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Commercial

Geared turbofan deliveries behind by up to 100 engines
Pratt & Whitney could deliver up to 100 fewer geared turbofan engines over the next two years as new technology and an over-extended supply chain struggle to keep pace with a massive production ramp-up. P&W now plans to deliver 150 engines this year and 350-400 geared turbofan engines next year, says Greg Hayes, chief executive of P&W parent company United Technologies.
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Four Solar Ship airships ordered for African aid transport
Solar Ship has received an order for four of its cargo-carrying airships from Africa-based Manaf Freighters, for use in freight transport and disaster relief. The order consists of two short take-off and landing Caracals plus two of the larger Wolverines, which will be deployed to east and central Africa in 2017.
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Airlines

Air France to introduce its first 787 in January
Air France will put its first Boeing 787 into service at the beginning of next year. The carrier says the aircraft will be deployed on the Paris-Cairo route from 9 January 2017. It will be equipped with 30 business, 21 premium economy and 225 economy seats.
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Southwest To Change Foreign Sales Strategy
Southwest Airlines’ international expansion could take it to Canada, and an executive for the company did not rule out eventual transatlantic flights.
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EasyJet CEO: Brexit uncertainty depresses airline values
EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall has acknowledged the UK’s vote to leave the European Union (EU), or Brexit, has taken its toll on airline values, although she declined to comment on recent takeover speculation.
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China Clamps Down On Airline Licensing
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has formally tightened rules on setting up airlines, around five months after it suspended authorizations, unannounced. Citing safety concerns, the agency says it will severely restrict the number of new carriers it will authorize. It also is limiting investors’ ability to use regional or cargo aviation companies as backdoors for entry into the trunkline passenger business.
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Lufthansa, Air China Sign Joint Venture Deal
Lufthansa and Air China have signed a commercial joint venture agreement to jointly operate flights between Europe and China. The agreement will implement a memorandum of understanding reached between the carriers in 2014.
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Airports


City To Santa Monica FBOs: 'You Have 30 Days To Vacate'
The city of Santa Monica is stepping up its efforts to close its airport, and now is asking the airport's two FBOs to leave.
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Minimum-Wage Rift May Lead to Competing Pay Scales at NYC Airports
The governors of New York and New Jersey have taken starkly different tacks on the issue of raising the minimum wage, which has become a state-by-state battle in many places given that political gridlock in Washington leaves little hope for a change anytime soon in the federal hourly rate. In fact, the rift between the governors is so wide that it may lead to a potentially fraught outcome — different pay scales for workers at the airports that serve the New York City area, even though they are run by the same agency.
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Military

Last surviving Doolittle Raider rises to name Northrop B-21
Just after the US Air Force officially revealed the moniker for the Northrop Grumman B-21 bomber, now known as the Raider, the service’s head of Global Strike Command expressed his support for at least 100 next-generation bombers. The USAF has yet to set the official quantity for the B-21 fleet, but Gen. Robin Rand reiterated his support for 100 aircraft during the annual Air Force Association conference Monday. Based on ongoing operations and threats the service sees 15 years ahead, Rand does not foresee dipping below the USAF’s current level of 158 bombers, including B-52s, B-1s and B-2s.
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Air force requirement could narrow down Huey competition
The head of the US Air Force Global Strike Command is calling for the replacement for the service's Bell Helicopter UH-1N Huey to fly faster, farther and with more personnel, but those requirements could narrow the field of eligible helicopters for what was once a competitive acquisition strategy. The increased troop requirement for the Huey would also push the USAF to buy a larger, exquisite, combat helicopter for a domestic mission.
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RAF purchases BriteCloud decoy for operational testing
The UK Ministry of Defence has bought a number of Leonardo BriteCloud active decoys for operational testing on-board the Royal Air Force’s Panavia Tornado GR4. A £2.5 million ($3.2 million) concept-of-operations test phase follows initial evaluations of the system and its integration on to the Tornado in October 2015.
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Aviation Quote

When you look out the other way toward the stars you realize it's an awful long way to the next watering hole.

- Loren Acton, The Home Plant, 1988.

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Trivia

B-727

1. The very first 727 was delivered on October 29, 1963, to which airline?
Delta
Pan Am
Eastern
United

2. The three Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engines used to power the 727 were derived from the J52 turbojet engines, which were used to power which prolific military airplane?
F-106 Delta Dart
A-5 Vigilante
A-6 Intruder
F-4 Phantom

3. The 727-200, the most prolific model of the series, could carry a maximum of how many passengers?
169
129
189
149

4. As the result of a failed coup, a 727 was awarded a medal of honor by the leader of which nation?
Ethiopia
Greece
Morroco
Libya

5. The military variant of the 727, used as a medium-range transport by the Air National Guard, was given what designation?
C-22
C-9
C-40
C-27

6. The 1,000th 727 was delivered in January, 1974, to which airline?
Air Canada
Delta
TWA
Continental

7. On September 25, 1978, a 727 was lost after a mid-air collision with a smaller Cessna aircraft, over which city?
LAS
SAN
IAH
PHX

8. One of the more infamous crashes involving a 727 occurred on July 9, 1982, near New Orleans. Which airline lost an aircraft that day due to wind shear?
Delta
Eastern
Continental
Pan Am

9. The plot of which action movie involves a pivotal scene where a 727 crashes?
Under Siege
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Mercury Rising
U.S. Marshalls

10. The final 727 was delivered on September 18, 1984, to which package-delivery company?
United parcel Service
Federal Express
United States Postal Service
DHL

7. On September 25, 1978, a 727 was lost after a mid-air collision with a smaller Cessna aircraft, over which city?

SAN

That's all I got.

5. The military variant of the 727, used as a medium-range transport by the Air National Guard, was given what designation?

C-22


8. One of the more infamous crashes involving a 727 occurred on July 9, 1982, near New Orleans. Which airline lost an aircraft that day due to wind shear?

Delta

ANSWERS

1. United. Development of the 727 was spurred by the needs of three different airlines. American Airlines wanted a two-engine aircraft for greater efficiency on shorter routes. Eastern Airlines wanted a three-engine jet to extend its range for over-water flights to the Caribbean. And United wanted a four-engine plane to fly to higher-altitude destinations, including its hub in Denver. The tri-jet design adopted by Boeing first flew on February 9, 1963. United received the first aircraft, a 727-100, and began flying commercial routes with it in February, 1964. Eastern Airlines also began flying the aircraft around the same time.

2. A-6 Intruder. According to Boeing's website, the Pratt & Whitney JT8D was the first engine ever tailor-made for a specific aircraft. In addition to the 727, it has also been used on Boeing 737, McDonnell Douglas DC-9, and the Dassault Mercure, a French-built passenger jet. It was also used on the McDonnell Douglas YC-15 (the forerunner of the C-17 Globemaster III military cargo aircraft). And Mitsubishi has built the engine for the Kawasaki C-1 transport used by Japan's Self-Defense Force.

3. 189. Twenty feet longer than the 727-100, the 727-200 could accommodate up to 189 passengers. Fully loaded, it had a maximum range of 2,400 nautical miles (2,762 statute miles, or 4,445 kilometers).

4. Morroco. King Hassan II was the target of two failed assassination attempts in the 1970s. The second one, which occurred in August, 1972, was orchestrated by Moroccan defense minister General Mohammad Oufkir. Oufkir, previously loyal to the king, ordered the Royal Moroccan Air Force to shoot down the king's 727 as it was making its way into the capital of Rabat. Officially, Oufkir's death after the failed coup is listed as a suicide. Hassan awarded the aircraft, which survived the shootdown attempt, a medal.

5. C-22. Operated specifically by the 201st Airlift Squadron of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, the C-22 was based on the 727-100 airframe. With a range of 2,000 miles, the C-22 accommodated a crew of up to 8 people. The other aircraft listed here are based on other aircraft. The C-9 was based on the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 airframe. The Alenia C-27 uses the engines and systems of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. And the C-40 is the transport version of the Boeing 737.

6. Delta. Delta was one of many airlines around the world to utilize the 727. According to Boeing, the aircraft carried its one billionth passenger in December, 1977, and has carried over 4 billion altogether during its lifetime.

7. SAN. This deadly collision happened as Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 was making its final approach to Lindbergh Field. The crew of the 727 lost sight of the Cessna 172, which was flying under visual flight rules, but didn't report that loss to the approach controllers on the ground. It wasn't until the 727 had put down its landing gear that it realized, too late, that the Cessna was below them. All 128 passengers and 7 crew members were killed, as were the two pilots on board the Cessna and 7 people on the ground.

8. Pan Am. Pam Am Flight 759, a 727-235 known as the Clipper Defiance, took off from New Orleans on the second leg of a regularly-scheduled flight from Miami to Las Vegas. At the time, there were thunderstorms over the eastern end of the field, and a microburst from that storm knocked the aircraft down during takeoff. The 727 crashed into a residential area in the suburb of Kenner, where the airport is actually located. All seven crew members and 153 passengers were killed in the crash, as were 8 people on the ground.

9. U.S. Marshalls. The sequel to the popular 1993 motion picture "The Fugitive", the 1998 release "U.S. Marshals" featured Wesley Snipes in the role of a CIA operative who is implicated in the deaths of several State Department security agents. Like the train crash that freed Harrison Ford's character in "The Fugitive", the crash of the 727 allows Snipes's character to escape, and for Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) to give chase.

10. Federal Express. According to Boeing, in September, 1981, FedEx placed an order for 15 727-200Fs, the freighter variant of the 727. The final aircraft of the 1,832 that Boeing produced completed this order. The 727-200F could carry up to 58,000 pounds of cargo.