The events currently unfolding in the Middle East as the people protests, fanned by social media, has profound implications for the region – which as yet are still unclear. Autocratic regimes, their rule, formerly seeming strong, are now either under siege or facing major challenges. But what are the implications for aviation?

After a barren few years, PC flight simulation in 2011 is set to be a bumper year with two major franchises returning and other exciting releases.

On 1 February the Flight Test Group Evening Lecture was given by Captain Frank Santoni - Chief Test Pilot, Commercial Airplanes, Boeing on the 787 and 747-8. A former naval aviator, Captain Santoni now heads the civil aircraft test pilot group at Boeing and, as was described in his introduction during the lecture, “is rated to fly anything with a 7 on the end of it.”

We took the opportunity to ask Captain Santoni about the 787 test schedule, his day-to-day job and the challenges of glass cockpit airliners.

A full report as the UK’s Joint Helicopter Command hones its edge in pre-deployment exercises for Afghanistan - and how the latest training can help replicate the complex and difficult decisions faced in theatre.

With the aviation industry now moving out of survival mode, the environment is now firmly back on the agenda for decision makers. TIM ROBINSON reports from the first Imperial College Aviation Forum held on 6 January.