Convergence Journalism Project

http://centralhighnews.blogspot.com/

GermanWings Airbus A320 Crashes in France

       On the 24 March, 2015, GermanWings flight 4U 9525 plummeted into the mountains of France, killing all 150 people on board. After a normal departure from Spain, the aircraft headed North, as it was crossing over France, the plane started suddenly descending from its cruising altitude of about 38,000 feet for no apparent reason. After only eight minutes of descending, the aircraft slammed into the mountains of France, pulverizing the plane into pieces no larger than a car. Mysteries surround this plane crash as the black boxes showed no strange mechanical problems or stress from the pilots.

         The latest mystery that has come from the crash is that the co-pilot was suicidal or murderous. The evidence for this argument was found on the black boxes, in the audio of the black boxes, you can hear the captain trying to enter the cockpit after going into the rear of the plane. The captain knocks several times with no answer from the co-pilot, but the black boxes captured the co-pilot breathing and moving the controls so he was obviously conscious. The history of the Co-pilot is currently being looked into.

Crash Site from the Air

      The video far above shows the same A320 that was in the accident taking off one week before the accident. The mystery of this devastating accident may never be solved, we can only hope to better the future of aviation by learning from accidents like this.

FAA Gives Amazon The Go For Drone Testing

      In the last decade, technology for unmanned aerial devices has increased substantially. The technology has gotten to the point of which companies are looking into using unmanned vehicles for their own use. The most recent and famous company: Amazon. Amazon released a commercial in 2014 that showed a multi-rotor delivering a package to a house without ever interacting with a person. They released this commercial showing a hopeful idea that many people don't believe can happen.  

      The drone showed in the video has been named the Amazon Prime Air delivery system. During this week, the FAA or Federal Aviation Administration has given Amazon the all clear to test their aerial system. Many people have low expectations from the system. The technology is still not even close to being possible to deliver packages any further than about a mile. Batteries for even the 

lightest, most efficient multi-rotor a can only last about 15 minutes. 

Bombardier CS300 Airliner Makes First Flight

     On the 27 of February 2015, the Bombardier CS300 left the ground for the first time. The creator, Bombardier is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world. With many side companies including, Learjet, Bombardier is a big name in aviation. Bombardier has been producing single-aisle airliners for years and they make some of the most popular Regional jets in the world. Their newest jet, the CS300 is the newest addition to the Bombardier family. The CS300 is designed to be more efficient and more economical than the previously used regional jets.

EC300 Taking Off

       The EC300 left the ground for the first time at Bombardiers main facility at Mirabel Airport near Montreal. The flight was a complete success and the plane climbed to an altitude of 43,000 feet before it descended back to Earth. The new EC300 turned the heads of Bombardier employees back to the sky after many delays and problems. Bombardier put all of their effort into this project to ensure its success. They even put the new Learjet 85 on hold until it was completed.

Bombardier proved their technology and innovation on this project. Their employees and designers all worked tirelessly for this new jet that will be around for decades to come.

Wichita Plans Aviation Exhibit in Museum

        When you think of Wichita Kansas, you might not think much of it. For a town in Kansas, it has a huge technology history that many people don't know about. Wichita Kansas is actually one of the greatest places for Aviation in the whole country. For over 80 years, Wichita has been home to the largest and most famous aviation companies and factories. Companies like Learjet, Cessna, and Hawker all have major manufacturing plants in Wichita Kansas. In fact, every single Cessna ever produced has come out of the factory in Wichita Kansas. Wichita is also famous for it's Exploration Center. The Exploration Center is a large science museum in Wichita which offers guests interactive exhibits that vary over many subjects.

The Current Small Aviation Exhibit in Exploration Center

       In about 18 months, the Exploration Center in Wichita Kansas is planning on creating a massive, interactive aviation experience in their museum. Many of the local aviation companies have agreed to contribute planes or plane parts to the museum to incorporate in the new exhibit. The new exhibit is expected to have a large jet fuselage, many pieces of jets that are interactive, and a few smaller aircraft.

Cessna Factory in Wichita

     The hope for this aviation exhibit is to promote aviation by educating the public about it and educating people about the rich aviation history of Wichita Kansas. The way this city is used as an Aviation HQ is not known by many and it is important for people to know about it.

India's First Indigenous Fighter

         When you think of Aviation Technology in India, there isn't much. For India's Air Force and military, most of their aerial vehicles originate from Russia or the U.S. For the past decades, all of India's fighters and other aircraft were foreign aircraft. Their fighters came from Russia and the U.S., and their transport planes were from Airbus. This year, India finally completed the designing and engineering of their first native fighter jet. India's new Tejas jet is their first Indigenous fighter jet to ever come out of an Indian factory. This new jet will make India's dependency on other countries lessen and their Air Force stronger.

Tejas Jet Banking

        The Tejas jet is not new, but it is the first jet to be produced in India. The first Tejas jet flew in 2001, but the first fighter jet made in India flew this year. This jet has been acclaimed for being ultra lightweight and very effective as a fighter jet. Although this jet isn't as advanced as an F-22 Raptor, it still gives India bragging rights for the production of an effective, lightweight jet.

      The Tejas jet is finally ready for production in India. This jet will replace India's aging Mig-21's and F-16's. This time, the jets will be their own creations, they will know how to fix them, maintain them and upgrade them for the future without depending on another country for assistance. India's new Tejas jet will fly them into the future of aviation.

Dassault's New X8 Falcon

      When you think of a privately owned jet, you probably think of about 3 names in the game, the Learjet, Bombardier, and Dassault. For wealthy people all around the world, the choice of brand can be a tough one and the jets are all very similar. For people wanting to chose a jet, they look at cost, effectiveness, and range. The new Dassault X8, the 3 engined private is one of the fastest, most technological aircraft of today.

Dassault X8 Test Flight

; The new Dassault X8 has the longest range of flight of all the Dassault line jets in production. The new Falcon X8 can fly more than 6,450 nautical miles on one tank of fuel. This range of fuel makes the X8 far more tempting to wealthy people who need to go International. Most private jets have to island hop across the ocean which takes much more time and money. The Dassault can make it across the ocean in one trip. 

         The Dassault X8 is very expensive. At about $46 Million starting price, the Falcon is for the elite. Although the X8 costs far more than most other competitors, people who have the money and need to travel international, might consider this new jet.