To celebrate 100 years of Flight International, we want to discover the "100 Greatest" in aviation; by determining the top twenty civil aircraft, military aircraft, engine, people & moments. Here the best civil aircraft is put forward! |
To celebrate 100 years of Flight, we want to discover the "100 Greatest" in aviation; by determining the top twenty civil aircraft, military aircraft, engine, people & moments. Here the best civil aircraft is put forward! |
There are several obvious answers to the question “what is the world’s greatest aircraft” and most of them are ruled by the heart rather than the head. So I thought I’d be a little controversial and apply logic, rather than passion, to my nomination.
Here's some video footage from the launch of Virgin Galactic unveiling its design.
If you’re Turkey's World Focus Airlines and you are going to rebrand your company to a name like ‘Ank Air’, you maybe should give the logo design a little more thought:
Can you think of anymore stupid rebranding exercises. Have your say on AirSpace
After last summer's furore surrounding Kyla Ebbert, scantily clad women became the hot topic for Southwest airlines. And now it has re-appeared for a wholly different reason.
So Airbus managed to overtake Boeing on gross orders, with an extraordinary 1,458 aircraft, but fell short with its net total of 1,341 – a result which Airbus sales supremo John Leahy described as a “diplomatic solution” when the airframer unveiled its much-anticipated 2007 figures in Toulouse last week.
Fair enough. But neither number matches the enigmatic ‘1,427’ which was said to have been spotted on a banner being readied for display at the Airbus Training Centre in Miami once the manufacturer had declared its hand to the world’s media. So what gives?
Enter a spokesman for the centre…who, it turns out, is just as baffled about the whole affair. “You’re the second person to ask me about this,” he says in bewilderment, explaining that he’s already denied all knowledge to a former member of the company’s North American communications team.
“There really is no such thing,” he says of the alleged banner, adding that he has no idea how the story evolved (although that’s easy – it started here, and was also picked up here).
“We didn’t know the numbers until we read about them in the press. We certainly didn’t have them beforehand,” he adds. “We’d have had our scalps taken if we’d put out a banner. We’d have been shot.”
Besides, he adds, the Miami centre simply handles the crew training and simulation side and doesn’t immerse itself in the annual orders scrap.
So there you go. If the banner ever existed, it’s vanished without trace. But then, since Miami is supposedly one of the three corners making up the Bermuda Triangle, unexplained disappearances are pretty much par for the course.
After yesterday's Heathrow incident there has been much conjecture regarding the role of the BA captain Peter Burkill in avoiding a fatal accident. He is about to give a press conference (4pm GMT) and i hope to update you with what he has to say as it happens:
Update 1: The press conference is already slightly delayed (very unlike BA) and the BBC News 24 anchor is filling in. Peter Burkill is due to be there, as is BA Chief Executive Willy Walsh.
Update 2: Peter Burkill gets a hero's welcome from BA staff as he appears for a photo call at BA headquarters.
Willy Walsh introduces the staff to the press
Peter Burkill:
"We are trained to deal with emergency situations...Flying is about teamwork and we had a fantastic team"
He carries on to praise his team individually for their efforts. Disappointingly, as this incident is still under investigation, he is not allowed to comment further on the incident.
Update 3: It is revealed that the Senior First Officer John Coward was the handling pilot on the final approach.
And that's it...very brief but with the investigation still ongoing it is understandable that no exact details of the final moments were discussed.
Passengers have been evacuated from a British Airways Boeing 777 after it was severely damaged while landing at London Heathrow.
More to follow...
Update: News story on the BA 777 incident at Heathrow is up and discussions are underway in Air Space.
Update 2: Journalists Richard Sambrook and Nick Robinson have been caught up in the delays at Heathrow and have posted about the crash on their blogs.
Newts have been causing a bit of a stir in Samlesbury, where aerospace giant BAE Systems are about to begin work on a £100 million business park which will include the development of four office blocks.
Has a sharp-eyed observer blown the gaff on Airbus’ 2007 order total, three days before the airframer’s surprise-party in Toulouse? It’s tempting to think so.
Buried on another aviation gossip site, a post refers to someone seen loitering in the car park at Miami Springs’ Airbus Training Centre with a large banner (the sort you’d probably splash out on if you wanted to engage in some transatlantic nose-thumbing) emblazoned with the number 1,427.
This figure would be consistent with EADS chief Louis Gallois’ hint that the final total would be very close to Boeing’s 1,413 – but would nevertheless push its US rival into second place.
Let’s indulge for a moment. Transferred A350s (plus the loss of A380F and old A340-600 orders) have resulted in an unusually high number of cancellations, and Airbus would surely face howls of derision if it dared to claim victory on the basis of gross orders and double-counting.
So let’s talk net. Subtracting the cancellations from Airbus’ end-November total gives a net figure of roughly 1,100. Which means Airbus would have had to land orders for some 330 aircraft in December to reach 1,427 net. My colleague Max Kingsley-Jones has already shown that it’s possible.
But there's another part to the Florida banner sighting which is equally intriguing:
…the number ‘53%’ in a green starburst next to the words ‘Widebody Market’...
This is where the speculation goes into overdrive. If it refers, for example, to net widebody orders then a 53% share would give Airbus some 639 against Boeing’s 567 – although that would require Airbus to have recorded around 250 widebodies in December, and wouldn't leave room for much more than 80 narrowbodies. And if it's talking about revenue share then the numbers are anybody's guess.
Airbus is due to declare its score on 16 January, the day before the alleged banner is due to be hoisted. Anyone out there still holding their breath?
Here is a video showing Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko onboard the International Space Station (ISS) toasting the New Year during a live broadcast on Ukrainian TV channel "1+1".
British Airways recently revealed the identity of the mysterious 'Lauren', whose name has been firmly attached to its new transatlantic carrier project, as the grand-daughter of the carrier's managing director Dale Moss.
It's not the first time British Airways has been a bit cloak-and-dagger about these things. Before Project Lauren, a well-informed contact told me today at the airline's annual New Year lunch in London, there was Project Paddington.
Project Paddington? A code-name for new Oneworld routes to darkest Peru? Not even close. Just BA's cover title for the sale of its BA Connect regional operation to Flybe last year. "Flybe's in Exeter and we're in London. So when the executives needed to discuss the sale they always met in the same place," she says. "Paddington station."
In this time of darkness and cold thoughts often wander to warmer climes, whether booking your summer holidays, or for the more impatient, shunning the gloves for the swimming shorts and immediately head to the Mediterranean.
One such travel company that has cleverly plaayed on this feeling is Dutch company X-travel, who have produced this funny animation of a Boeing 737 literally landing in the sea:
If only this could happen, i'll be on it tommorow...coupled with a dingy and some swimming trunks. Anything to get out of this cold!!
Here is a photograph of Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas Airport by Richard Rogers and Architects. It's the final picture in a slideshow showing a sample of works of art as part of at the top ten exhibitions around the world.
There has been some interesting discussions in the blogosphere today about the computer system of the Dreamliner, and if it can be hacked.
According to a Wired.com posting, an FAA report has indicated that the Dreamliner's computer network that allows wireless computer access to passengers is also connected to the plane's controls and navigation systems, thereby creating a massive potential security risk.
Do you pay attention to your air stewards during the safety demonstration before take-off? Or do you bury your head in your newspaper thinking "it won't happen to me!" Be honest now!
According to the New York Times, travel publishers are still trying to find a successful method of appealing to the mass travelling market.
This video footage taken by a passenger of a South African Airways
Boeing 737-700 shows the aircraft's left wing hitting a stationary utility truck and tipping it over while taxing on the apron shortly after arriving into
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