January 2011 Archives

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user TripleDelta (Boran Pivcic). His photo depicts an Aeroflot Il-96-300 departing Salzburg, Austria on 9 January 2011.

Boran's photo "features one of the day's two Aeroflot Il-96-300 ski charters flying to and from Moscow Sheremetyevo. This specific aircraft, registered RA-96008, is only the fifth production-standard Il-96 - and the eighth of the type - built, and is seen after a brisk takeoff from RWY 16."

Today's image of the day comes from AirSpace photographer Xnir. His photo depicts an Israeli air force F-15D.

In F-15 news, the Israeli air force is to enhance an upgrade programme to its Boeing F-15 "Baz" strike aircraft to include its oldest A/B-model aircraft. One prototype has already been completed and will serve to accelerate the series upgrade. Read more...

AirSpace photographer Nicolas.H captured this photo of a Blue Islands ATR 42 taking off from runway 27 at Jersey (Channel Islands) Airport (JER / EGJJ) in the UK.

The ATR 42 is a 42-seat capacity jet from commercial aircraft from manufacturer ATR who also has a 72-seat version, the ATR 72. Although the manufacturer is convinced that 30% of the demand for 3,000 turboprops over the next 20 years will be for larger aircraft, it is waiting for a "convergent" solution to extend its family to the 90-seat sector.

Chief executive Filippo Bagnato believes that the technology "bricks" are already in place at engine manufacturers Pratt & Whitney and General Electric to develop a family of powerplants to succeed the PW127. Read more...

With work to scrap the UK's BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft having started at the company's Woodford site in Cheshire earlier this week, widespread criticism of the decision has mounted.

BBC footage aired on 25 January showed sections of at least three airframes being destroyed using an excavator and highlighted the coalition government's stark decision to cancel the MRA4 programme, despite past investment worth more than £4 billion ($6.38 billion).

 

A BAE representative of the Unite union at Woodford described the procedure as an act of "barbaric vandalism". Continue reading..

• Flightglobal and wider web content about the Nimrod aircraft 
• Saying goodbye to the mighty hunter

 Picture credit: PA Photos

Morocco's first four Beechcraft T-6C trainers departed the manufacturer's Wichita site in Kansas on 14 January for their delivery to the African nation.

Each flown by two Hawker Beechcraft pilots, the aircraft were transferred carrying their Royal Moroccan Air Force markings. The nation - the first to have acquired the T-6C - will eventually receive 24 of the type under a September 2009 contract worth more than $185 million. Read more...

Here's an artist's impression, from Boeing, of what American Airlines' newly-ordered 777-300ERs will look like.

American says it  plans to use its 777-300ERs to grow operations in slot-constrained airports and serve new long-haul markets. Read more...

By Dan Thisdell

In any business it's wise to follow the money, but the good people at Dassault Falcon business jets must be on to a particular winner, having sent a dedicated team to Zurich airport to provide customer support during the World Economic Forum at Davos. Dassault, whose Falcon range stretches from the 2000LX to the super long-range, three-engine 7X, reckon the world leaders' confab will lead to an influx of approximately 350 business jets, including over 60 Falcons.

The Zurich operation is being supported by Dassault's three Swiss service centres, and spare parts are just three hours away from its Paris-Le Bourget distribution centre.

Dassault Falcon will also provide support for other world events this year such as the Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, Texas as well as the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

As the Association of the US Army (AUSA) hosted an annual aviation symposium on 13-14 January, army aviation leaders bluntly called attention to the branch's future predicament.

Col Randolph Rotte, aviation division chief on the army's headquarters staff, issued a call for immediate action. There is currently no strategy to replace the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, one of which is seen below operating in Afghanistan, as well as Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64D Apache. Read more...

Here's an artist's impression of a Thomas Cook A321 with Sharklets. The carrier yesterday firmed up a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 12 A321s. Read more...

Mexican carrier Interjet's order for 15 firm and 5 option Sukhoi Superjet 100s is the inspiration for this week's cover of Flight International. Flightglobal artist Tim Bicheno-Brown modified a Sukhoi-supplied photograph to depict that the Superjet 100 will look like in Interjet's livery.

Also featured this week are:

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user UASman (Benjamin M. Trapnell, Associate Professor, Director UAS Technology Integration and Education at the JDO School of Aerospace Sciences).

