The first ACJ320neo (Airbus corporate jet) has successfully completed it’s maiden flight at Airbus’ Finkenwerder plant in Hamburg. The aircraft performed the two hour and 40 minute flight on Friday. It is powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines. Derived from the Airbus A320neo, the ACJ version includes features such as extra fuel-tanks in the cargo-hold that will deliver for increased range, …
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Engine manufacturer General Electric (GE) has completed the final flight of it’s original 747-100 flying testbed. The aircraft N747GE was the oldest active 747 in the world. It was the 25th 747 to roll off the line in October 1969 and was delivered to PanAm in March 1970 as Clipper Ocean Spray. GE acquired the aircraft in 1992 when it …
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The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded an amended type certificate (ATC) for Boeing’s largest variant of its next-gen Dreamliner family, the 787-10, clearing it for entering commercial service. The test program used three aircraft and accumulated over 900 flight hours. The 787-10 is a stretch of the 787-9 and trades payload capacity for range. It can fly …
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During the last week of September I was in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and I heard from the DFW Spotters that Boeing’s new upcoming 737 MAX8 N8704Q was performing customer familiarisation flights and flight testing at Dallas Lovefield airport, the hub of launch customer Southwest Airlines (SWA). The aircraft performed a variety of flights to various SWA destinations including Austin, …
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US airframer Boeing’s 737 MAX programme remains on track for first delivery in the third quarter of 2017. The 737 MAX 8 recently completed high altitude flight testing in La Paz, Bolivia whose airport, is at a height of 13,300 feet. As altitude increases the air thins, which reduces the effectiveness of the control surfaces at slow speeds as well …
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Even though it very rarely happens, everyone dreads the failure of an engine at take-off. After all this is the mode of the flight when engine power is required the most. What is not known to most passengers, every aircraft has to prove it can take-off with one engine failed. This is done via “abuse-take-offs” where engine power is intentionally …
Read More »As part of every aircraft certification testing, it has to undergo crosswind testing. Two preferred locations, known for their extreme crosswinds which occur with amazing regularity are both air force bases; Keflavik in Iceland and a remote base in Brazil. Boeing recently conducted crosswind testing on the newest variant of the Dreamliner, the 787-9, which should be delivered this summer …
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Airbus’ newest aircraft the A350 XWB has successfully performed certification testing which demonstrates the aircraft’s ability to operate on wet runways. One of the flight test aircraft, MSN00 performed these tests at Istres in France. During the tests, the runway was modified by adding groves to the runway surface, and inserting rubber strips in the grooves to retain water. A …
Read More »The A350 XWB development aircraft, MSN3, is in Bolivia for a series of flight tests at the high altitude airfields of Cochabamba and the capital La Paz. Cochabamba is approximately 8,300 feet above sea level, and at 13,300 La Paz is one of the highest airports in the world. Operations at such high altitude airfields are particularly demanding on aircraft …
Read More »US airframer Boeing flew the latest variant of the Dreamliner, the 787-9, to Auckland, home of launch customer Air New Zealand, marking the 787-9’s international debut and its longest flight since flight testing on this new variant began. Aircraft number ZB002 registered N787FT, the second of three 787-9s dedicated to the flight-test program, flew 13 hours and 49 minutes non-stop, …
Read More »European airframer Airbus S.A.S. rolled out its third its third A350 XWB flight-test aircraft, MSN2 (manufacturer serial number 2), from the paint shop in Toulouse, France, featuring a special “carbon” livery which symbolises the extensive use of of carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) in the aircraft. 53 per cent of the A350 XWB’s airframe is made-up of composites including the airframer’s …
Read More »by BA Staff During three weeks of flight testing the Advanced Super Hornet F/A-18F, Boeing and its partner Northrop Grumman demonstrated that the fighter can outperform threats for decades to come with improvements that make the jet much harder for radar to detect and give it significantly more combat range. Through 21 flights in St. Louis and Patuxent River, MD., …
Read More »by Devesh Agarwal Ahead of the first flight of the Airbus A350 XWB a set of videos from Airbus which gives us behind the scenes explanations on some aspects of the aircraft design, development, testing, manufacturing, and hand-over to the flight testing crew who will fly the aircraft today. Like the Boeing 787, the A350 XWB heavily relies on composite …
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In 2012, the P-8I being built for the Indian Navy was transitioned in to flight testing by Boeing. With a committed delivery date set, the program was suddenly required to do additional flight testing, including weapons separation testing; and all this without adding any additional time to the schedule. Boeing was required to drop simulated weapons from the wing of …
Read More »European airframer Airbus has successfully powered-up the flight-deck of A350 XWB “MSN1” for the first time, following the initial application of electrical power to the aircraft’s front fuselage. The front fuselage was delivered to the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse two weeks ago. Flight-deck power-on is an important step on the route to complete aircraft power-on and first flight, …
Read More »US airframer Boeing commenced the flight test programme on the Indian Navy’s first P-8I aircraft on July 7. Tail number IN320 took off from Boeing Field in Seattle at 0915 local and landing three hours and 49 minutes later after demonstrating flying qualities and handling characteristics. The second P-8I aircraft, tail number IN321 performed its initial flight on July 12. …
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