Air China orders Twenty (20) 737-800s from Boeing

Last June 25, Air China has confirmed in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that an order for twenty (20) Boeing 737-800s will be delivered within 2013-2015.

It said the order is worth about $1.4 billion at list prices, but noted that it received “a significant price concession” from the manufacturer. The aircraft basic price comprises the airframe price, optional features prices and engine price. The aircraft basic price of the Boeing 737-800 in aggregate is about US$1.398 billion.

The aggregate consideration for the acquisition of Boeing Aircraft is payable by cash in installments.
The company said that the transaction will be funded through cash generated from its business operations, commercial bank loans and other financing instruments of the company.

Ryan Air's B737-800

The Boeing 737-800, the stretched version of the 737-700, was launched in 1994 and entered service in 1998. It can seat 162 passengers.

-atwonline.com

-rttnews.com

-wikipedia.org

F-16s can be used against any opponent – PAF chief

Pakistan – Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman,the Chief of the Air Staff, has said there is no limit on the use of newly-acquired F-16 combat aircraft against any enemy.

Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman

“Our mission is to maintain peace in the region with honor, but if the primary effort fails we will use all our assets, including these aircraft, to defend our country against any internal or external threats,” he said.

The air chief was talking to reporters at the newly upgraded Shahbaz Air Base on Sunday after a ceremony held to mark the formal induction of the first three of 18 advanced F-16 fighter jets into the PAF fleet.

The ceremony was attended by Chief of Staff of US Air Force Gen Norton A. Schwartz, US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson, US Air Forces’ Central Command chief Gen Mike Hostage and US Defence Representative to Pakistan Vice Admiral Michael A. LeFever.

Answering a question, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar said the acquisition of the hi-tech falcons would neither spark an arms race nor disturb the balance of power in the region. It would be the other way round, he said, adding that the induction would restore the balance of power as the neighbors already had hi-tech aircraft in their inventory.

Pakistan's F-16

He said the new F-16s would provide the PAF all-weather day and night precision attack capability, adding a new dimension to the PAF potential. He said that the capabilities of the new aircraft and mastering their technology was a challenge for the PAF, but expressed the confidence that it would be done in weeks and months.

US Air Chief General Norton Schawrtz said the event was symbolic and a tangible demonstration of the US commitment to stand by Pakistan in the long run as an important ally.

“Pakistan’s new F-16s will give PAF pilots and Pakistan’s military an unprecedented advantage against extremist groups who threaten Pakistan and the region by enabling precision targeting in all-weather conditions, during both day and night, while reducing potential for collateral damage,” Gen Schawrtz said.

-          Dawn.com

B787: Inspection first before flying

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Last June 24, Boeing announced that it will inspect the entire fleet of 787 Dreamliners before further flights due to a “workman issue” affecting the jets’ horizontal stabilizers. But they are anticipating that the issue will be settled within the program schedule and the first delivery of the 787 to All-Nippon Airways by the end of the year is still on unchanged.

Boeing estimated that it will take up to eight days to fix each plane. It also cleared the issue about the fleet being temporarily grounded. 850 orders have been received for the Boeing 787.

The long range, mid-sized, wide body 787 can seat 200-330 passengers. Manufacturer Boeing stated that it is the most fuel-efficient airliner they have. The 787 was originally designated as 7E7. Its maiden flight was on December 15, 2009.

To reduce noise, the engine nacelles are serrated

-finance.yahoo.com

-wikipedia.com

Historical planes: The Korean War

Korean War: comforting a comrade

A military conflict between the Republic of Korea (presently known as South Korea) and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) teamed with China on June 25 in 1950. South Korea was supported by the United Nations while North Korea and China was supported by the Soviet Union. Although there is no present occurring armed conflict between North Korea and South Korea, these two nations are still divided politically and territorially in two.

Korean War: Battle in the streets of Seoul

The US Air Force aided South Korea during its bloody war with the North in the 50s. This battle was the first war in which jet aircraft played a central role. Air support with the use of F-86 Sabre jets, P-51D Mustangs, B-29 Superfortresses, helicopters (first large-scale use) and other aircraft was given by the US to the South.