His photo is a composite of a Insitu Scan Eagle's launch sequence. The launch was in support of flood relief efforts in Oslo, Minnesota.  The UAV was flown by the University of North Dakota.

Ben writes: "Each spring, when the Red River thaws, the town of Oslo gets surrounded by high water, effectively preventing people from the town from leaving unless they use a boat.  Ice jams along the river make the effect more sever depending upon where the jam is and how severe it is.  The Scan Eagle was used to provide visual information to entities charged with flood monitoring/fighting efforts and to keep local law enforcement apprised of the situation.  The effort was funded through a research project sponsored by the Air Force through the Joint UAS Center of Excellence. (In support of Defense Support of Civil Authority). The gentleman launching the aircraft is Mark Hastings, the UAS Flight Lead at the University of North Dakota."

There's more info here.

Gulfstream says its test pilots and engineers invoked a "safe mode" control actuation system on a G650 prototype for more than 2h on 21 December, demonstrating the viability of the electrically powered backup technology. Continue reading....

Airbus has indicated a schedule slip for A350 development, no longer identifying the third quarter of 2011 as the date for commencing final assembly, instead stating only that it will begin before the end of the year. Continue reading...

On AirSpace, user flyvertoset posted this image of a Globemaster III at sunset at Canadian Forces Base Trenton (CFB Trenton) on the tarmac while the sun sets

Photo source: Canadian Department of National Defence

flyertosset's bio

flyertosset's image gallery

The US Airways Airbus A320 Flight 1549 ditched into the Hudson River west of New York City after a departure from LaGuardia Airport in the afternoon of 15 January 2009.

The aircraft is currently on its way to being a permanent feature Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Read John Croft's article....

 

 

Airbus has released these two images as its A400M begins fatigue testing in Dresden, Germany.

Airbus says the test airframe, MSN5001, will be "subjected to a punishing regime of loads, 24 hours per day, for an initial four weeks, eventually simulating 160 flights per day."

"The first 1,665 simulated flights are required for European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification of the A400M, but over the next 18 months a total of 25,000 simulated flights will be performed - equating to 2.5 times the A400M's design-life. Static testing of another A400M test airframe, MSN5000 was completed in Madrid in September 2010. That airframe continues to be used for further fatigue tests of composite structures which will last until early 2012."

Pilots of the governmental Tupolev Tu-154 which crashed in Russia killing Polish president Lech Kaczynski were mentally pressured by the presence of senior officials into attempting the fatal landing, Russian investigators have concluded. Continue reading...

Read David Learmount's Global airline accident and safety review for 2010  

Virgin America will become the launch customer after committing to 30 of Airbus's re-engined A320neo (new engine option)," says Airbus, although it says no engine selection has been made.

Virgin America chief executive David Cush disclosed the agreement yesterday in Toulouse.

It covers 60 A320 aircraft in total, 30 of which are the A320neo.

In December 2010 Airbus launched the A320neo for entry into service in 2016.

Airlines will have a choice between the CFM International LEAP-X and Pratt & Whitney's PurePower PW1100G powerplants.

The A320neo will also incorporate "sharklet" wing-tips that help to save fuel, says the airframer.

"The A320neo will not only deliver significant fuel savings of up to 15%, which represents up to 3,600t of CO2 savings annually per A320neo. In addition, A320neo customers will benefit from a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions, reduced engine noise, lower operating costs and up to 500nm (950 km) more range or two tonnes more payload," adds the EADS subsidiary.

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user chowchow (Martin Thompson). His photo depicts a Kulula 737 on approach to Jo'burg's OR Tambo airport.

Our correspondent Tolga Ozbek spotted in the new Turkish air force calendar this rare image (scanned, below) of one of the air force's McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms (they call the upgraded model the F-4E 2020 Terminator, defence editor Craig Hoyle says) carrying two Rafael AGM-142 Popeye air-to-surface missiles.

The eleventh Lockheed Martin F-35 flight-test aircraft is expected to begin taxi trials during the week of 10 January ahead of first flight as the $380 billion programme faces the consequences of the most sweeping government review to date.

The maiden sortie of the BF-5, the last of five short take-off and vertical landing jets in the flight-test fleet, follows the 30 December first flight by the AF-4 conventional take-off and landing variant (below). Read more...

