Flight International: Aircraft Archives

PICTURES: Dogfight screenshots from new Bond movie trailer

Click on the image here and in the extended entry for larger versions

This screenshot is from the new James Bond 007 movie Quantum of Solace teaser trailer that is to be officially launched on the internet at 1700h BST this evening. The movie is to be released worldwide on 7 November and this image shows Daniel Craig playing the British secret agent flying a Douglas DC-3 Dakota during the movie's aerial sequence. Click through to the extended portion for more images from the aerial sequence from the trailer

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Posted by Rob Coppinger on June 30, 2008 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sky Work blows its Q400 no-claims bonus

Well that didn't take long. Just a couple of months after Switzerland's Sky Work Airlines took delivery of its brand-new Bombardier Q400, it looks like it's been scuffed. Swiss aircraft accident investigation bureau BFU has been notified of a tail-strike yesterday involving HB-JGA during an approach to runway 14 at Bern. I don't speak German but I'll warrant that 'Heck stark beschädigt' means it's going to need a paint job.

Posted by David Kaminski-Morrow on June 23, 2008 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tour operator Cooks up a new jet

This isn't a compromise to settle the US Air Force tanker dispute but a curiosity being hosted on the booking engine of Thomas Cook Airlines. So hard to tell them apart these days.

Posted by David Kaminski-Morrow on June 22, 2008 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emirates A380 to 'arrive' at Heathrow in July

Last year we revealed that an Emirates A380 would be the new advertising tenant on London Heathrow's former 'Concorde' roundabout. And so it has come to pass - at least according to the San Bernadino Sun which says the model, put together by California's Penwal Industries, is to be delivered in early July.

It's one-third scale, which makes it about the size of a Bombardier CRJ, and the newspaper says it'll be designed in pieces to "fit inside an Antonov An-225". Whether the Ukrainian six-engined gargantua is the designated mode of transport to Heathrow hasn't yet been confirmed.

Posted by David Kaminski-Morrow on June 17, 2008 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

British Eagle DC-6 in plea for £10,000 to fly at ILA

The historic British Eagle DC-6 came alive again this week as it flew (in orginal 1963 livery) to ILA in Berlin, with the aim of tomorrow overflying the civilian Airlift terminus of Wunstorf and the former RAF Gatow before landing at the Airlift station.

But they now need financial help?

After months of exhaustive fundraising, the DC-6,G-APSA, operated by Air Atlantique, requires another £10,000 pounds today to be able to cover dry costs and be able to take part in the event as planned.

Julian Firth, Head of DC-6 operations at Air Atlantique, encapsulates what is at stake if they cannot make the required funding:

"we must (if the funding isn't reached) retire from this important engagement and miss the last opportunity to celebrate the important events of 1948-49 at the airfield which has become its spiritual home"

A new sponsor will benefit from media coverage, on site opportunities and the Flight seal of approval for keeping such an iconic aircraft in the air!

So if you have a spare £10,000 lying around, please contact the DC-6 team and offer your support!

Posted by Stuart on May 29, 2008 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Tupolev’s cryogenic Tu-155- 20 years on!

Twenty years ago, long before ‘biofuel’ became a marketing hook, the Soviet Union quietly flew for the first time a modified version of the Tupolev Tu-154B to demonstrate how aircraft could be powered with an alternative energy source.

Designated the Tu-155 the aircraft took to the air on 15 April 1988, its thrust partly generated using liquid hydrogen.

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Posted by David Kaminski-Morrow on April 25, 2008 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

MHI launches a new regional jet, the MRJ

It's been a busy week on flightglobal with news of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' (MHI) Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ).

(More images of the MRJ)

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Posted by Barbara Cockburn on March 28, 2008 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Douglas DC-3 Dakota to see action in Bond movie

The latest Eon Productions, Sony Pictures James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, is to feature a dog fight involving a Douglas DC-3 Dakota.

In a behind-the-scenes video in the media section of the film's website the Dakota is seen taxiing, taking off and flying at low altitude.

The aircraft has been filmed in California using "spacecam" cameras onboard helicopters and what is either a nose-camera modified Aerostar aircraft corporation Super 700 or Superstar 700.

During the video Eon Production's producer Michael G. Wilson said: "We’re down here filming the aerial sequence. We’ve had them throughout the career of the Bond films, but this one we wanted to kind of have a retro dogfight. These are propeller-driven planes, not jet planes. It’s the type of plane that drugrunners would have so it fits the location."

The second propeller driven aircraft maybe the SF-260, produced by Finmeccanica company Alenia Aermachhi.

credit: Finmeccanica

In this article on Bond news website commanderbond.net the aircraft is identified as a Marchetti jet trainer.

