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On our 100th episode of AvTalk, we’re joined by John Walton to learn about the complexity of transporting the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine and why there’s a run on dry ice. Plus, we look back at 2020 and try desperately to escape to 2021 as fast as we can.
Our last 737 MAX update of the year
2:22 GOL has put the 737 MAX back in to service. Aeromexico will follow suit next week and other airlines will conduct their first passenger flights before the year is out. Others are waiting until the first quarter of 2021. Transport Canada is set to approve the MAX for service early in the new year. We also look at 737 MAX orders and deliveries and Boeing’s new job listing for MAX pilots.
Mitsubishi effectively ends the SpaceJet program
15:15 Mitsubishi is cutting the workforce of the SpaceJet program 95%, effectively shuttering the aircraft’s development. We discuss how things got to where they are now and what possibilities lie ahead.
Doomsday Plane pirates plunder potential prize parts
21:03 Thieves were able to make off with equipment from the Russian government’s ‘Doomsday plane’ while it was undergoing maintenance. We scratch our heads and ponder the plundering.
Brrrrrrr — transporting the COVID-19 vaccine
24:43 John Walton joins us to discuss the challenges facing airlines and airports as they transport the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine and why things may be easier as new vaccines are developed and approved.
Notes as promised
- 2-8℃ = 35-46℉
- -20℃ = -4℉
- -80℃ = -112℉
*Rough calculations offer the weight of 1 Boeing 777F in bushels at 12,780 bushels.
The An-225 is warming up for action
49:18 Antonov Airlines announced last week that it will put the An-225—the world’s largest cargo aircraft—into service in the near future as demand for bulk cargo carriage remains high.
2020 year in review
1:03:32 We look back at all that has happened in 2020 besides the COVID-19-related destruction of the aviation industry. From the beginning of the year and the shoot down of Ukraine International Airlines PS752 in Tehran to British Airway’s subsonic record to a giant kangaroo, we recap the year that was.
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