Summary: Max, Rob, and David field questions from listeners who want to learn just a little bit more about us Airplane Geeks. We also talk about the BEA’s final report on the Air France Flight 447 crash, the Airbus plan to open an A320 final assembly facility in Mississippi, issues with the Airbus A400M engines, and how the heat affects airliners, at least in Washington, D.C. With the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow underway, you might want to check out the Farnborough Air Show 2012 Micro-News Site Coverage List at Jet City Star – a great resource. We also mention Seb’s photos from RIAT 2012 Rob’s video from his A380 flight, and Ryan Hothersall’s list of models. The week’s aviation news: Air France crash due to pilot and technical failings Europe’s Airbus to build planes on Boeing’s US turf Europe’s A400M troop plane hits new engine glitch US Airways plane gets stuck in ‘soft spot’ on pavement at Reagan National David’s Aircraft of the Week is the Waco CG-4A glider, the Hadrian. In this week’s Australia Desk report: Grant gets his Private Hot Air Balloon Certificate! He tells us about the process over the past week, including his first solo flight. Congratulations Grant!! In the news, Virgin Australia announces an order for 23 737MAX8 aircraft, arriving on our shores from 2019. Virgin also plans to defer some additional 737-800 orders until after 2016, but will retire its entire -700 fleet by the end of 2013. Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124. Australia Desk archives can be found at www.australiadesk.net. Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.
