October 2010 Archives

AgustaWestland's second AW159 utility helicopter has made its flight debut in support of the British Army/UK Royal Navy Lynx Wildcat programme. The aircraft - dubbed TI2 - underwent general handling checks on its debut, and "performed as expected", the company says.

Achieved at its Yeovil site in Somerset on 14 October, the event should be followed by the end of the month with the addition of the last aircraft from a three-strong test fleet. These should log a combined 600 flight hours, AgustaWestland says, with aircraft TI2 to be dedicated to testing the AW159's avionics equipment. Continue reading...

India has completed a successful test flight of the Rustom 1, a new indigenous unmanned air vehicle.

Developed by India's Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Rustom 1 flew for 12min, despite "inclement weather". The test flight took place at a general aviation airfield in Hosur near Bangalore. Continue reading...

Building on the record-breaking X2 demonstrator, Sikorsky has launched the S-97 Raider programme to fly and test a high-speed scout and attack helicopter.

The coaxial-rotor, compound helicopter, scheduled to complete first flight within 50 months, will carry weapons and troops like the Russian Mil Mi-24, but fly faster than 200kt (370km/h) in cruise, and 220kt in dash mode, Sikorsky says. Continue reading...

Cameron singled out the RAF's long-delayed Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft (below) programme for individual criticism, noting that its cost has doubled despite planned airframe numbers having been cut from 21 to nine. He scrapped the acquisition, despite more than £3 billion ($4.7 billion) having already being spent. Continue reading our analysis of the winners and losers of the UK's defence review...

This week Flightglobal publication Flight International reports the show news from last week's National Business Aviation Association show where NetJets' mega order for up to 125 Phenom 300s indicate the biz aviation sector is pointing the way to recovery. There's more NBAA news here. The cover photograph shows a Phenom 300 at the NBAA static display park. The photo was taken by Liam Ritson of BillyPix.

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user mjc772 (Mike Chalmers). Mike calls his photo "Wild Things" after the three tail finds depicted on Frontier Airbus jets. In April parent company Republic Airways announced Frontier would be the surviving brand for Republic's operations, thus ending the Midwest Airlines name.

Mike says he's flown into Denver "quite a few times...and often admired the wildlife themed tailfins sported by Frontier Airlines' fleet of A3230s - in keeping with their base in the Rocky Mountains." He took this photo on 25 May.

Editor's note: You--yes, you!--can submit photos to have one featured as our Image of the Week (see below). From now until 1 December you can also submit photos for our front cover competition.

Air Ambulance Worldwide has become the first operator in the USA to use a Piaggio P180 Avanti II for medical evacuation missions. The air ambulance-configured twin turboprop - which is based in Palm Harbor, Florida - is used to transport patients to hospitals or other care facilities across the USA and beyond.

"The unobstructed space available within the P180 stand-up cabin and the very low ambient noise levels of the aircraft, were key factors in Air Ambulance Worldwide's decision to purchase the aircraft," says Piaggio. Original article here

Piper has reinvented its first jet-powered offering with the Altaire, a larger, sleeker evolution of the single-engined PiperJet that is now scalable and directed at the business sector as well as the owner/operator market.

While the all-metal proof-of-concept aircraft was anchored on the rectangular Meridian turboprop fuselage with a 122cm (48in) spacer, the Altaire will feature a circular cross-section fuselage that is larger but with the same four-passenger club seat arrangement (below), says Randy Groom, Piper executive vice-president. Continue reading...

On the eve of this year's National Business Aviation Association General Meeting & Convention (which we covered at our dedicate show site here) BAE announced it had placed two more Avro Business Jets (ABJ) in service, bringing the number of ABJs in service or conversion to 24 worldwide.

BAE says one of the newest operators is Casino Rodos, part of Queenco Leisure International, which develops and operates casinos primarily in Greece and Romania. Its jet is a converted BAe 146-200 and seats up to 34 passengers with two Club-2 seats at the front, two divans and four Club-4 seats in the centre and two rows of four-abreast first-class seating at the rear. The aircraft is operated on behalf by Alfa Air of Bucharest, Romania and is available for executive charter and company shuttle operations for third parties.

