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Airbus, Boeing Report Orders For First 7 Months Of 2014
Airbus overtook Boeing in unadjusted aircraft orders for 2014 after last month's Farnborough Airshow, but continued to lag its U.S. rival when taking into account cancellations, company data showed on Monday. The Airbus Group planemaking subsidiary won 980 aircraft orders between January and July, and said it had 705 net orders, beating its newly introduced net order target for the year...Read More
Boeing, ANA Finalize Order For 40 Widebody Airplanes
Boeing and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have finalized an order for 40 widebody airplanes - 20 777-9Xs, 14 787-9 Dreamliners and six 777-300ERs (Extended Range) - as part of the airline's strategic long-haul fleet renewal plan. The order, valued at approximately $13 billion at list prices, was originally announced as a commitment in March...Read More
Boeing to Assemble 787-10 Dreamliner In South Carolina
Boeing announced Wednesday that final assembly of the 787-10, the newest and longest member of the 787 Dreamliner family of airplanes, will take place exclusively in North Charleston, SC. Boeing will continue to assemble both 787-8s and 787-9s in Everett, WA, and North Charleston. Design of the 787-10 is underway in Everett, with final assembly of the first 787-10 scheduled to begin in South Carolina in 2017...Read More
United Airlines Changes 787 Order To Larger Variant
United Airlines has modified an order for Boeing 787s to include additional 787-10s. Boeing changed its order for seven 787-8s to the larger 787-10 variant. In addition to the 787-10s, Boeing will receive one 787-8 and 26 787-9s with deliveries slated to start later this year...Read More
Boeing Launches Pilot Development Program
Boeing has announced it's upcoming comprehensive global training program for pilots to help meet the forecasted demand of 500,000 pilots over the next 20 years. The program should provide all the training a pilot needs, from basic theory through qualification as a commercial jet first officer. Representatives from the airframe manufacturer explained...Read More
Airbus Cancels A380 Order From Skymark
An order for six A380 aircraft for Japan's Skymark Airlines has been stricken from Airbus' order book after the airline asked for a revised contract for the planes. The negotiations have reportedly been going on since 2011, according to a report from the BBC, but Airbus did not provide details of the talks. Skymark said it felt it was being overcharged for the superjumbo...Read More
U.S. Spy Plane Chased By Russian Fighter
A USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft was tracked by Russian ground radar and challenged by a Russian fighter in mid July, according to military officials. CNN reports that on July 18, the U.S. plane was operating in international airspace on a surveillance mission when Russian ground radar began tracking the flight ... which is considered an unusual action...Read More
Second Underway Recovery Test For Orion Spacecraft Completed
A test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft was floated inside the well deck of the U.S.S. Anchorage on Aug. 2, 2014, during recovery tests off the coast of California. A combined NASA and U.S. Navy team practiced recovery techniques over the weekend, in preparation for Orion's first trip to (and return from) space in Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in December...Read More
Southwest Airlines Fined Millions For Unsafe Practices
Southwest Airlines was recently fined $12 million by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for making faulty repairs to its Boeing 737 passenger jets and the unsafe transport of hazardous materials on commercial flights. Beginning in 2006, the Dallas, Texas-based airline conducted so-called "extreme makeover" alterations to eliminate potential cracking of aluminum skin...Read More
Virgin To Build Long Haul Future On Connected 787s
On Oct. 28, Virgin Atlantic will become the first European carrier to operate the Boeing 787-9, an aircraft that CEO Craig Kreeger says will make up 40 percent of its commercial fleet by 2018. Beyond the aircraft's highly publicized fuel efficiency, Virgin will also look to use the e-Enabling infrastructure in order to deploy an effective...Read More
Pilatus Rolls Out The PC-24, Its First Jet Airplane
To great fanfare, Pilatus rolled out its new PC-24 "Super Versatile" jet on Friday at its home airfield of Buochs, near the town of Stans in central Switzerland. The prototype of the twin-engine business/utility jet was pulled across the runway by 24 horses before coming to rest on a giant Swiss flag painted on the apron, in front of a grandstand with 1,000 VIPs and another 24,000 people...Read More
AirVenture Oshkosh 2014 Could Be One Of The Best Ever
EAA Chairman Jack J. Pelton told reporters Sunday at his convention-closing press appearance that when the numbers are all in, the 2014 edition of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh would be among the best conventions of all time. Attendance, the number of airplanes, exhibitors' reactions and enthusiasm - all are trending up significantly...Read More
C-130Js Train To Avoid A Fighter's Intercept
In an unusual air training mission, two 317th Airlift Group C-130Js successfully conducted evasive maneuvers against an F-16 Fighting Falcon, practicing tactics they may need during the upcoming Red Flag-Alaska exercise. The two Super Hercules relied on tight aircrew coordination to prevent an intercept by the nimble fighter, according to an Aug. 1...Read More
Delta Completes Testing For Safe PED Use During All Phases Of Flight
B-29 Superfortress Nears First Flight
Volunteers in Wichita, Kansas, who are working to restore a B-29 Superfortress named Doc have brought the massive airplane close to completion and are getting ready to return the bomber to the skies before the new year. The non-profit volunteer organization Doc's Friends is now...Read More
Delta To Start Retiring Iconic 747 Fleet
Delta Air Lines plans to ground one-quarter of its Boeing 747 fleet in 2014. The carrier operates 16 747-400 aircraft, but will ground four of the planes this year because of "a re-evaluation of options to improve our international performance." The 747 entered service in 1970...Read More
NextGen DataComm Trials 'Becoming Routine' For FedEx Pilots
The world's largest air cargo carrier is participating in flight trials that are assisting the FAA with "moving ahead smartly" in one of the most transformative aspects of its NextGen program, DataComm, according to Dan Allen, senior manager of Air Traffic Operations at FedEx...Read More
F-35 Completes Wet Runway And Crosswind Testing
"This testing is absolutely critical to 2B flight software fleet release and the Marine Corps' IOC," said J.D. McFarlan, Lockheed Martin's vice president for F-35 Test & Verification. "Collectively, the results support clearing the 20 knot crosswind envelope for Conventional Take Off & Landings (CTOL), Short Take Offs (STO) and Short Landings (SL), with ideal...Read More
Airbus CEO: Commercial Aircraft Buying Cyclicality Has Changed
During a conference call about the company's first and second quarter results, the French chief executive sought to reassure investors that the commercial aircraft market - the company's biggest growth sector - is still strong for the foreseeable future, despite a record showing at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow where customers spent $75.3 billion for orders of 496 Airbus aircraft...Read More
Last Crew Member of Enola Gay Dies in Georgia
The last surviving member of the crew that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima once said he thought the bombing was necessary because it shortened the war and eliminated the need for an Allied land invasion that could have cost more lives on both sides...Read More
Hurricane Hunters Fly into Bertha
Crews from the Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron recently flew several missions into Tropical Storm Bertha from an airport in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. The "Hurricane Hunters" flew their first low-level flight into the storm last week to gather data on which way the storm's winds were rotating, they then flew...Read More
Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines, said customers will see new milestones soon from the merger of American and US Airways. "There are a series of them, but the next major one will be the integration of the frequent-flyer programs," he said. "They're separate today, and we're planning to integrate those" in the first six months of 2015...Read More
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