But this report could be confusing the SF-260, manufactured today by Alenia Aermachhi, with the Alenia Aermachhi MB-339.

While both are referred to as Marchetti aircraft on the internet, the Savoia-Marchetti Italian aircraft company produced the SF-260 but not the MB-399.

The pilot qouted in the commanderbond.net article owns the California and Arizona based-Planes of Fame air museum. Enquiries at Planes of Fame by Flightglobal have not been answered.

Posted by Rob Coppinger on March 25, 2008 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Air Accidents Investigation unveil Heathrow BA Boeing 777 interim crash report

The AAIB have today released another report on the Heathrow BA Boeing crash.

Here is some analysis from Unusual Attitude and a review of the report by David Learmount.

Some points from the report:

No indications of any pre-existing problems with any of the aircraft systems.
Examination of the engines indicated no evidence of a mechanical defect or ingestion of birds or ice.
Data, downloaded from the Electronic Engine Controllers (EECs) and the QAR, revealed no anomalies with the control system operation.
fuel conforms to Jet A-1 specifications and that there were no signs of contamination or unusual levels of water content.

The investigations will continue to attempt to replicate the damage to the engine fuel pumps to try and match it to the data recorded in the accident.

Posted by Stuart on February 18, 2008 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Breaking: BA 777 severely damaged in Heathrow emergency landing

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.

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Posted by Stuart on January 17, 2008 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Can the Boeing 787 computer system be hacked or is it much ado about nothing?

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.

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Posted by Stuart on January 7, 2008 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

How to build a 737 in 2 minutes

Here's a video of an EgyptAir 737-800 being built from scratch. It shows the parts departing from Boeing Field in Seattle on a ferry flight to its home operating base in Cairo.

Continue reading "How to build a 737 in 2 minutes" »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on December 21, 2007 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Flying an Air Atlantique Douglas DC-6

Ever wondered what it felt like to pilot a Douglas DC-6? Following the news that Air Atlantique is planning to put one of its Douglas DC-6s on the UK and European air show circuit next year, Safety and Operations editor and former pilot David Learmount has shared his experiences of when he flew Air Atlantique G-SIXC in 1993.

© Paul McAllister

We also have collected some images of the big piston bird, an aircraft that Air Atlantique. If you would like to share or contribute similar stories, join AirSpace and add your own piloting stories or memories.

Posted by Stuart on November 27, 2007 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Boeing responds to Flight International's editorial comment

Boeing needs to learn from its failure to manage a modern supply chain for the 787.

That was the crux of Flight International's editorial comment in mid-November on Mike Bair's admittance that the firm's strategy for dispersing the 787 supply chain was "problematic".

This week Flight International published a letter in response to this from Yvonne Leach, Boeing's 787 director of communications.

Continue reading "Boeing responds to Flight International's editorial comment" »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on November 20, 2007 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

How to build and how to wreck an Airbus A340-600

Here's a video of the building of an Airbus A340-600. Note the paintwork at the end shows the aircraft in Airbus' old livery.

Continue reading "How to build and how to wreck an Airbus A340-600" »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on November 16, 2007 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Flying display from the Dubai air show 2007

Some of the highlights from the show's aerial displays:

Posted by Michael on November 13, 2007 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Airbus A380 at the Dubai Air Show 2007

The Airbus A380 wows the crowds at Dubai:

Posted by Michael on November 13, 2007 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Freighter Friday

I spy with my little eye lots of stories this month about freighter versions of aircraft.

Airbus plans to use the A350-900 variant as the basis for the freighter. The proposed all-cargo version of the Airbus A350 XWB will offer Boeing MD-11F levels of payload and volume, but development probably won't get underway until the passenger model is completed.

Continue reading "Freighter Friday" »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on November 9, 2007 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Boeing 747 in sepia

Here's a very dated advertisement for the Boeing 747 "The 70s way to fly".

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on October 31, 2007 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The exciting world of EU research programmes with amazing names like, VIVACE!!

(L-R Aviation Week's Robert Wall, Avion Revue Luis Calvo, Flug Revue's Sebastian Steinke, Airbus PR Marcella Muratore)

It is not everyday you get to go to the Diagora Congress Centre in Toulouse and sit with your journo counterparts from the weekly and monthly rivals (allegedly) to Flight and today was no different in its uniqueness for this was for the presentation of the VIVACE project!

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Posted by Rob Coppinger on October 17, 2007 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

First pictures of the the Singapore Airlines's A380 First Class cabin

At last our chance to see inside!

First, a slight matter of jumping the queue (completely unwittingly), getting in the way of Louis Gallois’s official tour of the aircraft, and almost simultaneously getting thrown off for being on-board before the official press tour had even begun.

