Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Boeing flew the latest ecoDemonstrator—an Etihad Airways 787-10—from Seattle to Glasgow, Montana, on Monday in preparation for two and a half weeks of environmental testing before flying to its customer’s base in Abu Dhabi. The airplane—a new-build example assembled at Boeing’s Dreamliner plant in Charleston, South Carolina—earlier this month arrived at the company’s Seattle facilities, where engineers fitted it with instrumentation in preparation for what a Boeing spokeswoman characterized as a speedy and focused test regime.

 


The program involves four main areas of environmental analysis. Airframe noise tests in partnership with NASA employs about 1,200 microphones attached to the outside of the aircraft and positioned on the ground. Efforts to mitigate landing gear noise involves a partnership with Safran Landing Systems. A flight during which pilots, air traffic controllers, and an airline's operations center will simultaneously share digital information to optimize routing efficiency and enhance safety by reducing workload and radio frequency congestion.&nbsp;Finally, a new cabin sanitizing system incorporates an ultraviolet light wand to combat Covid-19 and other pathogens.

 


Boeing plans to conduct test flights using a blend of sustainable alternative fuel (SAF).

 


Program partner Etihad, which operates one of the world’s largest Dreamliner fleets, took delivery in January of the 787 “Greenliner,” painted in a special blue-green livery to highlight its commitment to environmental advances. Using SAF derived from salt-water tolerant plants, Etihad flew the airplane on regularly scheduled “eco-flights” from Abu Dhabi. As part of that effort, Etihad cut more than 40 minutes from a flight from Abu Dhabi to Dublin using more efficient routing and descent procedures, reducing its CO2 emissions by three tons compared with more typical routing.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Latest Boeing ecoDemonstrator Flies to Montana for Trials

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Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

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News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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