Here are some pictures below, courtesy of BAE:

AirSpace user Slider captured this photo of a Gulfstream G650 parked on the static display at this year's NBAA show, currently underway in Atlanta. Earlier today the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil, ANAC) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) granted certification for the G650.

The G650 can fly up to 3,900nm with four passengers, enough range to fly from Dubai to London or Singapore, London to New York, Miami to Sao Paulo, and Singapore to Sydney. (All good party cities to hear the G6's own techno song.)

You can follow all the news, interactive daily magazines, videos, photographs, Tweets and more here at our dedicated site.

This week Flightglobal publication Flight International looks at Virgin Galactic's suborbital space tourism programme now that the enterprise has gone where no commerical craft has gone before: VSS Enterprise was dropped from 45,000 feet and successfully glided back to Mojave Air and Space port. That flight is featured on our cover, photographed by Virgin Galactic.

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user haunconnor51 (Shaun Connor). His photo depicts RAF Hercules C4 ZH872 in the Derwent Valley in Derbyshire.

Shaun says the Derwent Valley has historical significance for the Royal Air Force as it was the valley where the 617 Squadron carried out some of their training for the famous "Dambusters" raid in World War Two.

Shaun adds:

 

The Derwent Valley is in Low Flying Area 8. This LFA is not used as much as the main low flying areas in Wales, Lake District and Scotland. I had no idea the Hercules was going to present itself for a photograph, but every time I go walking in that valley I do go prepared with camera in the rucksack (Canon EOS 50D with 300mm f4 IS and 1.4 extender fitted). That day I got lucky! 

 

This Hercules is based with the rest of the RAF Hercules fleet at RAF Lyneham. It appears to have a number of modifications from the standard C4, suggesting it can be used for Special Forces operations.

Pratt & Whitney Canada has christened its new global flight-test operations centre at Montreal Mirabel International airport. A first phase of development is designed to support testing for engines with up to 90,000lb of thrust (400kN).

The centre houses two Boeing 747SPs (one of which is below) that are now flying testbeds to simulate flight conditions and collect data. Phase two, scheduled for completion in spring 2011, includes construction of a highly advanced assembly and test facility to support the PW1534G powering the Bombardier CSeries and the PW800 featured on the next generation of large business jets. Continue reading...

India's first US-built military transport has made its debut flight, with the Lockheed Martin C-130J having taken to the air from Marietta, Georgia on 4 October.

The first of six stretched-fuselage Hercules on order for the Indian air force, aircraft KC-3801 will be followed by two more examples getting airborne "within the next few weeks", Lockheed says. Continue reading...

British Airways has repainted one of its Boeing 757-200s in a retro livery, dating back 27 years, to mark the retirement of the type from its fleet this month.

Today's image of the day is one of the 23 finalist photos in the RAF's annual photo competition.

SAC Andrew Seaward - RAF Coningsby received a Highly Commended award for his photo of an 11 Squadron Typhoon from Royal Air Force Coningsby accelerating and climbing rapidly during a training sortie.

In recent Eurofighter Typhoon news, the RAF will soon establish a Typhoon base at Leuchars air base in Scotland. The Typhoon also made an appearance at t Poland's International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, with the Typhoon being promoted as a potential replacement for the nation's RSK MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-22M4 strike aircraft.

You can view all of the competition photos here.

Then-Gulfstream president Bill Boisture shocked a sombre and anxious convention of the National Business Aviation Association in 2002, an event that coincided with the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the USA.

It was a time of great uncertainty in the business jet market, yet Gulfstream boldly announced a dramatic shake-up.

A company that had been known until only a decade earlier as a strictly one-product business would field a family of seven aircraft, with its signature Roman-style product numbering surprisingly rebranded into a new series of three-digit categories.

Thus, the ultra-long-range (6,755nm/ 12,500km) GV-SP became the G550. The long-range (4,100nm) GIV-SP was renamed the G400. Two new aircraft with lesser performance filled in gaps around these products and were introduced as the (5,785nm-range) G500 and (3,565nm-range) G300. Continue reading about the evolution of the Gulfstream family of business jets...