However vitally this was not before bagging the essential photos of the fabled double bed suites in First Class.

Here’s the single First Class cabin with separate bed and chair

first%20class%20single.gif

And here are the two central First Class cabins which can have the divider removed to convert into a true double bed.

first%20class%20double%201.gif

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Continue reading "First pictures of the the Singapore Airlines's A380 First Class cabin" »

Posted by Michael on October 15, 2007 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

SIA have got double beds in First Class!

Lastly, Chew Choon Seng of SIA says some words, while accompanied by SIA’s finest selection of air hostesses.

chew%20choon%20seng.gif

He starts slightly confusingly when he appears to refer to the impending deliver of the “A330” (although my ears could’ve been mistaken), but he then cracks on by saying the A380 has been well worth the wait.

He says he’s proud of SIA’s roll in helping to set the performance and environmental agenda for the aircraft.

He goes on to reveal some details of the A380 cabin configuration – 471 seats in total, more leg room in all classes, usb and power plugs for every seat, personal on-demand IFE for every seat and the real coup de grâce – double beds in first class!

I’ve got to see that!

Posted by Michael on October 15, 2007 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sir John says thanks

Sir John Rose of Rolls-Royce graces us with his presence.

His is just a short speech mainly paying tribute to SIA and their help in setting the standards for performance of the A380 and its engines.

He then talks briefly about the Trent 900.

sir%20john%20rose.JPG

Posted by Michael on October 15, 2007 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sound and light

The collective media are wowed by the “greener, smarter, quieter, bigger” A380 (model) that spins from the ceiling doused in a variety of easy-on-the-eye nature scenes along the lines of Airbus’s recent ad campaign.

The dolphins, who's pictures loom around us, look suitable impressed with the A380's contribution to their well-being.

sound%20and%20light.gif

Posted by Michael on October 15, 2007 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Airbus gather the world's press for the A380 handover

Well, here we are along with the world’s press (and I mean just about everyone) taking over Toulouse for the official handover ceremony of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines.

It’s a bit of a bun fight but Kieran Daly (via his new blog Unusual Attitude) and I will endeavour to bring you as close to the action as we can.

a380%203.gif

Things are set to kick off in about 40mins and the ceremony is expected to last for a couple of hours.

The proceedings are to include speeches from Tom Enders (CEO Airbus), Sir John Rose (CEO Rolls-Royce), and Chew Choon Seng (CEO Singapore Airlines).

Continue reading "Airbus gather the world's press for the A380 handover" »

Posted by Michael on October 15, 2007 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What's Gupta upta?

In India, a man runs a little "experience" business by charging people £2.00 to sit in the cabin of an Airbus A300.
There's a slight hitch, however. The aircraft, parked in Delhi, won't take off because it only has one wing and a large part of the tail is missing.

The venture is aimed at satisfying the curiosity of those that have never experienced air travel. And they won't either.

Continue reading "What's Gupta upta?" »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on October 2, 2007 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

EASA: is it really that bad?

A special kind of scrutiny was applied to the European Aviation Safety Agency last week.

On 27 September the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) imported five of the top executives from EASA, seated them behind a long desk facing a packed hall of industry people, allowed them a few words each to update the audience on current issues they face, and then opened the session for about two hours of questions.

This doesn't normally happen to the senior executives in European agencies. So why EASA? And why did the agency's big five - executive director Patrick Goudou, communications head Daniel Holtgen, quality and standardisation director Francesco Banal, certification director Norbert Lohl and deputy head of flight standards Eric Sivel - agree to undergo this public grilling?

Continue reading "EASA: is it really that bad?" »

Posted by David Learmount on September 28, 2007 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Scorpions on a plane

A couple of months ago Flight wrote about camel spider that fatally distracted a military pilot in an F-16 fighter aircraft while in Afghanistan. Ben Mutzabaugh's Today in the Sky Blog has highlighted how an airline passenger was stung by a scorpion during a flight from San Jose, Costa Rica, to Madrid.

Continue reading "Scorpions on a plane" »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on September 24, 2007 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Airbus A380 on tour

The Airbus’ A380 MSN009 test aircraft, powered by the new Engine Alliance GP7000 engines will embark on a series of four tours as part of its technical route proving.
Flightglobal.com will have some more information on destinations shortly....

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on September 24, 2007 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

How crashworthy is a Boeing 787

Boeing is not in the business of enforcing a crash on any of its aircraft but with the Boeing 787 soon to fly (mid November/mid-December) it needs to undergo a series of tests to see how the airframe performs in a crash landing compared to aluminium airframes.
Randy's Journal, a blog written by Randy Tinseth is vice president, marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, has an interesting post entitled "Testing, testing" about how the 787 has been subjected to a suspended steel plate being rammed into the fuselage section.

