Civil Aviation

[Little J]

I'm impressed that it bothered to land, thought it would be like their delivery driver's and just get close enough...

[SKB]

Heathrow Airport third runway decision delayed until summer 2016...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35062739

[SKB]

Drone Strikes British Airways Plane At Heathrow Airport


A British Airways flight carrying 132 passengers has been hit by a drone on approach to Heathrow Airport. The pilot reported that an object had struck the Airbus A320, which took off in Geneva, as it came in to land at the London hub. The flight - BA727 - landed safely at Heathrow Terminal 5.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016 ... sh-airways
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... 34870.html
http://news.sky.com/story/1680304/drone ... ow-airport

[Little J]

If they catch the scum that did this, they should be done for attempted mass murder.

[SKB]

Super Puma crash: UK team to help inquiry in Norway



UK air accident investigators will travel to Norway later to assist with an inquiry into a helicopter crash, thought to have killed 13.
A team from the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch is heading to the city of Bergen, near the crash site.

Eleven people, including one Briton, died and two more are presumed dead after the Airbus EC225LP helicopter - or Super Puma - crashed on Friday.
Commercial Super Puma flights in the UK have been grounded following the crash.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36176698

[SKB]

New Guinness World Record set for farthest hoverboard flight.

^ Flight begins @ 1:05

A new Guinness World Record has been set for the farthest hoverboard flight in France. Franky Zapata, a Frenchman, has made the new record. Zapata was able to fly distance of 2,252 metres (7,388 feet) off the coast of Sausset-les-Pins in the south of France.

The last record was set by Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru in 2015. Zapata, 37, piloting the aircraft rose 50 meters above the surface for the record attempt. A raft of boats and personal water crafts were present at the scene.

The Flyboard Air can reach a maximum height of 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) and a speed of 150 kph (93.2 mph). Guinness adjudicator Sofia Grenach confirmed that the test was performed within the rules of the record.


^ Flyboard Air's first test flight

[SKB]

Missing EgyptAir MS804 plane debris found


Debris from the missing EgyptAir flight has been found floating in the Mediterranean, officials say. Flight MS804, an Airbus A320, was en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it vanished early on Thursday. Egypt's army spokesman said wreckage and passenger belongings were found 290km (180 miles) from Alexandria. In a statement, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke of his "utmost sadness and regret" at the crash.

RFA Lyme Bay has been tasked to search for debris at the crash site.

[SKB]

Egyptian military find EgyptAir MS804 debris

The Egyptian military has released images of items found during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for missing Egypt Air flight MS804.
They include life vests, parts of seats and objects clearly marked EgyptAir.

The plane was en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board when it vanished from radar early on Thursday.
Investigators have confirmed smoke was detected in various parts of the cabin three minutes before it disappeared, but say the cause is still not known.

Speaking on Saturday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said "all theories are being examined and none is favoured."

[SKB]

EgyptAir MS804 voice recorder recovered from sea
(BBC)
The cockpit voice recorder from the EgyptAir plane that crashed last month has been found in the Mediterranean, Egyptian investigators say.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36551464

[SKB]

[SKB]

[SKB]

Concorde

An insight into the worlds most amazing airliner, Concorde, with exclusive interviews from Concorde pilots and footage from on board the aircraft from the cockpit

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British Airways Concorde Tribute

[SKB]

Heathrow to get third runway



More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37667371

[SKB]

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

[ArmChairCivvy]

A good way to protect your privacy is to keep a hawk (like The Houses of Parliament do; just that they also need to update the threats library that the hawk is conditioned to... not just pigeons):
http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/pho ... =USRTSZ06O

[bobp]

[quote="ArmChairCivvy"]A good way to protect your privacy is to keep a hawk " Battle Hawks for the front line.... Hmmm my computer messed up.

[SKB]

Harrison Ford near-miss above taxiing airliner!

74 years old....

He famously crash landed another plane onto a golf course in 2015...

[SKB]

Exploding headphones injure sleeping woman on Beijing to Melbourne flight

(SKY)

A woman has spoken of her horror after her battery-powered headphones exploded on her face as she slept during a flight.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued a warning after the incident on a flight from Beijing to Melbourne, which left the woman with burns to her face and hands.

The passenger, who has not been named, said she fell asleep two hours into the flight, only to be woken when the headphones exploded.

She said: "As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face. I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck. I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire."

Flight attendants poured water on the headphones and placed them in a bucket at the back of the plane. However, the battery and its cover had both melted and stuck to the floor near the woman.

The ATSB said fellow passengers "endured the smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and burnt hair" for the remainder of the flight.

The woman, who was pictured with a blackened face and neck and blisters on her hands, added: "People were coughing and choking the entire way home".

The ATSB said the headphone battery "likely caught fire", adding: "As the range of products using batteries grows, the potential for in-flight issues increases."

A spokesperson for the authority said it was the first report of headphones catching fire in Australia, but there have been a number of other phone and device battery incidents.

Last year, a flight due to leave Sydney had to be evacuated when smoke was seen coming from a passenger's hand luggage. It was later found that lithium batteries had caught fire.

[SKB]

Circular runways concept

Could circular runways be the future of air travel? Aviation expert Henk Hesselink of the Netherlands Aerospace Centre believes so.

