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

The s<a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2013-10-14/second-a350-xwb-completes-first-flight">econd A350 XWB flight-test aircraft</a>, MSN3, has arrived in Bolivia to perform a series of tests at the high-altitude airfields of Cochabamba and La Paz. Cochabamba lies around 8,300 feet above sea level, and La Paz ranks as one of the world’s highest airports at 13,300 feet.


Flight test crews aim to demonstrate and validate the full functionality of engines, systems, materials as well as to assess the overall aircraft behavior under the extreme conditions.


Airbus plans a number of takeoffs with all engines operating and with simulated engine failures at each of the airfields to collect data on engine operating characteristics and validate the aircraft takeoff performance. It also plans to evaluate autopilot behavior during automatic landings and go-arounds.


Separately, Airbus last month performed the ultimate load test of the A350's wing, applying loads up to 1.5 times higher than those the aircraft would ever encounter in its entire in-service life. At ultimate load, the A350 XWB wingtip deflection exceeds five meters (16.4 feet). Airbus performed the test on an A350 static test airframe built specifically to demonstrate structural integrity. Engineers monitor strains induced into the airframe in real time using more than 10,000 measurement channels. They then analyze the data recorded and correlated it to structural computer models used to design the airframe.


Since the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/paris-air-show/2013-06-16/airbus-a350xwb-begins-flight-test-phase">A350 XWB’s first flight with MSN1 on June 14</a>, crews have logged more than 800 flight test hours during close to 200 flights by both MSN1 and MSN3. Plans call for five A350 XWB test aircraft to accumulate around 2,500 flight hours. Airbus expects to win certification of the A350-900 from the European EASA and U.S. FAA airworthiness authorities by this year’s fourth quarter.

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.

Airbus A350 XWB  in Bolivia for High-Altitude Testing

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News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

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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