NewsCommercial
Boeing 787-10 completes first flight in Charleston
The first Boeing 787-10, BOE1, completed its first flight from the Boeing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina, on March 31. The flight took off at 9:30 a.m. local time and landed at 2:35 p.m., just over five hours later. Boeing test & evaluation captains Tim Berg and Mike Bryan piloted the aircraft. The flight reached 20,000 ft. at a speed of 383 kts., or 441 mph.
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Airbus A319neo concludes maiden flight
The first Airbus A319neo performed its maiden flight March 31, Airbus announced in a statement. The smallest member of the A320neo family, powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines, took off from Hamburg and landed in Toulouse after a five-hour flight.
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Antonov completes first flight of An-132D
Antonov completed on 31 March first flight of the Saudi Arabia-backed An-132D multi-purpose turboprop aircraft in Kiev, Ukraine. The event attended by Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko comes four months after the heavily modified and upgraded version of the An-32 rolled-out of Antonov’s factory on 16 December.
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Binter Canarias receives first CRJ1000 and names routes
Spanish regional carrier Binter Canarias received its first of two Bombardier CRJ1000s during a ceremony at the airframer’s facility in Mirabel, Canada, on 30 March. The Canary Islands-based operator says it is planning to use the jets on services to Portugal, Cape Verde and Western Africa, with this first aircraft initially flying routes to Lisbon, Nouakchott, Dakar, Banjul and the island of Sal.
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Cathay Pacific to raise 777 economy seating capacity
Cathay Pacific will increase capacity aboard its Boeing 777-300s and 777-300ERs by adopting a 3-4-3 seating configuration in economy, up from the current 3-3-3 configuration. The new seats will the 17.2in wide, with a 32in seat pitch, says Cathay. The new layout will be deployed in 2018-2020.
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China Southern reports net profit up 30% in 2016
China Southern Airlines reported a net profit of CNY5.06 billion ($734 million) in 2016, up 30% over a net income of CNY3.9 billion in 2015. Operating revenue for the year rose 3% to CNY114.8 billion while operating expenses increased 5.5% to CNY96.4 billion.
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Delta-Aeromexico joint venture launch delayed
Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico will launch their joint venture a little later than planned, as they work to finalise the paperwork for the immunised partnership. The carriers are still finalising some of the details of what they call a “joint cooperation agreement” with regulators in Mexico and the USA, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta says.
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Hawaiian Airlines ready to fly high
Analyst Adam Levine-Weinberg writes that Hawaiian Airlines has overcome growing pains and "really hit its stride," citing the recent contract with pilots and rising revenue per available seat mile. "The carrier is benefiting from strong demand for travel to Hawaii, growing ancillary revenue streams, and consumer preference for Hawaiian's high-quality service," he writes.
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Lufthansa Cargo posts €50 million loss in 2016, evaluates 777F fleet
Lufthansa Cargo (LHC) reported an adjusted EBIT loss of €50 million ($52.5 million) for 2016, reversed from a net profit of €74 million in 2015. Lufthansa Cargo chairman and CEO Peter Gerber told ATW he “wasn’t surprised” about the results. “The first six months of 2016 were extremely tough, but “we had a good fourth quarter” as cost-cutting measures were put into place.
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Low-cost pioneer Laker chosen for Norwegian Max fin
Norwegian has selected UK low-cost airline pioneer Sir Freddie Laker to feature on the first of its Boeing 737 Max jets to operate transatlantic services. The Scandinavian budget airline is due to start operating transatlantic routes with the Max this summer.
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Ryanair announces plan to establish Polish charter airline
Ryanair will establish a new Warsaw-based charter airline in summer 2018 to serve the Polish leisure market. The budget carrier says the carrier will be called “Ryanair Sun” and will initially have a fleet of five Boeing 737-800s.
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Southwest to connect Long Beach with Sacramento, Calif.
Southwest Airlines plans to begin regular flights from Long Beach to Sacramento in August, Chief Executive Gary Kelly announced Thursday. Flying to the state capital is Southwest Airline’s first move in Long Beach to add flights, on a long-term basis, to a new destination after beginning air service from Long Beach to Oakland last year.
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Virgin Australia selects Gogo for satellite connectivity
Virgin Australia has chosen Chicago-based aviation broadband specialist Gogo for satellite connectivity service across its fleet, the two companies announced March 30. Gogo will first install its dual-antenna 2Ku technology on one of Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737-800s, with customer testing commencing in April.
LinkAirports
Atlanta airport becomes JetBlue's 101st city
JetBlue has passed the 100-city milestone on its route map with the airline's return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. "As we connect our Boston customers with a top-requested destination, we're also excited to show Atlanta why JetBlue is a favorite for fliers in the 100 other cities we fly to across the US, Caribbean and Latin America," said JetBlue's Dave Clark.
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Military
Gripen E to gain enhanced anti-ship missile
Sweden will equip its future fleet of Gripen E fighters with an extended-range version of the Saab/Diehl Defence-produced RBS15 anti-ship missile, under a project worth SKr3.2 billion ($358 million).
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Field Aviation to update Canadian T-6 fleet
Field Aviation has been contracted to perform an avionics update on a fleet of Beechcraft T-6As operated for the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program. Under the project, the Canadian company will equip 22 locally designated CT-156 Harvard IIs with a traffic advisory system, automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) transponder and wide area augmentation system GPS receiver. The enhancements will enable the single-engined turboprop to comply with the US Federal Aviation Administration’s incoming ADS-B Out regulations.
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Indian navy and coast guard order 32 Dhruv helicopters
Hindustan Aeronautics has secured an INR80 billion ($1.2 billion) order for 32 Dhruv helicopters for use by the Indian navy and coast guard. Each maritime arm will receive 16 examples of the 5.5t Dhruv, says HAL in a statement.
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Aviation Quote
Son, I've got more time sitting on the lav in this airliner than you have total time.
- welcome to a new co-pilot from an old captain. Also heard as "I've got more time in the flare . . . " and "I've got more time in the bunk .
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Trivia
General Trivia
1. What is a deceleron?
2.When air traffic control advises pilots of other traffic, many pilots advise the controller that the traffic is not in sight using the colloquial and unofficial phrase "no joy." From where does this expression originate?
3. The Waco CG-4A glider was used during World War II (especially during the Normandy invasion) as a cargo and troop carrier. Why was it referred to as a "flying coffin"?
4. Almost all general aviation piston engines have a wet sump, a built-in oil reservoir, instead of an external or separate oil tank. How can you determine by looking at the oil dipstick of a wet-sump engine the minimum oil quantity with which the engine can be operated safely?
5. True or False, James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle was the first solo pilot to perform a blind takeoff and landing using only cockpit instruments and radio aids.
6. True or False, Two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses took off from Hilo, Hawaii, on August 6, 1946, without anyone on board. Both landed safely at Muroc Dry Lake, California.
