Planenews Aviation News

Irish Businessman to Circle Globe in Autogyro.

gil — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:07:45 +0000

An Irish businessman is hoping to enter the record books by becoming the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an autogyro. Norman Surplus will fly his little yellow autogyro over deserts, mountains, oceans, and some of the most remote places on the globe. The total journey will be 27,000 miles, including 4,400 across water.

Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy Honored for World Record.

gil — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:58:54 +0000

MARIETTA, Ga. (PRNewswire via COMTEX): The C-5M Super Galaxy was honored yesterday by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) for setting one of the most memorable aviation records of 2009.

Eight Killed in Helicopter Crash in Kazakhstan.

gil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:37:58 +0000

Eight people were killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Kazakhstan, an official said Friday. The wreckage of the Mi-8 helicopter, which went missing Thursday, was found in Urdzhar area, a local emergency bureau official said, adding that all the eight people onboard, including two local officials and two doctors, were found dead.

Warning on Delays for Fighter Jets.

gil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:35:13 +0000

Australia could be delivered aircraft with stripped-back war fighter capabilities, in addition to facing further cost blow-outs to the Joint Strike Fighter program, a leading analyst has said.

Russia Signs $1.5-bln Fighter Jet Contract With India.

gil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:29:39 +0000

Russia and India have signed a $1.5-billion contract on the supplies of 29 more MiG-29K carrier-based fighter jets to New Delhi, the head of the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG said on Friday.

NASA TV Provides Coverage of One Space Station Crew’s Return to Earth and Another’s Journey There.

gil — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:22:07 +0000

HOUSTON: NASA Television will cover the landing of two current International Space Station crew members and the launch of three upcoming station residents later in March and April. Coverage begins with a broadcast of crew farewells and hatch closure aboard the station March 17, and continues with the arrival, docking and hatch opening of the new Expedition 23 crew members on April 4.

STOVL Jet Prepares for Vertical Landing.

gil — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:11:58 +0000

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md.: The first Lockheed Martin [NYSE:(LMT)] F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter passes overhead at 40 knots (46 mph) prior to a slow landing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on Wednesday, March 10. The flight was one of the last missions before the aircraft's first vertical landing, and confirmed the jet's power and controllability at very low speeds.

Dreamliner May Come to Australia for Testing.

gil — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:09:36 +0000

BOEING has not ruled out sending its new 787 Dreamliner to Australia as part of an extensive flight test program. The man in charge of Boeing's enterprise-wide test and evaluation unit, vice-president Dennis O'Donoghue, said the US manufacturer would go anywhere in the world to test the plane in the right conditions.

India Confirms Move to Buy C-17 Aircraft.

gil — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:03:07 +0000

NEW DELHI (UPI): The Indian air force is to buy an initial 10 Boeing heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to replace Russian IL-76 transporters, the defense minister said.

Nextant Aerospace 400NEXT Phase 1 Completes First Flight.

gil — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:55:24 +0000

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio (BUSINESS WIRE): Nextant Aerospace today announced the first flight of a fully equipped Phase 1 400NEXT aircraft. The flight took place Thursday February 25th and completed the transition from experimental to production aircraft.

United Signs Firm Order for 25 A350 XWB Aircraft.

gil — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:47:26 +0000

United has formalized a commitment originally announced in December 2009, signing a firm order for 25 A350-900 XWB aircraft, the newest twin-engine widebody from Airbus. The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2016 and run through 2019.

Boeing 747-8 Freighter Achieves Initial Airworthiness Milestone.

gil — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:10:46 +0000

MOSES LAKE, Wash. (PRNewswire-FirstCall) Boeing (NYSE: (BA)) has completed initial airworthiness testing on the 747-8 Freighter. This milestone enables test engineers to be on board during future flights and allows the remaining two 747-8 Freighter test airplanes to begin flight test.

Women Pilots of World War II Inspired Generations.

gil — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:27:27 +0000

WASHINGTON (AFNS): Under a clear blue sky, beneath the spires of the U.S. Air Force Memorial here, military aviators gathered March 9 here to pay homage to the achievements of the first women to fly military aircraft during World War II.

Oldest Known Flying Car Up For Auction.

gil — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:43:24 +0000

It doesn’t look like a car, and it doesn’t look like it would fly, but what is believed to be the world’s oldest “roadable aircraft” is for sale. The antique was built in 1934 by Frank Skroback and at the very minimum provides proof that people have long dreamed of cars that can be flown like airplanes.

Digging Deeper on Homebuilt Safety.

gil — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:40:27 +0000

Extracting accurate statistics for amateur-built accidents can be an exhausting exercise in numbers, especially since the FAA and NTSB often use different statistics to report the homebuilt aircraft fleet size and the accidents that occur each year.

Boeing 787 Begins First Flight-Test Operations Outside of Washington.

gil — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:34:39 +0000

VICTORVILLE, Calif. (PRNewswire-FirstCall) The second Boeing (NYSE: (BA)) 787 Dreamliner, ZA002, landed at 10:53 a.m. local time today in Victorville, Calif. This marks the beginning of the first flight-test operations outside of Washington state for the program.

Boeing Receives Phase 1 of Contract for US Air Force QF-16 Drone.

gil — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:28:37 +0000

ST. LOUIS: Boeing [NYSE: (BA)] has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract worth approximately $69.7 million for the initial engineering, manufacturing and development of QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Targets to replace the QF-4 fleet. Under the terms of the remainder of the contract, expected to be awarded in coming years, up to 126 QF-16 drones will deliver beginning in 2014.

NASA space shuttle gearing up for big phase out

coondoggie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:44:56 +0000

While politicians banter about NASA’s budget and the future of manned space flight, the space agency is prepping the critical technology its remaining four space shuttle missions will deliver to complete the International Space Station. www.networkworld.com/news/2010/030910-layer8-nasa-space-shuttle-retirement.html?hpg1=bn [...]

Obama to Nominate Retired Army General to Head TSA.

gil — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:31:17 +0000

The White House will nominate Robert A. Harding, a retired major general with 33 years of Army experience, as head of the Transportation Security Administration, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced March 8.

Flying a B–24.

gil — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:27:20 +0000

In 1957 Lloyd Nolen, a former World War II Army Air Corps flight instructor, and four friends purchased a war-surplus P–51 Mustang, Red Nose. They paid $1,500, which included whatever fuel was in the tanks. A few years later the group decided to obtain other World War II aircraft but was dismayed to learn that although America had produced almost 300,000 airplanes for the war effort, most were gone—stripped of armament and instruments, and then either abandoned or demolished. Only a few remained airworthy. What started as a hobby evolved into an urgent mission to preserve history.