Here's a photo of a Brazilian DC-10 being scrapped in France at Chateauroux, who also took the photo.

We're looking at scrapyards and how aviation can better manage the waste from scrapped jetliners.

The Italian air force's first two T-346A advanced jet trainers (below) were rolled out at Alenia Aermacchi's Venegono plant in December, ahead of their planned delivery to the service's Test Wing at Pratica di Mare air base by mid-April. Read more...

Here's an AOM DC-10 being scrapped in France at Chateauroux, who took the photo. This week in our publication Flight International we're looking at how airlines can better manage scrapyard waste.

Here's our artist's impression of the J-20 that may be China's fifth-generation fighter. Read here for more details on the jet.

A scene uncommon at airports but frequent at scrapyards--a DC-10 nose upright--is on the cover of this week's Flight International magazine for our feature article: aviation under pressure to reduce landfill waste from scrapped airliners. The DC-10 is seen as Chateauroux Air Centre in France and photographed by the scrapyard.

Also featured this week are:

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user flyer1 (Martin Dighton). His photo depicts a RAF RAF Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon FGR4 ZJ923 [cn.0075/BS014] and a RAF Supermarine 389 Spitfire PR19 [cn.65/585121] at the Battle of Britain Airshow at Biggin Hill last 27 June.

"The sun was just breaking through the cloud as the pair banked and began to climb," Martin says.

Airbus concluded the 2010 A400M test year with four aircraft in testing (the latest first flew on 21 December, below, photos by Airbus) accumulating over 1,000 hours of testing.

Southwest Airlines plans to officially start using wide-scale required navigation performance on 11 January on its 737 fleet (a -700 variant is seen below).

RNP allows aircraft to fly more direct and precise paths to cut flight time and fuel consumption. It also enables the use of localiser performance with vertical guidance procedures that require fewer ground-based instrument landing aids, which gives increased access to airports, particularly in low-visibility conditions.

Chief operating officer Mike Van de Ven told investors: "If we can save literally three minutes of flight, we will have, depending on the price of fuel, $25 million, $30 million, $40 million worth of fuel-burn benefits." Read more...

See before & after photos of a Southwest 737 RNP-equipped cockpit here.

Although the RTA-70 (regional transport aircraft-70) was originally envisaged as a 70- to 90-seat turboprop, the Indian government asked National Aerospace Laboratories to investigate the use of turbofans. NAL is studying the two options, and will report to the government in April 2011, after which a decision will be made. Read more...

Three Rivet Joints (one of which is seen below, photography by Craig Hoyle) will enter RAF service from 2014 under what the DE&S has described as "the most complex combined Foreign Military Sales case and cooperative support arrangement that the UK has undertaken with the USAF since World War Two." The acquisition, which survived the nation's recent Strategic Defence and Security Review process, will involve three stored KC-135 tankers being converted to the RC-135W standard by L-3 Communications.

The DE&S says the UK's new assets - which will be dubbed Air Seekers - "will be supported, maintained and upgraded as part of a larger UK/US fleet of 20 aircraft". The USAF currently operates 22 RC-135-series aircraft, as listed in Flightglobal's MiliCAS database.

Read more...

Today's image comes from Boeing and depicts a Lion Air 737-900ER in the manufacturer's house ("Dreamliner") livery.

In related 737 news, as Boeing weighs taking production rates of the popular 737 beyond the 38 per month officials have announced, to 42 a month (41 for the commercial 737 and one for the 737-based P-8A Poseidon), consideration is underway to boosting rates even more-to 50 per month, ATI and Flightglobal sister publication Commercial Aviation Online (CAO) has learned.

In a meeting with employees last month, Nicole Piasecki, vice president of Business Development & Strategic Integration, said that Boeing is prepared to move forward with a 737 re-engine or a new airplane, as well as proceed with further upgrades to the current Next Generation 737, but there are other considerations as well in making these program development decisions. Read more...

The third Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered 787 Dreamliner, photographed at Farnborough by Airline Business editor Max Kingsley-Jones, is on the cover of this week's Flight International magazine for our feature article: counting the cost of Boeing's tarnished dream.

Also featured this week are:

This week's Image of the Week (featured on page 3 of Flight International), is taken by AirSpace user commercial aviation. His photo depicts a Boeing 747 LCF Dreamlifter on final approach.