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Turkey Orders 109 Black Hawk Helicopters
Sikorsky announced that the Turkish Government has selected Sikorsky for a contract involving 109 derivative Black Hawk helicopters for multi-mission use. The aircraft will be assembled in Turkey by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) as the prime contractor and will include components supplied by Sikorsky and other American and Turkish companies. The industrialization proposal will allow…
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Photos – Chinese Stealth Fighter J-20 Makes Second Test Flight
China’s fifth generation stealth fighter, Chengdu J-20, has successfully conducted its second test flight on Tuesday at the Chengdu airfield. “The aircraft made several passes and waggled its wings to salute the crowd near the airfield,” the Chinese Global Times Newspaper quoted a witness. The prototype took off at 4:25 pm and landed at about…
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Eurocopter Delivers 1000th Dauphin Helicopter
Eurocopter today announced that the 1000th Dauphin helicopter was delivered to India’s Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited, the world’s largest civilian operator of this twin-engine, medium weight helicopter. The operator’s newest helicopter is an AS365 N3 version, configured for offshore oil and gas drilling missions, and it brings the Indian operator’s fleet to a total of…
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Video – Airbus A400M Aerial Refuelling Showcase
This video released by Airbus Military shows air-to-air refuelling trials for its A400M airlifter in February 2011. The tests consists of series of dry contacts performed by a UK Royal Air Force VC10 tanker. Airbus A400M Cockpit Video Capture The Airbus A400M is a multi-national four-engine turboprop tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities developed by Airbus…
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Video of the Day – F-18 Airshow Cockpit View
This awesome video that I found on Youtube features an F/A-18 during flight display. The cockpit video shows very nicely to what intense G-forces the pilots are exposed to during such challenging maneuvers. The F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets. It was introduction in…
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FAA Changes ATC Scheduling due to Sleeping Controllers
After several incidents involving air traffic controllers found sleeping on duty during the last weeks, FAA now urgently was in need to change ATC scheduling practices to ensure safety. Federal Aviation Administration today announced changes that will allow controllers more time for rest between shifts. “We expect controllers to come to work rested and ready…
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Video – USS Carl Vinson F/A-18C Hornet Fire
US Navy released this video of a F/A-18C Hornet experiencing an engine fire following a touch-and-go landing aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) on April 11 2011. The pilot was able to execute a single-engine approach and successfully land on the aircraft carrier. After landing, the plane that is assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA)…
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Video – Air France Airbus A380 Hits Comair Plane at JFK
Last night Air France flight AF007, an Airbus A380-861 (F-HPDJ) struck Comair (Delta Connection) flight 553, a Bombardier CRJ 700 (N641CA) at New York JFK International Airport. During taxi the French Airbus A380’s left wing struck the tail of the Comair Bombardier and spun it nearly 90-degrees. Fortunately nobody was injured. The Comair plane with…
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Virgin to Build Intercontinental Rocket Plane?
Virgin founder and one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs of our time, Sir Richard Branson recently gave an interview to British magazine T3. Besides the talk about Virgin Galactic and that manned space flights with SpaceShipTwo might be just a few months away he mentioned another very interesting topic. As a next step after Virgin…
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Photos – United Celebrates 85th Anniversary With Special Livery
United Airlines celebrates its 85th anniversary with a special retro livery. The Airbus A320 (N475UA) is painted in the airline’s 1970s-era “Friend Ship” livery. “We are proud to celebrate United’s 85th anniversary with the more than 85,000 co-workers and thousands of retirees who have built the world’s leading airline,” said Jeff Smisek, United’s president and…
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Virgin Atlantic Operates Its First Airbus A330
The first Airbus A330 to be operated by Virgin Atlantic has been delivered recently. The inaugural passenger flight between Manchester and Orlando is part of Virgin Atlantic’s commitment to strengthen services from the UK to the US East Coast, East and West Africa, the Middle East and India. The aircraft is the first to be…
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Photos – Air France Flight AF447 Wreckage Found
The wreckage of Air France flight AF447 has finally been found on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The Airbus A330-203, registered F-GZCP, crashed en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro in June 2009, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board, after hitting a thunderstorm. The submarine that located the wreckage in a…
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Video – Buffalo Airways Douglas DC-4 & Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando
I just found this great video about Buffalo Airways. The Canadian family-run airline, based in Yellowknife, is famous for operating vintage WWII planes on a daily passenger and cargo service all over the Northwest Territories. The airline is featured in the TV documentary series Ice Pilots NWT (History Televison) and instantly got international recognition, not…
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Gulfstream G650 Flight-Test Plane Crash
Gulfstream today confirmed that one of their G650 (N652GD) test planes crashed Saturday morning during takeoff-performance tests in Roswell, N.M. Two Gulfstream pilots and two Gulfstream flight-test engineers died in the crash. According to a FAA spokesperson, on takeoff the right wingtip struck the ground. The pilot tried to recover but it’s landing gear collapsed…
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Southwest Grounds Boeing 737-300 After Fuselage Rupture (Photos)
After an in-flight fuselage rupture on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 (N632SW) on Friday, Southwest announced that they grounded 79 affected Boeing 737-300 until important aircraft skin fatigue inspection is completed. Because of the grounding about 300 flights have been canceled on Saturday. Southwest Airlines Flight 812, bound from Phoenix to Sacramento, conducted an emergency…
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Review – Qantas – From The Outback To The World
A very special piece of aviation history comes from the heart of Australia straight to your living room. The new documentary “From The Outback To The World” tells the remarkable story of a remarkable airline – Australian flag carrier Qantas. The DVD which has been officially licensed by Qantas is a must-have for every aviation…
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Photos – First Boom Refueling of a C-130
Developmental testing of the new HC-130J has been completed. The plane which is developed for the United States Air Force Air Combat Command went through the last test point – air-to-air refueling on March 14. This was the first ever boom refueling of a C-130. This test point also applies to the MC-130J Combat Shadow…
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John Travolta in New Qantas Safety Video
Not everyone is happy to see “Captain” John Travolta appearing in the new Qantas safety demonstration video. According to Daily Telegraph the video has angered cabin crew who say a “real Qantas pilot” – like Captain Richard de Crespigny, credited with saving 466 lives on QF32 – should front the message. Many flight attendants also…
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Video – First Flight of Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental
Boeing today successfully completed the maiden flight of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, the passenger version of the new 747-8. Flight BOE8 took off from Paine Field at 09:56 PDT for a 4 hours flight. Boeing currently holds 33 firm orders for the 747-8I – 8 from Boeing Business Jet (new Air Force One), 5 from…
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Video – 747-8I Ready for First Flight March 20
Boeing released this video today showing final taxi tests of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. The plane moved on its own power for the very first time and speeded down the runway with up to 90 knots. During the tests last systems have been checked to make sure anything is working well. Now after the new…