[shark bait]

I doubt it, airlines will never pay to train pilots to operate in 2 totally different systems.

[SKB]

United Airlines forcibly remove man from 'overbooked' flight

A passenger was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight by law enforcement on Sunday after refusing to give up his seat.

According to a person who says they were on the flight, the airline needed room on the overbooked aircraft to reposition crew for another flight. But when it couldn't find enough volunteers, even after offering $800, the airline selected the man, who is a doctor, and several other passengers to deplane.

[SKB]

China's Comac C919 completes maiden flight (5th May 2017)

(The Telegraph)

The ComacC919, China’s first homegrown large passenger aircraft, made its debut flight in Shanghai 5th May, marking a major breakthrough in the country’s innovation and manufacturing drive and a change to the global civil aviation market.

The successful test flight of the C919 came only nine days after the country debuted its first homegrown aircraft carrier in Dalian, Liaoning province, showing the world its manufacturing prowess, development of advanced technology and national ambition to regain past glory.

After the flight, which lasted about 79 minutes at an altitude of 9,850ft and an average speed of 185mph, the aircraft returned to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, from which it had taken off at 2pm.

With 158 to 174 seats, the twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft will be used for medium-haul commercial flights. The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, which made the C919, has received 570 orders for the C919 from 23 customers.

According to its designers, the C919 will take two to three years before it is certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

C919 Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comac_C919


Russia's Ikrut Corporation MC-21 airliner makes maiden flight (28th May 2017)

(Reuters)

Russia carried out the maiden flight of its new MC-21 medium-range passenger plane on Sunday, its first post-Soviet foray into production of a mainline commercial aircraft which it hopes will rival those of its Western competitors. It is comparable in size to both the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families.

In a surprise statement, manufacturer Irkut Corporation and its state-controlled parent company United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said an MC-21-300 model had successfully completed a 30-minute flight at a height of 1,000 metres and traveling at 300 km an hour.

The twin-engine MC-21 will be built in two variants: the MC-21-300 which will have 160-211 seats, and the later MC-21-200 which will have 130-165 seats. It is referred to as the MC-21 when using the Russian name and Cyrillic letters, but is "MS-21" in English.

Production is expected to start in the next two years and state media have said numerous contracts with domestic and foreign carriers have already been agreed. Irkut said it so far had "firm orders" for 175 planes.

Ikrut MC-21 Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irkut_MC-21

[SKB]

Paul Allen unveils Stratolaunch aircraft









(Daily Mail)

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen unveiled the world's largest aircraft on Wednesday.

The massive plane rolled out by Allen's aerospace firm, Stratolaunch Systems, features the widest wingspan of any aircraft ever built.

With a wingspan of 385 feet, the six-engine plane will be larger than Howard Hughes' 1947 H-4 Hercules, known as the 'Spruce Goose,' and the Antonov An-225, a Soviet-era cargo plane originally built to transport the Buran space shuttle. The Stratolaunch is an aircraft that is designed to carry rockets between its two fuselages.

After the plane reaches altitude, it would then release the launch vehicle, which will subsequently fire its boosters and launch into space from the air.

Stratolaunch specifications
Length: 238 ft (73 m)*
Wingspan: 385 ft (117 m)*
Gross weight: 1,300,000 lb (589,670 kg)
external payload: 500,000 lb (230,000 kg)
Powerplant: 6 × Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofan, 56,750 lbf (252.4 kN) thrust each
Range: 2,000 nmi (2,302 mi; 3,704 km)


*Although it has the world's widest wingspan, its fuselages are shorter than the HAV Airlander 10, which measures 301 ft 10 in (92m)

[SKB]

Airbus presents the A380plus

(Airbus)

Airbus is presenting a development study for an enhanced A380, the “A380plus”. The study includes aerodynamic improvements in particular new, large winglets and other wing refinements that allow for up to 4% fuel burn savings. Added to an optimised A380 maintenance programme and the enhanced cabin features first shown at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in April, the overall benefit is a 13% cost per seat reduction versus today’s A380.

John Leahy, Airbus COO Customers, explains: “The A380plus is an efficient way to offer even better economics and improved operational performance at the same time.” John adds: “It is a new step for our iconic aircraft to best serve worldwide fast-growing traffic and the evolving needs of the A380 customers. The A380 is well-proven as the solution to increasing congestion at large airports, and in offering a unique, passenger-preferred experience. ”

The new winglets measure approximately 4,7 metres in height (an uplet of 3.5m, and a downlet of 1,2m). It is designed to improve aerodynamics and reduce drag.

The optimised cabin layout based on the ‘cabin enablers’ presented at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), allows up to 80 additional seats* with no compromise on comfort: redesigned stairs, a combined crew-rest compartment, sidewall stowage removal, a new 9-abreast seat configuration in premium economy and 11-abreast in economy.

The A380plus will have an increased maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 578 tonnes providing the flexibility of carrying up to 80 more passengers over today’s range (8,200nm), or flying 300nm further.

The A380plus features longer maintenance check intervals, a reduced six-year check downtime, and systems improvements, which will reduce maintenance costs and increase aircraft availability.

[SKB]

Coins thrown into plane engine by elderly passenger for 'luck'

(BBC)
A superstitious elderly passenger delayed a flight in Shanghai after throwing coins at the engine for good luck, a Chinese airline has confirmed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40421811