DIAMOND SIMULATOR

Diamond Simulation has sold its first DA40 simulator in the AE300 Austro Engine Diesel configuration to Ethiopian Airlines Academy. The device is scheduled for delivery to the carrier's Addis Ababa base in February.


AW139s FOR CYPRUS

AgustaWestland has delivered two of the five AW139 helicopters on order with the government of Cyprus. The medium twin-engined aircraft will be used for law enforcement, border patrol and search and rescue operations. Delivery of the three remaining AW139s is imminent, says AgustaWestland. These aircraft will be used for search and rescue and emergency medical services missions.


TRACTOR CRASH

A too-short landing at an army reserve base in California caused substantial damage Air Tractor's AT-802U surveillance, precision strike and utility demonstrator aircraft late in 2010, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. The NTSB says a pilot and flight-test engineer flying in the two-seat modified agricultural single at the time were testing maximum performance take-offs and landings on the 1,830m (6,000ft) hard clay Schoonover runway at Fort Hunter Liggett, California when the accident happened. Neither was injured.


UPGRADE APPROVAL

Cirrus has won US approval for the two upgrades that form part of the Perspective electronic stability and protection package launched at the AirVenture show in Oshkosh in 2010. The first system - called the ESP - functions when a pilot is hand-flying the aircraft and helps correct excessive pitch, roll or airspeed situations, says Cirrus. It activates automatically when the aircraft exceeds preset parameters. The second - called the hypoxia recognition system - engages when a pilot is flying at oxygen-required altitudes and remains unresponsive for a period of time.


Source: Flight International