NewsBoeing 787-9 takes off for maiden flight
The stretched Boeing 787-9 took off on its maiden flight from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 11:03 local time today. The aircraft, known as BOE001, departed from runway 34L for its four- to five-hour flight over mostly Washington state before it returns to Boeing Field in Seattle. The flight was initially scheduled to depart around 10:10 local time. Captains Mike Bryan and Randy Neville are at the controls of the aircraft for the flight today. The test aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 package C engines, which are rated at 74,000lb-thrust.
LinkLinkBoeing 787-9 lands after more than 5h first flightThe first Boeing 787-9 landed at Boeing Field in Seattle after a 5h 15min maiden flight today. Flight number BOE001 landed on runway 13R at 16:18 local time after spending most of its flight above eastern Washington state. It took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 11:03 local time. Boeing says that captains Mike Bryan and Randy Neville were “incrementally expanding the envelope of the airplane” during the flight. This included flying at varying altitudes, as well as speeding up and slowing down. Boeing froze the design of the 787-9 three years after first coming to grips with the supply chain breakdowns and design problems that plagued development of the smaller 787-8.
LinkEurope's Airlines Must Focus On Low Cost Battle - WalshEuropean airlines will have to cut costs at existing short-haul businesses to compete with budget airlines or struggle to stay aloft, IAG boss Willie Walsh said. Legacy carriers such as IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are cutting jobs, renegotiating staff contracts and dropping uncompetitive routes to get costs on a par with budget carriers, such as market leaders Ryanair and easyJet. They are also replacing older, fuel-thirsty planes and streamlining back-office operations. "We're focused on reducing our cost base and making our short-haul business more efficient... those that don't will struggle to survive," Walsh said on the sidelines of the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in London on Tuesday.
LinkUK CAA Postpones London Stansted DecisionBritain's Civil Aviation Authority said on Tuesday it would defer making a judgment on how to regulate London's Stansted airport in future following the airport's new 10-year deal with Ryanair which was announced on Monday. "Following the Ryanair deal and another agreement between (Stansted's new owner) Manchester Airports Group and easyJet announced earlier this year, the CAA will issue a consultation to invite stakeholders to submit representations on how these agreements may affect the market power assessment," the regulator said in a statement.
LinkJapan's Epsilon makes successful first flightJapanese space agency JAXA has successfully launched the first Epsilon rocket, following a last-minute abort during a previous attempt. The launch took place from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture. The payload – a scientific satellite dubbed Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for the Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) – was deployed about an hour after launch. SPRINT-A is an ultraviolet telescope, which will examine other solar system bodies from Earth orbit. The earlier attempt, on 27 August, was automatically scrubbed only seconds before launch due to a .07s mismatch in signal timing between the onboard flight computer and the controller’s ground computer.
LinkAl Baker fires off warning to Boeing about continuing 787 problems Qatar Airways is growing frustrated by the ongoing teething problems being suffered by its 787 fleet, warning Boeing that future orders could be in doubt unless remedies are quickly found. The Doha-based airline has firm orders for 30 787s, of which six have been delivered, and holds 30 additional purchase rights. It aims to take all its 30 firm orders as 787-8s and is considering firming up the purchase rights as the larger -9 variant. But chief executive Akbar Al Baker says this will depend on how quickly Boeing can address the frustrations with its in-service fleet. The outspoken CEO, who has previously been critical of problems with the airline’s 787s, says there are “still issues and Boeing is aware of that. And they need to resolve these issues very quickly because Qatar Airways is getting very frustrated with them.
LinkAustralian A330 MRTT simulator gets Level D certification The Royal Australian Air Force’s full flight simulator for the Airbus Military Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) has been granted Level D certification. This is the first MRTT simulator in the world to receive the certification, says CAE, which produced the equipment. The certification was awarded by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Based on the A330-200 airliner, the MRTT is designated the KC-30A in Australian service. The simulator is located at RAAF Amberley.
LinkThe F-35 program starts to turn the corner Things are starting to look up for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, says the top Pentagon official overseeing the program. If the trend holds up, by 2019, the F-35 programme will deliver a “fifth-generation aircraft at fourth-generation prices,” says US Air Force Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan, the F-35 program executive officer. While acquisition costs have to be held in check, the aircraft’s sustainment costs will also have to be affordable. The JSF program is doing everything it can to drive cost down for the F-35, Bogdan says. Sustainment costs over the lifetime of the program have dropped from a 2010 projection of $1.1 trillion to a current projection of $857 billion. The new cost figures are based on more real world data from F-35 operations and more operationally representative assumptions about the use of the aircraft.
LinkLockheed launches LRASM test vehicle from VLS Lockheed Martin completed the first surface launch of a boosted Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) test vehicle from a naval Mk 41 vertical launch system (VLS) on 4 September, the company says. The LRASM is designed to be launched from both aircraft and naval surface warships. The LRASM boosted test vehicle trial is internally funded by Lockheed even though the program is funded under a joint effort led by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), says Frank St John, vice-president of Lockheed missiles and fire control.
LinkUSAF trying to come up with business case for JSTARS replacement The US Air Force is trying to come up with a business case to replace its ageing “large wing” intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft inventory, which is based on old Boeing 707 airframes, is the fleet that most urgently needs to be replaced, but money is scarce for the USAF in a time of financial crisis.
