines, to talk about the company’s geared turbofan engine and its battle for market share with the CFM LEAP-X.

Direct download: 4-3_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:21pm GMT

How Do We Keep Pilots From Crashing Planes?

Aviation has become technically safer and safer. Is it now time to address the pilot as a safety concern? The community has successfully addressed wind shear and controlled flight into terrain. Unintended consequences are certain, as we are seeing in the case of locked cockpit doors, and overly specific solutions are usually not flexible enough to work. Distributed cockpit operations with crew support on the ground could be one means of addressing the problem. The industry is so safe because it has tackled its problems. Technology should be able to help us failsafe pilot actions.

Direct download: 3-27_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:06pm GMT

Space Industry At An Inflection Point

Aviation Week editors discuss the Satellite 2015 Telecom Conference and the state of private investment and technological advances.

Direct download: 3-20_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:08pm GMT

Talking 777 Upgrades And Bubble Trouble

Back from the ISTAT Americas conference, Aviation Week editors discuss debate of an order bubble, new 777 upgrades, the A380neo concept and Bombardier’s CSeries.

Direct download: 3-13-15_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:42pm GMT

Exciting And Strange Developments From Heli-Expo

Aviation Week editors discuss the latest from Orlando: What Bristow's tiltrotor bet means for the future of rotorcraft, Airbus Helicopters's H160 unveiling and more.

Direct download: 3-16_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:06pm GMT

Flight Tracking One Year After MH370

Aviation Week editors Jim Asker, John Croft and Michael Fabey discuss the ongoing search for MH370 and the outlook for changes to flight tracking.

Direct download: Check6MH370.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:17pm GMT

Saving Bombardier

Aviation Week’s Graham Warwick and Joe Anselmo and Business & Commercial Aviation’s Bill Garvey talk about what’s ailing Bombardier in commercial and business aviation and its move to bring in aerospace veteran Alain Bellemare to fix things.

Direct download: 2-20_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:06pm GMT

Is The Pilot Shortage For Real?

Our editors discuss the global pilot shortage and why the solution is not as simple as paying American regional pilots more.

Direct download: 2-13_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:14pm GMT

What’s Interesting In The New Budget?

From X-planes to the “black budget” to where the U.S. is placing its technology bets for the future, Aviation Week editor's discuss what’s buried in President Obama’s fiscal 2016 budget request to Congress.

Direct download: 2-6_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:39pm GMT

The Future of Fighters and Air Force One

Jim Asker, Guy Norris and Amy Butler discuss adaptive engine technology, sixth-generation fighters, threats to the F-35 and the next presidential aircraft.

Direct download: 1-30_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:59pm GMT

U.S. Defense Budget

A preview of programs and issues to watch for during the first week of February, when the Pentagon makes its budget request to Congress.

Direct download: 1-23_Check_6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:38pm GMT

Aviation Week's 2014 Person of the Year: Vladimir Putin

Aviation Week editors discuss the reasons behind our selection of Vladimir Putin as Person of the Year for 2014.

Direct download: 1-14-15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:36pm GMT

The Future of Aerospace

Aviation Week editors Graham Warwick and Guy Norris discuss with Joe Anselmo what the future looks like from the annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference. Topics include cockpit automation, air-launch to space, truss-braced wings, small core engines and hybrid/blended wing bodies.

Is innovation alive and well in the industry? What is the place of younger engineers?

Direct download: 1-9Check6.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:05pm GMT

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