BATES – Richard L. 90, engineer and inventor, active in community clubs. August 24, 1926 – June 18, 2019, of Grand Island, passed away on June 18, 2019, a few months before turning 91. Born in Niagara Falls, he attended LaSalle High School and received a BS from Clarkson College and a Masters from Syracuse University in Engineering. He served with honor in the Blue Devils 88th Infantry Division in Italy. He was honorably discharged in 1948. Professionally, he worked as an engineer his entire career, initially at Bell Aircraft for 3 years and subsequently at General Electric in Syracuse for 29 years. In addition, Rich and a partner developed and patented the first electronic ski binding and the first digital SCUBA dive information system. An avid and accomplished skier well into his 70s, he served as president of the Niagara Ski Club. He also enjoyed boating and spent many hours with his family and friends on the water in both Canada and around Grand Island. A model plane enthusiast, he served as president of the Niagara Sunday Flyers club and remained an active member throughout his long life, enjoying flying model airplanes with his many friends at the club. He was an early adopter of computers and enjoyed tinkering with electronics and gadgets. In November 1955, he married the former Mary T. Hayes, who predeceased him in 2001. They enjoyed many happy years together in the Buffalo region, Syracuse, and at their summer cottage on Kamaniskeg Lake in Ontario.

Article source: https://buffalonews.com/2019/06/30/bates-richard-l/

Somon Air operates an all-Boeing fleet of 737s, but the airline’s board is unwilling to commit to re-fleeting with the MAX in the current climate.

Konstantin von Wedelstaedt

Tajjikistan’s Somon Air has dropped plans to lease a Boeing 737 MAX, blaming uncertainty about the timeline for its re-entry to service and shattered public confidence in the model.

“The MAX has been put on hold,” chief executive Thomas Hallam told me, referring to a contract for a single leased unit that Air Lease Corporation (ALC) had been due to place with Somon this year.

The unit in question was purchased by the lessor, so the lease cancelation will not affect Boeing’s orderbook.

However, it illustrates waning confidence in the MAX following two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that claimed 346 lives and led to a worldwide grounding of the new aircraft type. Boeing is widely perceived to have bungled its response to the crisis by downplaying the severity of problems with its flight control systems and pressuring America’s aviation regulator to keep the model flying even after the second crash.

Although Hallam believes that Boeing will fix the flawed MCAS system that likely caused both crashes, he said senior figures in Tajikistan have voiced concerns about inducting the MAX.

“There’s been an order from the board of directors to stop the order,” he confirmed.

“They’re just hearing things and none of it’s positive … I am not willing to go forward [with the MAX] until the aircraft is back in operation, until there’s some experience –

Article source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2019/06/29/boeing-loses-another-737-max-customer/

The society’s renewed agreement, which lasts through June 30, 2020, and the study were approved on a 5-2 vote, with Councilwomen Sandy Genis and Andrea Marr dissenting.

Article source: https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-cm-harbor-soaring-society-20190626-story.html