Rick Shideler

Rick is a retired airline maintenance professional with over 40 years experience in commercial, corporate and military aviation sectors. Rick holds an FAA Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) and a FCC General RadioTelephone Licenses. Rick is a veteran of the United States Air Force and has served in multiple leadership positions including Director of Maintenance for a large corporate aviation firm, airline Director of Engineering and has chaired multiple aviation maintenance safety and reliability industry committees. Rick took his first airplane ride at six months old and became an airline geek shortly thereafter.

United Airlines to Employ FlightAware’s Predictive Data

FlightAware announced this week that it has partnered with United Airlines to integrate its Predictive Data Tool into the airline operations toolset. In a press release issued on Tuesday, FlightAware said the services and data it will provide to United will help decrease the instance of preventable delays, reduce missed passenger connections and help prevent […]

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Hong Kong Suspends Cathay Dragon, Air India Flights

Hong Kong has temporarily barred Cathay Dragon’s flights from Kuala Lumpur and all Air India flights from operating in the city after a number of passengers originating from India tested positive for COVID-19. Cathay Dragon acknowledged the temporary suspension in a press release on Sunday citing it was informed by the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) […]

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Opinion: Is History Repeating Itself?

As the airline industry grapples with the health and economic consequences of COVID-19, one might be tempted to look at how the world managed and recovered from the world’s last major pandemic, the Spanish Flu of 1918. The Spanish flu infected about 500 million people worldwide and claimed around 50 million lives—including about 675,000 Americans, […]

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FAA to Review 787 Quality Lapses

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to investigate several quality lapses during the manufacturing process of the Boeing 787, according to an internal FAA memo.  In the memo, dated Aug. 31 2020 and obtained by the Wall Street Journal, the agency is looking into structural quality issues with construction of the aft fuselage section […]

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The Whales in the Sky

Today, when you board a newly-built commercial aircraft like the A350 or B787, you are stepping onto an unprecedented global feat of engineering. There aren’t many other endeavors on such a grand scale and scope that draws upon the world’s engineers and manufacturers like a commercial aircraft does.  Building a large commercial passenger aircraft is […]

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Delta Air Lines COO Gil West to Retire in September

Delta Air Lines’ Chief Operating Officer Gil West announced his plans to retire from the company. The announcement was made public in an internal memo to employees from CEO Ed Bastian on Aug. 25. Considered the architect of the carrier’s operating performance excellence, West joined Delta in 2008 as the Senior Vice President of Airport […]

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