LinkSequester may force USAF to retire entire fleets of aircraft The US Air Force will likely have to cut entire fleets of aircraft to comply with the Congressional sequestration law, says a top service official. In order to retain a force capable of operating across the spectrum of operations, the USAF will have sacrifice single-mission aircraft in order to preserve multirole machines. “The only way you really save money is to make entire weapons systems go away,” says Gen Mike Hostage, commander of the USAF’s Air Combat Command. That is “so that the whole logistics train, the whole support infrastructure that goes with it goes away.” Though eliminating single-mission aircraft is the most efficient way to save money while preserving military capability, the problem is politics, Hostage says. For example, the L-3 MC-12 Project Liberty aircraft has excellent capability — if funding was not an issue, Hostage says. Other single-mission aircraft that might be sacrificed include the Fairchild Republic A-10 Warthog.
LinkUSAF to roll out future unmanned aircraft plan 'soon' The US Air Force expects to roll out a “vector” for its unmanned aircraft fleet “soon”, says the service’s top intelligence officer. “We plan on doing a roll out of the RPA [remotely piloted aircraft] roadmap once it is approved by the chief [of staff Gen Mark Welsh],”says Lt Gen Robert Otto, the USAF’s intelligence chief speaking at the Air Force Association conference in Washington DC. While the USAF will not yet reveal the shape of its future unmanned aircraft fleet, it is clear that the need to gather intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data from inside highly-contested airspace is shaping the service’s plans. “Right now, the mix is not where it needs to be,” Otto says. “We are over-invested in permissive ISR and we have to transform the force to fight and win in a contested environment.”
LinkSingapore steps toward F-16 upgrade Singapore has officially stated its intention to upgrade its Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D aircraft. “The [Singapore air force] will also be looking to upgrade its fighter fleet,” defence minister Ng Eng Hen said in comments to the parliament. “We plan to upgrade our F-16s to modernise their avionics and extend their lifespan.” Ng was responding to a question in the parliament about Singapore’s plans to shut down its primary air base at Paya Lebar to make room for development in the land scarce nation, and how this would affect the country’s airpower. Although this is the first time that Singapore has publicly stated its intention to upgrade its F-16s, industry observers have long expected that Singapore will upgrade some, if not all, of its 60 F-16s.
LinkNetherlands cuts F-35 fleet plan to 37 fightersThe Netherlands’ government has confirmed the selection of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to replace the nation’s aged F-16s, but its purchase is likely to be for fewer than half of the number of aircraft previously anticipated. Included as part of a budget announcement made on 17 September, the decision will lead to the introduction of the nation’s first frontline examples at Volkel air base from 2019. “The replacement will be carried out entirely within the previously reserved investment budget of €4.5 billion [$6 billion] and the current operating budget for the F-16, which amounts to €270 million per year,” the government says. “Based on the current insights, the available financial room is sufficient for the purchase of 37 aircraft.
LinkAmerican Airlines invests $400 million in NextGen, but awaits benefitsAmerican Airlines is awaiting the benefits of NextGen after investing around $400 million to retrofit its fleet, said Brian Will, an American Airlines captain. The carrier installed GPS on Boeing aircraft and equipped its MD-80s with displays for terminal area navigation. However, the FAA dropped the mandate that required the upgrades after the retrofits had been performed. "After we put that program in place, unfortunately, the [FAA's] intent to do that went away. It just disappeared," said Will.
LinkMerger delay forces US Airways to table planned service increaseUS Airways is cutting planned service increases after the Justice Department challenged its merger with American Airlines. US Airways had scheduled a flight from Phoenix to Maui, Hawaii, over the holidays, but has canceled the flight plans. Michelle Mohr, a spokeswoman for US Airways, said the planned flight "illustrates some of the benefits to customers that the merger would provide." Employees from each of the two carriers will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to lobby Congress for the approval of the merger.
LinkAmerican CEO Horton thanks employeesAmerican Airlines CEO Tom Horton posted a YouTube video to thank the carrier's employees for their commitment to the airline. "It’s because of your commitment and professionalism that American is taking flight as we bring our restructuring to a close," Horton said in the video.
LinkBoeing shares rise with 1st flight of 787-9Shares of Boeing rose 3.9% in trading on Monday as the aircraft manufacturer prepares for the first flight of its 787-9. "We have a marketplace that wants us to go higher," said CEO Jim McNerney.
LinkAirbus to continue flight tests for A350 XWBAirbus will continue flight testing its A350 XWB by flying the composite aircraft in both hot and cold conditions because extreme weather can stress the aircraft. Airbus is scheduled to begin deliveries of the A350 XWB in the second half of 2014, with Qatar Airways as the launch customer.
LinkReport: International airline service to Hawaii will increaseThe Hawaii Tourism Authority predicts domestic airline seats to the islands will drop by 4.3% through November. However, international airline seats will increase by 13.2% in the same period, according to the Air Seat Capacity Outlook from the tourism authority.
LinkDenver airport to build 5 new gates for SouthwestDenver International Airport is expanding Concourse C by building five gates. "Our gates are fully leased, and in order to accommodate Southwest Airlines' quick and steady growth in Denver, we need to add five gates," said Kim Day, manager of aviation.
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