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on September 18, 2007 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Brazilians: Fed up and saying so?

Continue reading "Brazilians: Fed up and saying so?" »

Posted by John Croft on August 9, 2007 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Confirmation Bias: Subtle but lethal

Photo credit: AP

NTSB investigators yesterday offered up a perfectly plausible explanation for why two very seasoned airline pilots on a perfectly dawning summer morning pulled their perfectly fit CRJ100 regional jet onto a tragically unfit runway (too short) and ploughed into trees and other obstacles before coming to rest a half mile from the airport, killing 49 of the 50 aboard...

Confirmation Bias.

Continue reading "Confirmation Bias: Subtle but lethal" »

Posted by John Croft on July 27, 2007 8:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A day late (or try six months) and a dollar (or a coupla million) short

Better late than never…
The US FAA today published a list of specials conditions that will be needed to certify the glass panel upgrade in the Symphony Aircraft Industries SA160 single-engine two-seater before it can grace the American skies.

Only problem is, Symphony went out of business on January 19th, in large part, because it had been told by the FAA a few months before, when the company applied for the certification, that the regulator didn’t have the resources to get started on the project right away…and in fact, that it wouldn’t even know which projects would get priority for a few more months, according to Symphony’s largest investor, who asked not to be identified.

Continue reading "A day late (or try six months) and a dollar (or a coupla million) short" »

Posted by John Croft on July 19, 2007 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Understanding the Sao Paulo Tam air crash

Safety has again been brought to the forefront after yesterday's ill-fated TAM A320 crash in Sao Paolo.

The event is indeed deeply tragic; an Airbus A320 aircraft skidded off the runway onto a busy road,killing nearly 200 people,including some people on the ground as the aircraft spilled onto a petrol station.

Although explanations of the tragic event are still inconclusive, we have offered some of our own thoughts on the accident and found this video highlighting the kind of speeds reached when landing on Sao Paulo’s Congonhas Airport.

Some of our forum users have also offered their own opinions on this event, highlighting the importance of understanding and discussing possible failings to gain a sense of perspective,so in future the possibilities of such tragedies happening can be avoided.

Posted by Stuart on July 19, 2007 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A French fighter jet intercepts German tourist plane

Flightglobal.com has learned that a French fighter jet intercepted a small German tourist plane that failed to respond to air traffic controllers Thursday.

Continue reading "A French fighter jet intercepts German tourist plane" »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on June 22, 2007 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Pilots want toxic fumes to be recognised

Toxic fumes on aircraft are poisoning pilots and making them unable to fly safely, say pilots, who are campaigning for "aerotoxic syndrome" to be recognised as a disease, according to The New Scientist.

Continue reading "Pilots want toxic fumes to be recognised " »

Posted by Barbara Cockburn on June 21, 2007 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No more Mr. Nice Guy: Hawker Beechcraft's AT-6

JD O'Malley (right) is teaching an "old" training aircraft some new -- and lethal -- tricks. AT-6%20shot_web.jpg

O'Malley is a company pilot for Hawker Beechcraft, the aircraft maker formerly known as Raytheon. He was in Washington last week as part of an extended campaign to introduce military brass, politicians and journalists (like me on the left) to the virtues of the AT-6, an armed and net-centric ISR version of the Hawker Beechcraft T-6B turboprop trainer...

Continue reading "No more Mr. Nice Guy: Hawker Beechcraft's AT-6" »

Posted by John Croft on April 24, 2007 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A380 biggest and fastest...

Boeing has never knowingly oversold the rival A340's slowness in its own marketing presentations for the 747 and 777.
The slowness of the A340-200/300 is indeed legendary - there's even a painting of a 747-400 in flight where the caption reads: "...and just below can be seen an A340 that is being overtaken". Imagine Airbus's unbridled glee therefore when on the first ever commercial route proving flight of the A380 to New York last week the opportunity came to settle some very high profile public relations scores.
The flight operated in collaboration with future A380 customer Lufthansa was cruising over the Atlantic at M0.85 and was about to slow down to coordinate with the LAX-bound A380 sister flight when the crew spotted one of BA's 747s plying its own lonely furrow to the New World. Never slow to acknowledge the broader irony of the encounter, the Airbus-Lufthansa flight crew accelerated to M0.87 and overtook it. The 747, not to be outdone, responded in kind and crept up to M0.87 as well.
The A380 soon had to drop back to M0.83 for the rest of the way however in an effort to co-ordi

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