Courtesy of LiveLeak
Video taken from the ground showing the Lancaster Bomber, escorted by two spitfires and two tornado jets.
Courtesy of LiveLeak
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Delta's acquisition of a 49% equity stake in Virgin Atlantic has been undoubtedly the aviation headline of the day...Virgin Atlantic's position in the global airline alliances chessboard might not be the only thing in play though...
Edward Russell
The famous "Miracle on the Hudson" aircraft is now an exhibit at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Flight 1549 was bound for Charlotte after departing New York's LaGuardia airport on the morning of 15 January 2009 before its fateful meeting with a flock of Canadian geese over New York.
While solemn in its presentation, the exhibit celebrates all of the factors that combined to allow for a successful ditching in the Hudson with no loss of life. Elements highlighted range from the experience of the crew and aircraft avionics to the fact that the A320 was one of only a handful in US Airways' fleet with extended overwater certification, which requires life vests and rafts for every passenger. One interesting fact that stood out - less than a third of the passengers on the aircraft had reviewed the safety card before the flight.
Edward Russell
N106US ended up at the museum after its president Shawn Dorsch was inspired by a visit to a memorial to JAL Flight 123 at the Japan Airlines' Safety Promotion Centre near Haneda Airport in Japan, which had a flow chart of safety improvements since the 1985 accident and ending at US Airways 1549.
"When I saw this, I realised that 1549 was an international aviation icon," Dorsch told Flightglobal in 2011. "For me, having it in the museum would give the opportunity to tell something much bigger than the event itself."
Edward Russell
Next time you're passing through Charlotte and have a few hours, the museum is a highly recommended diversion only a few minutes drive from the terminal.
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It has been a big week for the Airbus A350 programme, with news of a wing production fix and a substantial order from Singapore Airlines.
They have also released this animated video detailing the steps involved on the final assembly line, mixed in a sountrack with sounds like a Jean Michel Jarre song given a trance makeover.
This video shows a spectacular takeoff of a UTair Antonov An-24, from what can only be described as a testing landscape.
]]>We're looking to capture THE image of 2012 - the photo that encapsulates the essence of this great industry. The winner will feature on the cover of Flight International's festive issue and also receive £100 and a framed copy.
Last year, AirSpace user Flyvertosset was voted the winner and his stunning air-to-air shot of a Flying Fortress, taken on a Sony SLT-A55V, featured on the cover of Flight International.
There are three ways to enter the competition:
Upload your image TODAY to the Flight International Front Cover Competition gallery on AirSpace
Every year we receive hundreds of exceptionally high-quality entries. See the entries for previous competitions:
Closing entry for the competition is Monday 3 December - so enter now!
Front Cover Competition Terms & Conditions:
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THE world's official absolute altitude record was broken last Sunday, June 2, by a balloon piloted by Capt. J. W. Kittinger, U.S.A.F. Ascending from St. Paul, Minnesota, he reached a height of 96,000ft (over 18 miles). Subject to confirmation of the new
figure by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale--assuming it to be submitted for homologation--this handsomely exceeds the 72,395ft record which has stood ever since November 11, 1935, to the credit of two other American balloon pilots, Captain Orvil A. Anderson and Capt. Albert W. Stevens.
A PARACHUTE descent from 76,400ft (about 14i miles) was successfully made last week by Capt. J. W. Kittinger of the U.S.A.F., who fell for three minutes before his parachute opened automatically at 10,000ft. His descent, made from an unmanned balloon over the White Sands proving ground, New Mexico, was one of a series of tests by Air Research and Development Command of clothing and equipment. U.S.A.F. headquarters said that the jump constituted a record distance for free fall and was the longest in aerial history.
ON August 16, over the White Sands proving ground in New Mexico, Capt Joseph Kittinger, USAF, made a remarkable parachute descent from a free balloon. He jumped at an altitude of nearly 20 miles and pulled his rip-cord at 17,500ft after falling for 4min 38sec. In his fall he attained a speed of 614 m.p.h. or nearly Mach 1. Reports about the maximum height differ, but it is thought that Kittinger may have exceeded the world's record of 102,500ft established by Lt-Col David Simons, USAF, in 1957. Certainly he surpassed the greatest height ever reached in a manned balloon with an open (i.e., unpressurized) gondola.