Below enjoy our exclusive cutaway of Gulfstream's in-production corporate aircraft. Click on the image for a larger version to look at the fine details.

This week Flightglobal publication Flight International has a preview for next week's NBAA business aviation convention in Atlanta. Our special scene-setter looks in depth at operators' experiences with the Embraer Phenom 100.

We test Cessna's latest Citation, the CJ4, analyse the Gulfstream jet family with the help of a cutaway poster, learn how to handle in-flight upsets and consider the attractions of fly-by-wire systems. We consider the promise of connectivity and our census reveals some harsh truths about the pace of recovery.

On the cover is Gulfstream's photograph of its G250 corporate jet.

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user GlennJ (Glenn Lewington). His photo depicts a South African Airways A340-600 departing Jo'burg at night. Glenn reports he took the photo with a Nikon D80 and 230mm lens south of Jo'burg approaching the international airport in the eastern part of the city.

Glenn adds:

The pic was a "a good timing shot" as she ws very silent and hardly notice her till she was above me, so it was a hope for the best shot. I was hiking it out south of Johannesburg when she came overhead, the flightpath sometimes shifts south. I forgot all about nature and aimed quickly as she was moving fast. The timing was so quick, I hardly had time to play with settings. Was amazed at the result, particulary her tailn winglet and strobem she is one of nine in the fleet and are less than six years old. She joined the -200 and -300 along with A319s. A complete 320 fleet will phase out the 738s in two years and the -200s will be returned for 6 A330-200s next year sadly our 60 year boeing allegiance is over. The last two jumbos, a dash two hundred and SP are in the ground museum.

Singapore has confirmed that it will buy 12 Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced jet trainers (below) for delivery from 2012.

Boeing will supply the training system, while Singapore Technologies Aerospace has been authorised to purchase the aircraft and manage the entire AJT programme on behalf of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Continue reading...

Poland's first modernised PZL-130 Orlik trainer was unveiled (below) at the PZL Warszawa - Okecie facility of Airbus Military on 22 September.

Dubbed the Orlik TC-II, the aircraft features a Pratt & Whitney PT6-25C engine, which replaces its original Walter M601T, plus new wings, Garmin avionics and rearranged cockpit instruments. Continue reading...

Boeing's proposed KC-767 NewGen Tanker (below) for the US Air Force incorporates the wing and fuselage from the 767-200, the cargo door and floor from the 767-300F and the cockpit from the 767-400ER.

The offering, which is currently being evaluated by the USAF along with the EADS North America KC-45 for an initial 179-aircraft requirement, will also feature a new boom. NewGen Tanker programme manager Jean Chamberlin says the new boom will have "a wider envelope than the KC-10 and is fully digitalised". She declines to provide more details for proprietary reasons but says it will "absolutely" be developed in time for initial operating capability in 2017. Continue reading...

Russian state airline GTK Rossiya, the only current user of the Antonov An-148 regional airliner (below), has criticised the aircraft's reliability as unacceptable and listed a string of problems including door locks, engine and APU failures.

The reliability of the An-148 cannot guarantee a sufficient level of in-flight safety, Rossiya said in a Moscow presentation on the programme. Continue reading...

This week Flightglobal publication Flight International asks that since there is little doubt that incidents such as this year's volcanic eruption will happen again, is enough being done to avoid another airspace shutdown?

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user berniec. His photo depicts a Dutch Air Force F16 banking after a fast flypast at RIAT 2010.

You get this HLX.com 737-800, captured by EPS.

Space Shuttle Discovery has safely reached the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in anticipation of its final launch before retirement. A Terminal Countdown Demonstration dress rehearsal is scheduled for 12-15 October, before mission STS-133 lifts off on 1 November. Continue reading...

Libyan flag carrier Libayn Airlines has modified its relatively new livery with simplified titles and a tail design change. Here's the new livery seen on A320-214 F-WWBX/5A-LAH on 14 Sept at TLS during an acceptance flight. (Photo courtesy of ESP.)

And here's the original new livery, photographed by AirSpace photographer Eclipse: