NewsCommercial
Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems reach long-term pricing deal
Spirit AeroSystems has reached a memorandum of agreement with Boeing that includes long-term pricing terms for additional aircraft programmes, and the release of claims from both sides in relation to the 737 manufacturing delays earlier this year.
The long-term agreement includes pricing terms for the 737NG, 737 Max, 767, 777 Freighters, 777-9 and 787 programmes "well into the next decade", says Spirit AeroSystems. These include 737 pricing based on production rates above and below current levels, as well as investments for tooling and capital for certain 737 rate increases, it adds.
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Sukhoi inks tentative Thai deal covering six Superjet 100s
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has signed a trilateral letter of intent covering the delivery of six Superjet 100s with Thai Kom Airlines and maintenance firm Wishv.
The deal was signed as part of an intergovernmental Russia-Thailand economy panel, in the presence of Russian trade and industry minister Denis Manturov on 27 December.
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PICTURE: China produces CR929 composite forward fuselage
China has produced the first composite forward fuselage prototype for the in-development CRAIC CR929 widebody.
The 15m by 6m structure marks the first time China is using an all-composites concept for a fuselage, says Comac.
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AVIC assembles first centre wing box for MA700
AVIC has completed the first centre wing box for the MA700 turboprop airliner, which will form part of the static test aircraft designated 10001.
The event marks the commencement of large-sized component assembly for the programme, says the company.
LinkAirlines
Contamination led to Qeshm Fokker gear-up accident
Iranian investigators have determined that poor maintenance procedures, allowing contamination of hydraulic lines, led to a gear-up landing by a Qeshm Air Fokker 100 earlier this year.
The aircraft had departed Tehran Mehrabad for Mashhad on 16 February but, some 10nm from touchdown, its crew discovered problems with the left-hand main landing-gear.
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CAAV delves into VietJet after closed runway landing
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) will subject VietJet Air to special monitoring following an incident where an aircraft landed on a closed runway at Nha Trang’s Cam Ranh International Airport.
In a 25 December statement, the CAAV disclosed that the VietJet Airbus A320 was operating flight VJ689 on the Nha Trang-Ho Chi Minh City route. A few minutes into the flight the crew detected an unspecified “technical warning.”
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Lack of spares grounds 15 Air India jets: New Delhi
The Indian government has revealed that 15 aircraft from Air India's fleet have been grounded due to lack of engines and spares.
Responding to queries in parliament, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha says that as of 6 December, two Boeing 787-8s, three 777s and 10 Airbus A320 family aircraft "were on ground for want of engines and spares".
LinkAirports
France's Vinci takes majority share of London Gatwick
French operator Vinci Airports is taking a majority shareholding in London Gatwick airport, under a new pact with Global Infrastructure Partners.
Vinci will hold a 50.01% stake in the London hub, with GIP managing the balance.
The agreement is set to complete in the first half of 2019.
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US says Manila airport security not up to ICAO standards
The US Department of Homeland Security has determined that aviation security at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International airport (NAIA) is ineffective and inconsistent with ICAO standards.
The department says the determination was based on assessments by a team of security experts from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). It has since directed airlines issuing tickets for travel between the US and Manila to notify passengers of the determination, and for the advisory to be displayed prominently at US airports that provide regular scheduled flights to Manila.
LinkMilitary
PICTURES: SB-1 Defiant breaks cover
Sikorsky and Boeing have unveiled the SB-1 Defiant helicopter, providing a pair of images showing the rotorcraft from the front and rear.
The type had been expected to fly in 2018, but in mid-December the Sikorsky-Boeing team decided to push this into 2019.
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Aviation Quote
A bird is an instrument working according to mathematical law, which instrument it is within the capacity of man to reproduce with all its movements.
- Leonardo da Vinci, Treatise on the Flight of Birds, 1505.
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Trivia
General Aircraft Trivia
1. What is or was the Lufberry circle?
2. Elvis Presley was one of the first entertainers to own a “business jet.” What type of aircraft did he own?
3. True or False. The magnetic north pole is in constant motion and currently is moving toward the southeast at 20 kilometers per year.
4. True or False. The Boeing 314 Clipper, a 1936 flying boat used by Pan American Airlines, had a 14-seat dining room, a promenade deck on which passengers could stroll during flight and a honeymoon suite in the aft fuselage.
5. A pilot is flying a typical light airplane with a normally aspirated engine at a given gross weight. Which – if any – of the following indicated airspeeds vary (varies) with density altitude?
a. Best-glide speed
b. Best-angle-of-climb speed
c. Best-rate-of-climb speed
d. Wings level, 1-G stall speed.