Image of three-ship formation of Sabrejets in 1953

Pitted that time against the Soviet’s Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, also known as Sabrejet, developed by North American Aviation in the late 1940s. Its maiden flight was on October 1, 1947. The $219,457 jet fighter was developed from the FJ-1 Fury. There were 9,860 Sabres built.

The F-86 Sabre is 11.4m in length and 4.5m in height. It has a wingspan of 11.3m and can fly up to a maximum speed of 687mph. It is loaded with six M2 Browning machine guns, two AIM-9 Sidewinders missiles, and variety of rockets and bombs.

P-51D Mustang

Also produced by North American Aviation, the P-51D Mustang was the United Nations’ main fighter during the Korean War. Introduced in 1942, its first maiden flight was on October 26, 1940. 16,766 P-51D Mustangs were built costing $50,985 each.

9.83m in length and 4.17m in height, it has a wingspan of 11.28m. It can fly up to 437mph. The Mustang is loaded with six M2 Browning machine guns.

B-29 Superfortress

Another prominently used in World War II, the B-29 Superfortress, derived from the B-17 Flying Fortress, is a four-engine heavy bomber produced by Boeing in 1944. Its maiden flight was on September 21, 1942 and 3,970 were built.

The $639,188 B-29 Superfortress is 26.6m in length and 8.5m in height. It has a wingspan of 43.1m and has a maximum speed of 357mph. It is loaded with ten Browning M2/ANs, two M2 cannons, and bombs which can weigh up to 9000kg.

-wikipedia.org

Superjet’s SaM146 engine wins EASA certification

On June 23, the Snecma/NRO Saturn joint venture, PowerJet, received EASA type certification for the SaM146 engine of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. The engine passed certification tests last May 26 and PowerJet said that the engine’s performance throughout the certification test program “has fully met or exceeded expectations.” It endured 7,100 hours of testing including 3,500 hours of flight.

“PowerJet will provide a state-of-the-art engine right from service entry of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. This is also a landmark in relations between the European and Russian aerospace industries. We are now looking forward to seeing the SaM146 enter revenue service in the next few months,” Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Ebanga stated.

“This certification shows that the SaM146 engine fully complies with EU safety regulations. It is the culmination of a particularly successful collaboration between PowerJet, the Interstate Aviation Committee of Russia and EASA. It marks the first certification of an aircraft engine jointly designed and produced in France and in Russia,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Goudou added. Certification by Russian authorities is “expected within a few weeks,” PowerJet claimed.

Sukhoi Superjet 100

The $27.8 million Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern, fly-by-wire regional jet which can accommodate 2 crew and 75-95 people. It has a length of 26.44m, height of 10.28m, wingspan of 27.8m, and maximum speed of 534mph.

So far only 4 Sukhoi Superjet 100 have been built since 2007.

-atwonline.com

-wikipedia.com

Pakistan’s F-16 Falcons set for delivery

Three F-16 Fighting Falcons are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan June 26 with 15 more to be delivered later this year and next, said Maj. Todd Robbins, the Pakistan country director in the office of the undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs.

“This is the most visible part of a strong and growing relationship between the two air forces that will benefit us both near-term and long-term,” he said.
Pakistan officials paid $1.4 billion for the 18 new aircraft, in addition to $1.3 billion in upgrades to its existing F-16 fleet, which are to begin being delivered in 2012, Major Robbins said.

“They’ve not had (these capabilities) before, so this is a major milestone in the U.S. providing this capability, which older models (of F-16s) don’t have,” he said. “This will enable them to strike terrorists within their borders while helping them to avoid collateral damage. It’s an increase in capabilities that are beneficial to us all.”

This sale of F-16s to Pakistan renews new aircraft sales that existed between the United States and Pakistan in the 1980s, but were halted in the 1990s. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and other U.S. military and civilian leaders have spoken out about “not repeating the mistakes” of the U.S. halt in relations with Pakistan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The F-16 is a multirole jet fighter sold to 24 countries around the world, according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. The 18 being sold to Pakistan are the Block 52 versions of the aircraft,  Major Robbins said, which will give Pakistan new capabilities, including day-night, all-weather and precision-attack capabilities.

- U.S. Air Force

Model planes featured at the 2010 Shizuoka Hobby Show

Entrance of the 2010 Shizuoka Hobby Show

Last May 13-16, the 49^th Shizuoka Hobby show was held at Twin Messe Shizuoka in Japan. The event is an annual plastic model exhibition which features robots, Japanese cartoon characters, weaponry, cars, and –you guessed it, model airplanes!

