July 2008 Archives

The Rocket Racing League descended on Oshkosh today (29th July) to launch their unique brand of aerospace sport. Unlike the Aerobatics of Red Bull, these machines are built to race each other at the same time, blending racing and rocketry to create a planned NASCAR style league.

They are due to fly again at Oshkosh on Friday and Saturday, but below are some exclusive video and images of what these machines can do,Plus we have an exclusive interview with the CEO of Rocket Racing,Granger Whitelaw:

 

Seems AirAsia isn't prepared to let the new Emirates A380 model at London Heathrow steal all the glory. These pictures show a 12.5m-long replica of one of its A320s, 9M-AFF, being hoisted into position above the AirAsia Academy in Kuala Lumpur.

 

It's the same scale, one-third, as the Emirates model, although much lighter at 1.5 tonnes. AirAsia says it's being installed as part of an expansion for the academy which will have a new look in August.

 

 

 

Multiflight is offering to transport horse racing fans to a day at the races and arrive in style, using two luxurious Dauphin AS365 helicopters.

One of these helicopters is owned by Newcastle's striker Michael Owen.

 

 

Multiflight sold Michael the twin-engine Dauphin helicopter and it now maintains and operates the helicopter for the footballer under its air operators certificate. 

 

According to the company: "When he is not playing football, Michael uses the helicopter, flown by Multiflight pilots, to follow his own passion for horses and horse racing."

Based at Leeds Bradford International Airport, is offering helicopter transfers in the AS365 Dauphin to the 2008 Ebor Festival at York Racecourse: 19 August to 22 August, and to The Open at Cheltenham Racecourse: 14 November 16 November 16th, as well as to any other race meeting, event, or private function.

 

Flight's defence editor Craig Hoyle asks C-17 pilot Austin Smith to take him round the C-17 on static display at this year's Farnborough.

 

 

 

This video shows the Fanwing unmanned air vehicle flying on the practice day at the ParcAberporth Unmanned Systems 2008 event. Fanwing uses a bladed rotor turning on a horizontal axis that acts like a thick, high-lift wing, giving it a short take-off capability. There is also a vertical take-off version being developed. Fanwing was on static display at the Farnborough International Air Show but did not fly.

credit: Sikorsky

This is a concept image of an unmanned air vehicle version of Sikorsky's X2 counter-rotating coaxial rotorcraft X2. Click through for more of Sikorsky's concept images of applications for the X2 and click on every image to see a larger version in the same browser window

The Flight team have been somewhat perplexed this week by Bombardier's marketing attempts to portray themselves as environmentally aware. 

Although we applaud the concept, the inevitable word association of rubbish = Bombardier is something i am not sure they were looking for.

The world of aviation can be a far from ordinary. From planes crashing into trees, to firing fat flight attendants, the world of aviation can be a most peculiar place, as these examples demonstrate.

 

By Harry Schneider

 

 

It won't please everyone, particularly those aficionados of the BAC-Aerospatiale Concorde, but this is the new Emirates A380 gateway model under construction at London Heathrow Airport.

 

The model, built by California-based Penwal Industries, arrived in an Antonov An-124 freighter operated by Russia's Polet in early July. The missing 'm' and 't' from the 'Emirates' logo (these letters will be added later) mark the location where the nose section joins the fuselage barrel - a join which, to me, looks like it needs to be straightened.

 

Once completed - the engines still need attaching - the aircraft will occupy the prominent position north of runway 09L/27R which, for several years, was the site of a one-third scale British Airways Concorde model before the carrier chose to withdraw the advertising budget, and Emirates decided to move in.

 

Emirates will take delivery of its first A380 on 28 July, an event which Flight will be covering from Hamburg and Dubai. It will put the aircraft into service on 1 August. The model will be 'operational' once it is formally unveiled on 23 July.

 

 

I am at RIAT, the world's largest military aviation show, experiencing first hand the true spirit of this small isle of ours. Firstly, we had the pomp and cereiAmony, courtesy of the Queen being presented the new Queen's Colours by the RAF.

 

That was quickly followed, but equally expected after a dark shadow appeared over us, by an absolute downpour that we are still experiencing now.

We are just hoping to get some kind of display before we have to brave the sodden ground and try and find the car.

 

The BBC has obtained dramatic footage of a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter, that successfully airlifted a broken down RAF Sea King helicopter in Snowdonia, in North Wales on Sunday.

 

The Sea King helicopter was on its way to help a man suffering from liver damage, which was received from a fall on Saturday, but had to land at Nant Peris near Llanberis because of technical problems. The standby aircraft was deployed and reached the man in time, and flew him to Ysbyty Gwynedd where he was treated for his injuries. 

Local resident Jenny Parry told the Daily Post about the event: "I was in my kitchen and I heard a loud noise from above. I went outside and couldn't believe what I saw.

"It really didn't look safe, the blades had been removed from the smaller helicopter and were being lifted by the black one - it looked like the cable could have snapped at any time." 

"The Sea King just seemed to be dangling there as it traveled sideways against the wind - it really was a scary sight." 

The RAF's Flight Lieutenant Giles Ratcliffe described it as "a fairly simple pickup... Rescue 122 was scrambled to assist an injured walker on Snowdonia...

During the rescue the crew had to make an unscheduled landing due to a technical problem. The second standby helicopter from Valley was then scrambled and, together with Llanberis MRT, completed the rescue."