COVID-19 – Take Care!

To our customers,

For SSA, serving our customers is the most important thing however, the health and well-being of our employees remains our top priority. We remain operational and available to serve you during this period of uncertainty. Our employees are following the public health guidelines, which includes, among other strategies, work from home, flexible working hours and social distance. We remain available by phone and email and we are looking forward to see you again in the near future.

We have our renewed hope to see communities, our nation and the world coming together to fight this pandemic. Please stay safe and know that you can always count on SSA!

COVID-19

Happy Women´s Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day, South Seas Aviation brought the 10 most inspiring women in aviation.

1. Raymonde de Laroche, 1910

In the early days of aviation, Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman in the world to receive a pilot’s license in 1910, paving the way for other women to follow in her footsteps and take to the skies.

2. Lilian Bland, 1911

Energetic, unconventional and adventurous, Lilian Bland became the first woman in the world to design, build and pilot her own plane. She playfully named it Mayfly (it may fly, it may not fly).

3. Hilda Beatrice Hewlett, 1911

Not only was Hilda Hewlett the first British woman to receive a pilot’s license, she also established the first flying school in the UK and co-founded a successful aircraft manufacturing business that contributed significantly to the UK’s effort in the First World War.

4. Harriet Quimby, 1911

The first woman to receive a pilot’s license from the Aero Club of America, she also became the first woman to successfully fly across the English Channel in 1912.

5. Bessie Coleman, 1921

At a time of both gender and racial discrimination, Bessie Coleman was the first person (male or female) of African-American descent, and the first of Native American descent, to hold a pilot’s license in the USA.

6. Amelia Earhart, 1928

Amelia Earhart was famously the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Other achievements include being the first woman to fly solo above 14,000 ft (1922); helping form The Ninety-Nines (1929) and becoming the first pilot to fly solo from Hawaii to California (1935).

7. Amy Johnson, 1930

Only one year after obtaining her pilot’s license, Amy Johnson became the first female pilot to fly solo from Britain to Australia. Her longest solo flight before that had been from London to Hull, her hometown.

8. Jacqueline Cochran, 1953

In 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman in the world to break the sound barrier in an F-86 Sabre. She also persuaded the US government to use women pilots in non-combat missions during the Second World War.

9. Emily Howell Warner, 1973

It was not until the early 1970s that the world would see the first woman pilot a commercial airline, when, in 1973, Emily Howell Warner was hired by Frontier Airlines.

10. Wang Zheng (Julie Wang), 2016:

After spending most of her life pursuing a career in advertising, Wang Zheng, also known as Julie Wang, decided to take up flying. She obtained her private pilot’s certificate in 2011 and became the first Asian woman to circumnavigate the planet by airplane in 2016.

Despite these amazing achievements, figures show that there is still a way to go for women in aviation. Today only 3% of pilots are women worldwide; in the UK the figure is 6%.

First PW1200G engine assembled in Japan enters flight testing

The first Pratt & Whitney GTF™ PW1200G engine assembled in Japan has begun flight testing. The maiden flight of the engine, which powers the upcoming Mitsubishi SpaceJet, was praised by the Japanese company as an important milestone for both the aircraft program and the Japanese aerospace industry.

The first PW1200G, assembled in Japan, made its maiden flight in the United States on February 14, 2020. The testing took place at Mitsubishi Aircraft Flight Test Center in Moses Lake; it was installed on the company’s Flight Test Aircraft 1 (FTA1).

The Mitsubishi Aircraft flight test team validated the basic functions of the engine in normal flight. In subsequent flights, the performances of both the engine and the aircraft were confirmed, and the engine has been cleared. It is scheduled to join the flight test fleet in the coming weeks.

In a statement, released on February 27, 2020, Mitsubishi execs praised the achievement as an important milestone for the development of the country’s commercial aviation.

“We are in the process of creating not only aircraft but also the foundation for the commercial aviation industry in Japan,” Mitsubishi Aircraft President Hisakazu Mizutani is cited as saying.

Similarly, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero Engines President & CEO Katsuyuki Shimauchi is cited as saying: “[…] In addition to manufacturing complete aircraft like Mitsubishi Aircraft, the ability to assemble aircraft engines in Japan is very important for the growth of the domestic aircraft industry as well as the development of a reliable supply chain needed to support future aircraft.”

The PW1200G engine is an exclusive power plant for the Mitsubishi SpaceJet. The regional jet is being developed by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, while the manufacturing of the aircraft is carried out by parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The latter is also the parent company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero Engines, which according to the company itself, “has one of the two sites that finalize and test its PW1200G engine”.

On February 5, 2020, the delivery of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet was delayed for the sixth time, reportedly due to a redesign of the electrical system, which will require further certifications. Mitsubishi Heavy initially envisioned for its jet to enter the market of regional aircraft in 2013. It should now enter service in late 2021 or 2022.

Source: https://bit.ly/2TtxMiY

Image: shutterstock.com