New This Week

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It hasn’t been a quiet week in aviation news-our survey uncovered certification testing of the Falcon 7X at the world’s highest airport, SAFE Teacher Grant Awards, a big sale of Embraer E175 jets and a company that’s developing a way to surf behind an airplane. The long-range Falcon 7X will soon become the first business jet certified to operate at Daocheng Yading, China, at 14,470 feet, the world’s highest commercial airport. Daocheng flight tests started after a series of preliminary flights at Jiuzhai Huang Long Airport near Chengdu (altitude 11,311 feet) with a CAAC pilot at the controls. After an initial landing at Daocheng — the highest ever by a business jet — the 7X performed engines/APU runup followed by a series of takeoffs and landings including some with simulated engine failure. Once finalized the approval will permit the Falcon 7X to operate at altitudes up to 15,000 feet. Two classroom teachers, Sonya Williams and Joseph Perrotta, were named recipients of the 2014 K-12 Classroom Teacher Grant Awards from the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE). The $250.00 grants encourage aviation and aerospace lesson plans and aviation student projects in classrooms. The awards have helped stimulate teacher interest nationally in aviation-related education as part of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies. Sonya Williams, a fourth grade teacher at the 107th Street STEM Magnet School in Los Angeles, California, won SAFE’s award in the Kindergarten through Grade 7 category. Joseph Perrotta, a physics teacher at Starr’s Mill High School in Peachtree City, Georgia, won in the Grade 8-12 category.

Embraer S.A. and Republic Airways Holdings Inc., operator of the largest E-Jets fleet in the world, announced a contractfor the sale and purchase of 50 firm E175 jets. The value of the order is estimated at $2.1 billion. The aircraft will be operated for United Airlines under the United Express brand. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2015 and extend until 2017. Finally, for those who have dreamed of boogie boarding behind an airplane, Wyp Aviation announcedthat it is seeking funding for Phase II development of its WingBoard, “the next revolution in aerial sports.” Likened to “a wakeboard in three dimensions,” developers say the WingBoard combines the thrill of wakeboarding, skydiving, and wingsuit flying, permitting riders to carve through the sky while being towed behind an airplane. The WingBoard works through a close coupling of the rider, towrope and WingBoard itself. The WingBoard’s shape affords a stable center of gravity while the rider, attached to the WingBoard via a binding, stands upright and leans and twists in all directions to maneuver the board.

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