Some of the leading Japanese companies in making plastic models like Tamiya, Bandai, and Hasegawa presented their previous and latest works at the show.

Comparison of the improvements done on the Gundam model

Plastic rifles on display

Some of the plane models showcased were the 1/32 Supermarine Spitfire by Tamiya and the 1/72 F-16I by Hasegawa.

Supermarine Spitfire

Here is a video which featured the said event (http://bit.ly/ctxnNF)

-youtube.com

-en.gigazine.net

-hlj.com

Cracks detected on American Airlines aircraft

American Airlines(AA) together with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are thoroughly inspecting the 73 Boeing 767 fleet of AA after finding structural cracks on the engine pylons of two (according to FAA) or three (according to AA) B767 aircraft. FAA reported that one aircraft was so badly damaged that air-safety regulators believe the engine could have easily separated from the plane.

According to AA’s spokesman, Tim Wagner, the inspections did not cause any major disruption to their flight schedule. The two 767s with cracks are reported to have been repaired overnight and put back in service.

Meanwhile, Boeing is planning on drafting a service bulletin that will recommend significantly stepped-up inspections by the vast majority of 767 operators worldwide. Every 1,500 flights, the 767 is already subject to fairly strict inspection requirements for a number of engine pylon components, which means that these cracks have developed in a relatively short period of time.

Both AA and the FAA agree that this matter is not a product of missed or substandard inspections. The cracks were an unexpected development. The FAA in expected to adopt most of Boeing’s recommendations, which will be enforced on all of the 767’s currently operating with US carriers.

In September 1981, the B767 took its first flight. Since then, less than a thousand have been built, with about 850 frames currently in service worldwide.

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, American Airlines has 73 Boeing 767s.

American Airlines B767-323ER

-etaiwannews.com

-nycaviation.com

-jetphotos.net

Garuda planning to purchase Boeing aircraft

Garuda airlines’ President Director Emirsyah Satar stated that they are currently in talks with the U.S. Export-Import Bank for a $1.5 billion financing plan of purchasing Boeing 777 and 737 aircraft. He also stated that Garuda already had a $1.5 to S2 billion contract with Boeing for purchasing 10 Boeing 777-300ER and 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

“We’re looking for a partner to finance the contract,” he said. “We’re also in talks with several lessors to combine financing for the plan.”

This year, Garuda is planning to open new Asia route like several new routes to Taipei and Shanghai.

The airline will delay further expansion to Europe until 2011 though due to the euro zone crisis even after opening a new route to Amsterdam this month.

New logo of Garuda Indonesia

By 2014, Garuda plans to have added 116 aircraft, comprising 90 Boeing 737-800s, 20 Airbus A330s, and Boeing 777s to its fleet.

-reuters.com

-garuda-indonesia.com

B-1 Lancer with Link 16 Communication starts flight testing

Boeing B-1 With FIDL Avionics Upgrade

The Boeing Company  announced yesterday  the start of flight tests for a B-1 Lancer bomber upgraded with new digital avionics for the aft cockpit, including a line-of-sight Link 16 data link. The B-1 Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL) made its first flight test on June 4 at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

The four-hour flight was conducted by the U.S. Air Force around the local Edwards test ranges. The crew successfully tested the Link 16 data link by sending and receiving text messages and receiving virtual mission assignment data such as target coordinates for a weapon.

Link 16 adds line-of-sight capability to the B-1′s existing beyond line-of-sight Joint Range Extension Applications Protocol (JREAP) data link, and integrates the JREAP data onto new, full-color displays with intuitive symbols and moving maps.

“Link 16 will allow the B-1 to be an active participant in a network that is commonly used by fighter, reconnaissance and command-and-control aircraft,” said Mark Angelo, B-1 program manager for Boeing. “With Link 16, target coordinates can be sent directly to the weapon system from ground troops or forward operating bases, instead of the current method, where crew members type the coordinates in by hand after hearing them over the radio.”

The program will conduct three flight tests this month. Additional flight tests will take place through January 2011. The entire Air Force fleet of 66 B-1s is expected to receive the FIDL upgrade.

-         Boeing

-         Aviationnews.eu