• Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is not impressed by the design of the latest and greatest Boeing narrowbody, saying calling the 737 MAX a “dog’s dinner of a design” that the airframer had drawn “on the back of a fag packet as a response to the [Airbus A320] Neo”. [Flightglobal]
• Boeing’s most recent development programs have been plagued by delays, but the CEO of 737 MAX launch customer Southwest Airlines thinks the manufacturer could actually deliver the MAX early. [MarketWatch]
• A very rare glimpse inside the US Air Force U-2 operations at Osan Air Base in South Korea. [Associated Press, via Washington Post]
• Testing the icing properties of a 737-200 hush kit doesn’t sound all that interesting, until you see how they do it. [Alligator Inc.]
• A brief history of the parachute in honor of the 100th anniversary of the first successful parachute jump from an airplane. [Popular Mechanics]
• Albert Seifert, a Boeing machinist who started his career working on the B-17 Flying Fortress and worked at the company for seven decades, has passed away at the age of 91. [Seattle PI]
• TSA agents at Sacramento International Airport left a walk-through metal detector unmanned for a period this past Saturday, allowing five passengers through without screening, forcing the shutdown of the whole terminal. [Los Angeles Times]
• Chinese airlines are looking to recruit American pilots. [KNTV]
• For the first time ever, a US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft landed on a Navy cargo ship, loaded up a few pallets of supplies, and took off, during an at-sea exercise. [US Navy]
• Check out GE’s new cold-weather jet engine testing facility in Winnipeg. [Flightglobal]